Questionable product development practices. A lack of unified testing specifications. The need for greater automation in factories. A passive design review process.
An independent review panel appointed by Takata Corp. pinpointed a number of red flags in the troubled airbag maker's quality control.
The report cited several flawed practices, including a troubling habit of allowing products under development to continue downstream even though design milestones were not met.
The panel also recommended adopting "use by" dates for airbags. Under that proposal, the expiration dates would be adopted across the U.S. industry, requiring that old inflators be replaced after a set period of time with new ones less likely to have degraded chemically.
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