The solution to "Samsung Electronics:

Qualitative Complaint Data" case study

Introduction

LCD televisions are among the products made by Samsung Electronics. However, once

the TV made its debut, Samsung received several customer complaints, most of which were from

ConsumerAffairs.com. ConsumerAffairs.com is a website that publishes news, opinions, and

complaints about products. ConsumerAffairs.com reports that most customers are unsatisfied

with Samsung's LCD TV products. On a scale of 1 to 5, most clients give a 1 or a 2 rating.

They believe there are various problems with their Samsung LCD TV, including ones

related to the TV's actual design, customer service, and pricey repairs. Sarni, who oversees

quality at Samsung Electronics, plans to address the problem in light of the report. The frequency

and vigor of the online comments worried him; he feared that such accusations would start a

social media-fueled PR firestorm, complicating his job.

He needed to analyze the information, but he was unfamiliar with working with

qualitative data. He was advised by an internal Six Sigma Black Belt consultant to start by

creating an affinity diagram and then use it to generate a Pareto chart to choose which problems

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to address first. After completing the strange diagrams, Sarni had another task: evaluating the

findings to determine if they warranted taking urgent action to address the quality flaws noted in

the complaints.

The quality control system that has been put in place is not ideal; it needs to be improved

by finding a genuinely guaranteed supplier, conducting constant inspections throughout the

production process, and tightening quality control after the product is finished. Quality control

cannot be drawn again until the product is in the hands of consumers and fails. The last few

things must then be randomly verified after that. In this case, the company may optimize its

procedures using the six-sigma methodology. Six sigma has five steps: define, measure, analyze,

improve, and control. More attention should be paid to complaints, and the client should still

come first at the company.

If the damage results from a product defect, this can be achieved by replacing damaged

goods during the warranty period and waiving existing servicing costs.

Scope Clarification

This project's scope is to increase Samsung's production effectiveness and efficiency in

product creation and distribution. The data gathered with the help of the offered case study and

other sources will be carefully analyzed to develop significant inferences that will help the

company's quality director make informed decisions regarding quality management.

Problem description and purpose

This study aims to identify and explore some significant quality-related issues that

Samsung Electronics has faced. Successful team meetings may also create solutions for tasks like

product development, testing, and quality assurance.

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Project objectives

 Find out how complaints are handled and how feedback from customers is gathered.

 Assessing data, identifying pertinent trends, and creating action plans putting the merits

of the action steps and their simplicity of execution.

 For each problem, the quality control team should have well-defined problem statements.

 Conduct a batch failure investigation to identify the production batch that experienced the

greatest issues. The percentage of defective sets has to be revised.

 Reevaluating the supplier certification and product specification processes.

 Analyze the corrective action results and keep an eye out for additional opportunities to

improve based on customer feedback.

Methodology and tools used in the project

Methodology is a framework for research that guides the process and methods of

collecting, analyzing, and presenting the information. The methodology of a case study is

defined by its underlying assumptions about the research problem, the nature of the evidence,

and the appropriate approach to evaluating it.

The case study investigating the qualitative complaint statistics of Samsung Electronics

will be considered the primary data source to ensure that the deliverables are achieved.

Regarding data analysis, affinity diagrams and Pareto charts will be employed to assess the case.

1. Affinity diagram for the complaints

Affinity data suggest that most customer complaints have to do with faulty products.

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2. Pareto chart

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 3. Hazard Analysis

The first step in creating a successful HACCP program is doing a hazard analysis. The goal is to

establish a hierarchy of the biological, chemical, and physical risks that must be managed in

oyster processing. The hazard analysis has to go through each stage in the process flow diagram,

looking for any new or heightened safety risks. A hazard assessment will be performed for

procedures that might expose workers or consumers to danger.

4. Fault tree analysis

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Fault tree analysis is an inductive method. Developers and engineers use it to identify the source

of problems in software, engineering infrastructure, and hardware. Typically, it'll begin with a

single node (the undesirable top-level event) and branch out like a tree (the top-down structure)

using a variety of blocks and symbols to illustrate the causal chain of events. The term "Fault" in

fault tree analysis refers to an undesirable condition for a certain component or system.

Taking Action

Which issues, in your opinion, require urgent attention? What validates your viewpoint?

1. Safety Issues

 Choking hazard - “The placement of side connectors creates a great safety hazard.

To use such connectors with HDMI cables, one has to loop the cable outside the

TV unit, creating an area where a baby/small child can be caught in the loop,

causing severe damage or strangulation to the child.” (Review no. 3)

 Action - The crucial step in reducing culpability would be determining

whether or not this allegation is legitimate. Findings should be thoroughly

documented, and if necessary, appropriate action should be taken.

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  Burning TV – "My Samsung T240 HDTV, a little over three months out of

warranty, blanked out a couple of mornings ago. I am an electrician by trade and

recognized the burning smell and isolated it to my TV, which resulted in no

picture but still has sound." (Review no. 32)

 Action - To identify the underlying reasons, that unit has to be carefully

examined.

2. Careful consideration of details

 Screens

 Although screens are the primary source of the complaints, it is fairly

likely that some of the accompanying symptoms (such as power-on and

clicking) are connected to the underlying issue. Sarni and his colleagues

ought to perform a series of diagnostic tests on a sample group of these

defective sets. In the absence of a standardized set of tests or methods, the

tests should be recorded to allow for consistent problem analysis.

 Failed parts

 Do the issues originate from one supplier or several?

 Do these issues belong to the same batch?

 Do we need to alter the process for certifying suppliers?

 Did we first specify the component in the wrong way?

 Design

 Can Samsung improve the reliability and fault tolerance of its TV design?

 How did we miss this throughout our design process?

 What adjustments can be made to identify these kinds of issues sooner?

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  When can Samsung begin adopting HASS (highly accelerated stress

screening) and HALT (highly accelerated life test) if it doesn't already?

 Test Q/A

 Samsung should ponder the kind of final and assembly testing it may

conduct to identify these issues to reduce complaints in the future.

3. Insights from the analysis

Samsung ought to ponder about implementing some "crisis management"

preparatory planning, given the severity and frequency of the accusations. Tylenol is a

classic example of effective crisis management. BP is a contemporary illustration of poor

crisis management. Most businesses respond to "bad things," including unfavorable

customer comments, in a reactive rather than proactive manner. It is similar to the saying,

"Pay me less now or much more later."