Quality control gone out of control

What do you do when you're control is out-of-control? Conventional wisdom is that you repeat the control or try a new one.

But what do you do when your controllers go haywire? The operator of a Japanese luxury sleeper train scrapped an upcoming journey after discovering its crew had been liberally helping themselves to alcohol in the name of “quality control and quality assurance.

“Some of the crew was repeatedly drinking more than they were allowed to as part of their routine quality control testing,” said a subsidiary of the East Japan Railway Company, commonly known as JR East.

What’s even more unbelievable is that the transgression on the swanky Train Suite Shiki-shima began around September 2022, according to the subsidiary JR East View Tourism and Sales.

“This not only severely undermines trust in our business, but is unacceptable behaviour for those in a position to oversee the itinerary of our guests”, it added. Local media reports said that six staff members have so far been taken off duty, leaving the operator with what it called “manpower” shortages.

As a result, an upcoming excursion which was due to begin on August 30 around the bucolic regions of Niigata and Nagano had to be cancelled, it said Thursday.

The E001 series, branded Train Suite Shiki-shima is a hybrid electric/diesel deluxe sleeping-car excursion train operated by the East Japan Railway Company since 1 May 2017. The Train Suite Shiki-shima is one of the worlds most exclusive and expensive trains. The train has a total of 15 luxury suite rooms.

The journey of two nights and one day cost upwards of US$3,000 (RM12,682) and promised, among other things, in-train dinner with French cuisine, expensive wines and a winery visit.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to those looking forward to” the trip, JR East said.

Quality control is a good habit, but too much of a good habit can derail matters and in this instance, the consequences of ‘too much on quality assurance’ are loss of money and time.

Source: External

•  Share this page