Dupa cum prea bine stiti deja, fiecare lansare a unui produs nou al Apple aduce o multitudine de probleme, majoritatea de fabricatie, pe care compania Apple trebuie sa le rezolve inainte de a mai produce alte dispozitive stricate. Pana recent nimeni nu a stiut cum functioneaza sistemul de reparare a acestor probleme de indata ce sunt ele descoperite, insa cei de la Businessweek ne explica in detaliu exact ce se intampla in lantul de distributie al companiei si in Cupertino.
Within hours of a new phone’s release, couriers start bringing defective returns from Apple’s retail stores to the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. In a testing room, the same engineers who built the iPhone try to figure out the problem, say former employees who have participated in the program and don’t want to anger their former employer. They take them apart to diagnose what’s happening right then and there.
Totul incepe cu o echipa de ingineri care a dezvoltat respectivul produs nou, ea fiind baza in Cupertino si primind de la Apple Store-uri terminalele pe care utilizatorii le raporteaza cu defecte. In general aceste produse incep sa revina in magazine la doar cateva ore dupa achizitie, iar inginerii trebuie sa se grabeasca sa le descopere defectul, dar si o rezolvare pentru el inainte ca altele defecte sa fie produse. In baza seriilor inscriptionate pe produse, Apple poate descoperi chiar si muncitorul care a fabricat acel terminal, asa ca stie imediat unde este problema.
The program, created in the late 1990s, is called early field failure analysis, or EFFA, and it’s about as fun as it sounds. The idea is to keep easily resolved problems from becoming punch lines for late-night comics. Often, they jury-rig a hardware fix, then coordinate a solution across Apple’s global supply chain.
Dand un exemplu al acestui proces, cei de la Businessweek vorbesc despre primul iPhone care avea probleme cu ecranele tactile ce deveneau nefunctionale in timpul utilizarii. Inginerii Apple au descoperit doua probleme cu ele: una in care circuitele necesitau o protectie suplimentara deoarece transpiratia de pe fetele utilizatorilor patrundea prin difuzor si provoca un scurt circuit, cea de-a doua implicand o acumulare de presiune in difuzor in timpul transportului aerian care genera o implozie a acestuia, crearea de gauri mai mari in grilaj fiind rezolvarea.
That paid off with the original iPhone in 2007, when many were quickly returned with faulty touchscreens, according to an engineer involved in fixing them. Some suppliers manufactured iPhones with a flaw near the earpiece that let sweat from a person’s face seep in, shorting the screen. The EFFA team added a new coating to shield the leaky area and told their suppliers to do the same on their assembly lines. Other EFFA workers, investigating the failure of early iPhone speakers, concluded that the problem was a lack of airflow that caused the speakers to build up pressure and implode during flights from Chinese factories to the U.S.
Tot sistemul este extrem de complex si mult mai bine gandit decat in cazul altor producatori, cei de la Apple reusind sa intre extrem de rapid in posesia terminalelor defecte vandute de catre propriile magazine, reusind sa le rezolve problemele inainte ca pe piata sa ajunga cantitati enorme ale lor.
