Mitsubishi Electric, one of the world’s largest makers of large-scale electrical and HVAC systems, has admitted to falsifying transformer quality assurance tests for decades.
Thousands of transformers that had not been adequately examined were then shipped both within Japan and internationally.
And, as it turns out, Mitsubishi isn’t the only company to be caught cheating.
Mitsubishi Electric admits to faking data from safety tests.
Mitsubishi Electric, a Tokyo-based electronics firm, has discovered faults in its quality assurance (QA) testing procedures, including manipulating numbers in transformer test reports.
Mitsubishi Electric is a global leader in automotive equipment, air conditioning systems, heavy-duty transformers, and semiconductors, with a $34 billion sales and 138,000 people.
The business announced the findings of an inquiry led by an external committee brought on board in July 2021 to delve deeper into quality control malpractices at Mitsubishi Electric in a series of statements made this April.
“Several inspections of transformers rated 22KV 2MVA or higher manufactured at Mitsubishi Electric’s Transmission & Distribution Systems Center in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture, did not fully comply with customer-requested testing standards that required compliance with the Japan Electrotechnical Committee (JEC), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards,” the committee found.
Improper assertions have been put in inspection reports in some circumstances, according to the committee. Several unit designs also differed from what was proposed in internal design guidelines or agreed upon with consumers.
The 22kV 2MVA transformer units, for example, surpassed the maximum temperature set by regulatory agencies in “Temperature Rise Tests,” however Mitsubishi Electric’s test results falsely claimed that the units posed no risk of overheating.
Dielectric tests, which determine an item’s ability to tolerate high voltages (such as during surge events and spikes), were also carried out at voltages lower than those necessary by industry standards.
Between 1982 and March 2022, Mitsubishi Electric sold 8,363 transformers rated at 22kV 2MVA or above to clients. Inadequate testing was found in 3,384 of them, or slightly more than 40%.
1,589 of the items that were not adequately examined were distributed within Japan and 1,795 were sent outside.
Is it true that once a cheater, you’re always a cheater?
The Mitsubishi group of enterprises, which has a history of deceptive quality control procedures, appears to have altered little.
Following the release of an early investigation on the quality control scandal, former chairman Masaki Sakuyama resigned from Misubishi Electric in October 2021.
Takeshi Sugiyama, the company’s then-President and CEO, resigned in July for “three decades of systematic deception,” a time in which the electronics maker falsified inspection papers for air conditioners and brake compressors placed on trains.
Mitsubishi Motors, a sister company to Mitsubishi Electric, was criticized in 2016 for incorrect fuel-economy test findings, which resulted in resignations.
Mitsubishi admitted to a 30-year cover-up of auto faults in 2000, announcing a million-car recall.
Although it was supposed to end in April, the inquiry into all of Mitsubishi Electric’s 22 transformer-making plants is still ongoing, with no end date in sight.
This month, the committee investigators are anticipated to release an updated report. To avoid such mishaps, the business has established a series of “strong policies.”
