Field returns: defect or misuse?
Helping quality tell a real defect from a safety that did its job.
- When
- 2019–2021
- My role
- Design engineer supporting quality
The situation
When a customer returns a Float Table, quality has to decide whether the product failed or was misassembled or misused. That call is hard without knowing the design from the inside.
What I did
The product has two internal safety mechanisms in addition to its first safety. Removing the first one during disassembly can trip one or both of the others, and customers report that as a failure. One can be reset in the field with a screwdriver and the unit never needs to come back. The other cannot be repaired and needs replacement. I taught the quality team how to tell which is which, wrote the documentation, and supported installers with the same guidance.
What I took from it
Knowing the design well gave the quality and production teams solid ground to stand on when they talked to customers.