In the wake of a story that the increased quality control standards for the iPhone 5 assembly process have slowed production at the Foxconn factories, an unnamed Foxconn executive talks about how difficult the device is to assemble.
Wall Street Journal, via MacRumors:
“The iPhone 5 is the most difficult device that Foxconn 2038.HK -0.68% has ever assembled. To make it light and thin, the design is very complicated,” said an official at the company who declined to be named. “It takes time to learn how to make this new device. Practice makes perfect. Our productivity has been improving day by day.”
The executive says that Foxconn has taken steps to improve productivity, and address problems with scratches on the metal backing of some new iPhones. The company has recently put in place a new quality check procedure to reduce the chance of the scratched casings.
Saying that the new coating material make it more susceptible to scratches, the executive said, “It’s always hard to satisfy both aesthetic needs and practical needs.”
Hon Hai currently assembles the iPhone 5 for Apple at its plants in Zhengzhou, central China, and in Guan Lan, in southern China.
While admitting the the labor problems at the Zhengzhou site last month was partly due to the metal casing and other “quality issues,” he didn’t elaborate.
“The Zhengzhou site, which was set up in 2011, is still pretty new to us. We are still learning how to manage the work force there,” said the executive.
