Subject:
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Re: color problems with 10190
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Fri, 6 Jul 2007 16:45:13 GMT
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Viewed:
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2906 times
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In lugnet.general, John Patterson wrote:
> In lugnet.general, Ahui Herrera wrote:
> > In lugnet.general, Ted Godwin wrote:
> > > In lugnet.general, John Patterson wrote:
> > > > I just put together 10190 and find that the navy blue bricks come in two or
> > > > three shades. Has anyone else had this observation? I hope that this is a
> > > > fluke and not a overall problem since Lego has outsourced the making of the
> > > > bricks. I opened up a second set and it had the same color problem.
> > > > John P
> > >
> > > LEGO has NOT "outsourced" making the bricks.
> > >
> > > They did change the way colour is handled. They now add dye to the plastic at
> > > the LEGO factory. The change over was not perfect and those colour problems are
> > > supposed to go away over time but they have to use up the old not-quite-perfect
> > > bricks first.
> > >
> > > It is quite noticeable in the orange used in the recycling truck.
> > >
> > > This is what I remember from Bjarke's (sp?) talk at BF'07. He is head of quality
> > > control and he knows about the colour problems.
> >
> >
> > I 2nd what Ted is saying. At Brickworld the LEGO REPs told us that they are
> > aware of the color issue and have corrected it.
> >
> > TLC changed the way they make the bricks. Before they would use a batch of
> > "colored plastic" and send that into the molds to make the bricks. The "color
> > plastic" came alredy COLORED from their plastic supplier.
> >
> > To save on cost & storage they now buy CLEAR plastic and during the molding
> > process inject the COLOR PELLETs into the brick. The LEGO REP said they
> > miscalculated how much COLOR PELLETS they needed to inject into each type of
> > brick to ensure the correct color (hue, concerntraction, etc...) they began
> > getting reports from the consumer on the color issues. In some cases pruple
> > solid bricks when held to the light you could see right thru them.
> >
> > They relooked at their manufactoring and determined that they were not adding
> > enough COLOR PELLETS for some type of bricks and thus the issue. So they
> > re-calculated all the COLOR PELLETS qty needed for the bricks.
> >
> > Sadly those bricks with the 'lower' COLOR PELLET count have left the bldg. They
> > are in warehouses and stores across the world so while the color issue has been
> > fixed those "incorrect color sets" are out in the world and will slowly get
> > depleted as people buy them.
> >
> > -Ahui
>
> I know that I didn't imagine it, but there was a post on Lugnet that linked to a
> story in a financial publication that said they were out sourcing the production
> of the brioks to Flextronics with has sites around the world mostly in emerging
> nations. It stated and the thread stated the Lego was no longer making the
> elements. Perhaps someone else remembers that and has the link. I started
> noticing problems with the Avitar sets in that the bricks did not fit well
> together and noticed that they were being produced, or at least some, in the
> Czeck Republic and China. I have also noticed in other sets that the bricks are
> sometimes too tight and they are hard to break apart after being built. Also
> ten years ago those sets would not have been released if there was a color
> problem. Lego would have ate the costs and corrected it.
> John P
John,
from what I understand, Flextronics took over Duplo manufacturing first. LEGO
had molding operations in the Czech Republic, and that factory has been doing
very well. Bagging operations in Enfield are being moved to Juarez, Mexico.
Flextronics became an outsourcer for a lot of the basic bricks, where the
quality procedures had pretty much become commonplace. Detail items such as
Technic would still be produced in Denmark. Clikits were manufactured in China,
but were not profitable, so were discontinued. I do not know of bricks being
manufactured in China. Items made of cloth, such as minifig capes, and LEGO
branded merchandise could be made in China as well.
As for the quality issue, It's highly likely that Flextronics takes it's cue
from TLG regarding the color mix to use. If quality at TLG made a mistake, that
mistake will probably carry through to the mold operation. Since eating the
inventory would now be a Flextronics issue, not a TLG issue, there's some
negotiation between Flextronics and TLG that would need to be worked.
Unfortunately, eating inventory could also hold up needed deliveries that are
required to meet market demand and sales forecasts. So, eating the inventory
hurts both Flextronics and TLG's bottom line now. The key is making the
decision of quality vs. cost. Some can be overlooked, others cannot. You just
have to determine on a scale of 1 to 10 where the severity is, and anything
below x level determines a "eat", and anything below y level is "ship out with a
slight defect". It goes against the "only the best is good enough" philisophy
that TLG had for so many years, but money drives the machine.
(on the soapbox for a sec.. in my main job, we do great quality work, but other
outsourcing groups are charging less..they aren't as good, but since they are
lower cost, some people want to use them.. unfortunately, nobody is looking at
the opportunity cost of what happens when the cheaper work causes problems down
the line...Hopping off soapbox.)
Times are changing, not just at TLG, but everywhere around the
world--competition is forcing companies to do things they wouldn't do before.
I'm sure TLG is working to rebuild their financial position to prevent future
losses, and to have enough working capital to create a buffer if another type of
loss happend. However, with some of the new products coming out for 2007/2008,
things just might be good for TLG.
Scott
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: color problems with 10190
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| (...) Thank you, that all makes sense. Some quality issues can be overlooked. However I do not like having different shades when I build something. It makes it look a bit cheap and unplaned. I hope that Lego listens as to the the color problem. It (...) (17 years ago, 6-Jul-07, to lugnet.general)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: color problems with 10190
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| (...) I know that I didn't imagine it, but there was a post on Lugnet that linked to a story in a financial publication that said they were out sourcing the production of the brioks to Flextronics with has sites around the world mostly in emerging (...) (17 years ago, 6-Jul-07, to lugnet.general)
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