Samsung enhances smartphone checks after last year’s Note 7 fires

Nguyen Van Dao, deputy general director of Samsung Electronics Vietnam, said that after Galaxy Note 7 fires in 2016, the production process and quality control of Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus models have been made more stringent.

Dao said at Samsung Thai Nguyen factory, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus smartphones are put to trial run for 72 consecutive hours after completion to ensure quality before packing. 

Previously, the test-run of Samsung’s products usually took only two hours but after the incident of Note 7s, this stage has been strengthened and the company has used more machines for quality test.

Dao said that currently, 90% of the manufacturing processes of Samsung phones are done by machines and robots and the remaining 10% are done by hand in the last steps such as packaging.

Production processes and product quality are the same for Vietnam and other markets around the world such as the US and Europe. 

After production, some specifications of the phones will be customized to meet the specific requirements of each market.

Dao said that the company’s two factories in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces are producing 50% of the Samsung smartphones sold globally, including the latest models Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus that were launched in Hanoi on April 22.

In 2011, Samsung operated the first cellphone factory in Bac Ninh Province and in 2014, the second one in Thai Nguyen Province was put into operation. Samsung Electronics Vietnam’s cellphone export value jumped from US$6 billion in 2011 to US$36.2 billion in 2016.

Currently, two factories of Samsung Electronics Vietnam in Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh employ 110,000 people.