bangeye,
Just a WAG, but my bet is that they, being a holding company, are big believers in ISO certification, which is great if you provide a service, such as accounting, or food service.
It relies on the individual worker to do their part correctly, according to a strict set of instructions. It doesn't matter if there is a defect before their part of the process, as long as they do their part, the rest is "not my problem".
There is no real accomodation in a pure ISO setup for a real QC department as the ISO process is supposed to save money and streamline production by eliminating that process.
In order to further streamline the process, i.e. save money, they will draw down their Repair Department and funnel any repairs through Manufacturing to be handled by the same people who worked on it to begin with. This is called "efficiency".
I don't believe it is an Engineering problem. It is a cultural problem.
It is showing up in all of the Freedom Group's operations, witnessed by all of the recent recalls.
Just my $0.02
Ed
