In early Oct. 2016, the first case of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 catching on fire surfaced the internet. Since then, dozens of new worldwide reports of explosions were made. This extreme danger to users caused Samsung to immediately terminate production and conduct global recalls of all phones, thus costing them up to $3 billion.

     This severe oversight highlights the dangers of fast paced production. Instead of spending time to test their product thoroughly, Samsung chose to release the phone much earlier in hopes of beating Apple’s considerably “dull” iPhone 7. Samsung became too ambitious for their own good — they wanted to prove their superiority over Apple by having a longer battery life, better camera quality and screen resolution. These features do sound enticing but are completely useless when your phone may explode at any given moment. Which is why, once again, Apple came out on top by creating a stable and high-quality phone that may have been lacking in new features, but is definitely not a danger to its user. Because Apple took their time and didn’t attempt to revolutionize the phone industry when launching the iPhone 7, they made sure nobody got hurt — which is far more important than making a bit more money.

     Similarly, Toyota suffered from an incident in 2008 regarding a faulty brake and acceleration system. Instead of spending important time and undergoing safety checks, Toyota released their new Corolla far earlier than they should have. This led to the unfortunate recall of 8 million vehicles due to over 50 deaths potentially linked to unintended acceleration and faulty brakes. Although these new methods can create powerful products in minimal time, the lack of rigorous testing poses a serious threat to the safety of users. 

     Not only are Samsung and Toyota examples of failed fast paced production, companies like Boeing, Intel, and Lexus have been caught in the similar issue. Clearly, this problem is widespread across the entire industry; it has become a norm to work fast and not value the potential consequences of skipping thorough safety checks. It’s important that stronger regulation methods are placed upon these large corporations, otherwise this problem will simply continue to grow.

     Companies are always looking for ways to optimize profits to the last penny, and in recent times that means cutting time spent on these vital examinations. Many companies are probably secretly getting away with it, but it’s only a matter of time before more people get seriously injured due to greedy manufacturing choices.