25/02/2019
Every now and then, there is a high-profile product that fails in the worst possible way and at the worst possible time that gets our attention. In case you aren’t a college basketball fan, Duke University, ranked #1 in college basketball, played UNC (University of North Carolina), ranked #8 on February 21st. This is the biggest rivalry in college basketball. It was a highly anticipated game since Duke also has the best player in college basketball named Zion Williamson. On the first possession of the game, Zion tried to make a quick cutting move and planted his left foot only to have his Nike shoe blow out. Zion’s foot exploded the whole way through the shoe as seen in the picture above. He went down to the floor holding his right knee. He did not return to the game. Fortunately for Zion, he has been diagnosed with a minor knee sprain, but it could have been much worse.
I have always had a difficult time explaining to friends and family what I marketed and sold for 26 years of my career. In not so many words, I would explain that I sold material testing and force testing systems that help determine the physical properties of a material or product. This helps companies determine the quality standards of their materials or products and helps them determine if the design is structurally sound for the intended purpose. I would always provide some examples. Most of the time, they scratch their heads and we moved the conversation to another topic.
However, when there is a highly visible failure of a well-known product like this, it presents an opportunity to explain the important role that testing machines play for a product, brand, and a company. Just look at the fallout already from this product failure. Nike is taking a lot of heat over this and issued a statement that included: “The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue.” They also apologized and wished Zion well.
Zion Williamson is 6’ 5” barefoot and weighs around 272 pounds. It is reported that he wears a size 15 shoe. Behind the scenes, they will have to dig in to exactly why and how this shoe failed and answer some important questions. Was it a quality problem? Was it a material problem? Do the tests currently performed cover all potential forces that are exerted during actual use? Was it a design problem? For larger sizes of shoes being worn by men this size and weight that possess such a high level of athleticism, are the shoes constructed to withstand the forces exerted during a game or practice by a player like this? I’m sure their quality management team has been mobilized to provide answers.
Material testing systems, or Universal Testing Machines, can be configured to perform a wide variety of tests. Based on the pictures of the shoe, it appears to have failed where the body of the shoe is attached to the sole. There may be stitching and/or glue that attaches these two components together. There are many different physical tests that are done to assure quality at the material level and product level that can uncover nonconformances in materials, components, and the actual manufacturing process. Some examples may include, tensile tests performed on the thread used for stitching; seam strength testing where the body of the shoe is attached to the sole; peel tests to determine the forces needed to delaminate one adhered layer from another on the sole of the shoe; finally, end-product tests designed to test the final product for structural integrity at the end of the production process.
Nike is a well-known brand, a market leader, and have sold millions of shoes all around the world. They have a strong reputation for high quality products. As Nike stated, this appears to be an isolated occurrence, but they will need to do a deep dive in to this highly visible failure to determine why and how this shoe failed. They have already said the right things in taking ownership of the problem and now they need to focus on root cause analysis so corrective action can be taken. They will also need to issue a public statement outlining their findings for the general public and their shareholders to reinforce their faith in the quality of their products and brand. Testing systems will play a vital role in determining the root cause so they can report whether this was an unfortunate “one off” occurrence, or if there is something systemic that has been corrected.
Nonetheless, this is my go-to example that will help me explain the important role that testing systems play in product development and manufacturing, and what I spent the better part of my career marketing and selling.
