Intrigued what the alternative is to people. Machines are just as likely to make errors, and in some circles more likely, it’s just that machines can do things more quickly.
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@Simon-in-Suffolk often machines do simple repetitive tasks with a lower failure rate than humans. But I get your point nothing is perfect
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Sure, but in my view of operations at Salisbury for the couple of times I have visited the factory is that they don’t appear uniformly repetitive, or super high volume… but as you say mistakes happen.
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Boeing anybody?
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Aero engines are safety critical, and I imagine their manufacture and servicing are commensurately rigourously controlled. Putting the wrong manual in a box for a CD player isn’t going to harm anyone. To reduce the failure rate of manual insertion to the failure rates of aero engines might put the price of CD players up 
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I can’t now find the post, but I thought I recalled a CD player being returned from service with the puck taped somewhere in the packaging that wasn’t immediately obvious to the recipient, is the puck definitely not hiding somewhere?
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a lot of motorized vehicles constructors/distributors charge the pdi to their customers at rather high rates. QC on the back of the clients.
well said, unfortunately we live a digital world ruled by reviews
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QF32 out of Singapore - RR fitted an out of spec oil stub pipe.
QC is important and missing parts are frustrating,
I’m not sure I see the wisdom of a thread where the issue has arisen with a Naim customer who is not the op.
If the op recommended Naim, then the thread is about both the reputation of the op and the manufacturer. That introduces additional questions, such that the matter is best resolved between the purchaser and the manufacturer via the dealer.
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QC failures are frustrating, no one likes to open the box containing their new bit of kit only to find that there is something missing or that it doesn’t work.
My first port of call would be supplying dealer, second would be the company involved (if direct from Company then they would be first call).
I rarely see the benefit of commenting on a forum for this type of issue, no one on the forum can resolve the problem so why comment.
Unfortunately nothing is perfect and sadly these failure do occur, rightly so the people in the process (retailer and or company) need to be told as it helps them tighten up processes and improve things going forward.
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I had my dealer deliver and install my new NC200 system. Best of both worlds!
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Totally agree
In a previous career (sales) for a Mazda and Mitsubishi dealer, PDI etc. was included within the retail (or whatever was negotiated) price of a new car - the service dept charged the sales department for PDI/valet etc at a price determined by the service manager and dealer principle.
I was a manufacturing engineer before semi-retirement.
Techniques such as mistake-proofing and error-proofing have existed for some time. Detecting errors before the next process, or preventing them respectively.
Check-weighing finished goods, and comparing actual versus standard weight can be used to tell if there’s something missing from the box.
No match prompts an intervention.
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Yes Richard, that is all so very true, what really matters is how an issue is dealt with.
The ISO 9000 reference was only because that’s one of ISOs main goals, being able to trace an error to where it actually occurred, so that a ‘Corrective action’ can be made in order to minimise the possibility of it happening again.
When we were implementing ISO 9001 in my company in the '90s, I got so bloody tired of hearing the phrase, Corrective action.
Wait a minute!! … You use HUMANS!!
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Yes, problems will occur and as others have said, it is how it is dealt with that matters. The dealer is the first port of call who would then inform Naim and Naim should feedback through internal processes.
Some have stated that the dealer should should inspect product first but for me, I buy new and insist on brand new unopened boxes. I accept that this may mean getting a faulty product but it is rare and easily solved.
I had my 2 x 350s replaced from brand new due to hum but the replacements were just the same. Replacements were a good will gesture between dealer and Naim. The hum disappeared when I fitted a Puritan PSM156 so they were not faulty at all.
Great service from Naim so far for me so all is good.
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I assume that Naim, like all serious companies, has a quality department and a responsible quality manager who works to ensure that established quality requirements are met, otherwise it is bad. The main reasons for a lack of quality are usually a lack of leadership and poorly trained staff.
I wouldn’t say that those are the usual main reasons… there are many including those you mention… but process, culture, motivation, lack of resourcing can be equally main contributors.
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