Takata must embrace automation, quality overhaul, panel finds

Embattled auto supplier Takata must overhaul its quality procedures and implement more automation following a scandal involving exploding air bags, an review panel commissioned by the company said Tuesday in a new report.

The panel — led by former U.S. Transportation Secretary and White House Chief of Staff Samuel Skinner — found that Takata did not have an adequate process in place to identify quality problems in its products once they reach the market.

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"Takata must refine its processes for identifying quality related problems with its products in the automotive fleet," Skinner told reporters on a conference call.

The group was not charged with reviewing how or why the Japanese company failed to fix or efficiently recall millions of air bags that were prone to exploding during accidents. U.S. government investigators are doing that.

But the panel identified one specific concern about the way Takata is handling the propellant that's used in the company's air bags. Propellant is suspected of being the root cause of the defect, though U.S. regulators remain unsure.

To this day, Takata workers load "much" of the propellant into air bag inflators by hand, according to the report. Skinner told reporters that the company needs to automate that process.

"There are significant process checks in place to protect against human error during the propellant loading process, such as the use of pre- and post-loading weight checks and other process controls, but, in the panel’s judgment, this is an area where automation is likely preferable," the report concluded.

The Takata defect has been blamed for at least 10 deaths worldwide and nearly 100 injuries. The company has agreed to pay penalties of up to $200 million to the U.S. government and has submitted to additional oversight in a deal with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Takata said it has already started implementing changes to its quality processes, both before and in response to the report. Those changes include: hiring 100 new employees in quality positions throughout North America. investing $160 million in its inflator and safety operations, including "state-of-the-art automation" equipment; and forming a new database to track testing results.

“We greatly appreciate the important work done by Secretary Skinner and the other distinguished members of the panel," Takata CEO Shigehisa Takada said in a statement.

"As the report notes, Takata has longstanding quality strengths and continues to take steps to further improve quality, design and manufacturing procedures and practices. The Quality Assurance Panel’s report provides an additional set of clear, actionable steps to ensure that we support a best-in-class quality program. We have thoroughly reviewed the Panel’s recommendations, and we intend to act on them."

NHTSA is also imposing an accelerated repair process to fix the 24 million vehicles currently under process. NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said last month that there could be "tens of millions" of additional vehicles to repair if Takata can't prove that the ammonium nitrate propellant in its air bags is the root cause of the issue.

"NHTSA received the report from Secretary Skinner and his panel and is reviewing it," Trowbridge said Tuesday.

The Skinner panel also recommended that Takata:

—Implement a process for tracking product performance data.

—Develop its own safety standards instead of relying on automakers or industry standards.

—Increase its cultural emphasis on quality, in part by linking more compensation to quality metrics.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.