6.1 Corporate policy

Sonnenschein Lithium's corporate policy includes quality and environmental aspects as well as those of occupational and material safety.

Our objectives

• Long term corporate goals

The objective of our company is the development, manufacture and marketing of lithium batteries which are considered as number one products by our customers. Through high efficiency and continual improvement of our work we ensure the growth of our company, in the interest of our customers, our employees and our shareholders.

This includes the continual improvement in such areas as environment protection, quality and safety.

• Importance of quality

By quality we understand the fulfilment of the requirements and expectations of our customers, suppliers and employees. The management and employees of Sonnenschein Lithium consider the quality of their products and services to be decisive for their continuing success.

• Environment and safety

Our company employs procedures that eliminate environment and safety risks for its employees, neighbourhood and product users.

The fulfilment of legal and other regulations is considered as a minimum requirement.

• Responsibility of management and employees

Every employee takes on his share of responsibility in the process of continual improvement in our company. He orients his daily work by the expectations of his internal and external customers. This includes the demands of economy, environment protection and safety. Every individual sets an example while achieving the quality and environmental targets. Leadership personnel supports and promotes measures and attitudes that are necessary to achieve the targets.

Our activities

• Conduct periodic surveys of customer satisfaction
• Systematically analyze and improve the relations between internal customers and suppliers
• Include external suppliers in the process of continual improvement on a basis of partnership
• Provide and implement all required quality and environmental management procedures
• Periodically obtain ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 recertification
• Define annually measurable quality and environmental targets
• Review the management system on an annual basis
• Determine the requirements for environment protection and occupational safety
• Continually upgrade the qualifications of all employees by training and instruction
• Establish improvement teams
• Activate the suggestion system
• Implement suggestions for quality improvement
• Assess the environment, safety and quality related effects when introducing new products or processes.
• Advise customers on product properties with respect to the application, handling and disposal.
• Provide the technical documentation considering the effective regulations and laws.
• Provide all information to interested parties that is necessary to understand the environmental effects of products and manufacturing procedures.
• Periodically review and improve procedures for the prevention of incidents and accidents.
  

6.2 Certified Management System

Sonnenschein Lithium holds a certificate verifying that its quality and environmental management system fulfils the requirements of the standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. The audit of the quality management system was first performed in 1993. The audit of the environmental management system was first performed in 1999.

	Figure 6-1 Management system certified by DQS

6.3 Calibration and inspection equipment

Measurements that can have an influence on product quality are carried out using calibrated equipment having a known valid relationship to nationally recognized standards.

Sonnenschein Lithium engineers identify those process steps that need special inspection methods and develop the equipment needed to ensure product quality under all circumstances.

	Figure 6-2 Process flow and inspection plan

6.4 Marking and Traceability

Products manufactured by Sonnenschein Lithium are marked for the purpose of identification and tracing. Typically, the marking includes the battery type number, the lot number as well as the month and year of final inspection. Figure 6-3 shows an example for battery marking. Any inquiries with respect to the circumstances during manufacture of specific batteries should make reference to the batch number code printed on the battery.

Traceability is effective from the incoming inspection of materials and continues through to final inspection and shipping of the product. The relevant records are kept for a minimum of 15 years.

Figure 6-3 Battery with type number (T), lot number (L), and date (D) of final inspection. Inquiries should make reference to the batch code.

6.5 Process Flow and Inspection Plan

Sonnenschein Lithium maintains fully documented material specifications, process instructions, and inspection procedures for each of its manufacturing activities.

The stringent requirements for purity of materials, accuracy in component manufacture, and care in assembly and finished product acceptance have made it necessary to establish suitable processes for production and testing and to install highly accurate and reliable instrumentation.

The process flow and inspection plan shown in figure 6-2 reflects the care that has to be taken in as
much a detail as can be given within the frame of this document.

6.6 Reliability

The term reliability refers to the ability of the product to fulfil the specified requirements during its life cycle. As an answer to the particular demands of the market, Sonnenschein Lithium places special emphasis on this aspect of product quality.

A series of long-term tests conducted on a regular basis aims at the acquisition of reliability data under various conditions of storage and use. The criteria for failure are defined according to the most widely spread application needs.

It should be noted here that a battery is not considered a failure when it is depleted after delivery of an amount of capacity that falls into the normal distribution of capacity found under the respective conditions of use. The determination of life time under these conditions is dealt with in chapter 7 under the subject calculation of operating life.

It is a common procedure during reliability testing that the devices under test are subject to accelerated ageing. The results are then transferred into normal operating conditions using calculation methods that have been established previously. It has been pointed out in paragraph
2.5 - storage life and operating life - that equivalent procedures generally cannot be easily established for lithium batteries. It is therefore necessary to confirm all results by real time tests.

Table 6-4 shows a number of representative reliability tests that are being conducted by Sonnenschein Lithium. The table contains only real time data and no extrapolations or other derivated data. Failure criteria, results and other relevant information is given in the table.

As a result of these tests it can be stated that the reliability of Sonnenschein Lithium Batteries generally corresponds to failure rates below 200 fit (= 0.175 % per year). It has been shown that the failure rates during storage and memory back-up operation range below 20 fit (= 0.02 % per year). One test demonstrates that it is possible to operate this battery system for more than 10 years at +85 °C.

	Table 6-4 Reliability Data A selection of reliability tests conducted by Sonnenschein Lithium Results per April 2001. Some tests are being continued. fit = failures in time. 1 fit = 1 failure in 109 device-hours