Persuing the matter of potential fire hazard UDB drives

My decision would be to persue the matter. As a professional, I adhere to the code of conduct of the professional bodies (REF1). I would be breaking that code of conduct if I did not proceed with taking the matter further. To raise the matter, I would arrange a time to personally see my supervisor and someone higher up the command chain, perhaps his/her line manager or supervisor, to be there as well. This is so that I know that I have tried to convince the people who could make a difference. I think that they will listen if I mention that this is not only a health and safety issue for us, but also for the customers.

The main objective of the meeting would be to raise the awareness of the possible consequences that could occur as a result of the failed tests. I would argue that 3 of the 200 (1.5%) is very large when looking at the wider picture. 3 might not be a big number but if I said 15,000 out of 1,000,000, then that is huge! In 2008, in excess 155,000,000 (REF2) USB drives would be sold (not only by us), but this proves how popular they are and how careful we need to be.

I would also highlight other possible consequences in order from least damaging to most damaging:

Client loses data from USB drive due to the excessive heat
The computer that the USB drive is connected to could render it ruined
The USB drive could start a fire. During working hours, this probably could be put out with a normal fire extinguisher, and after hours, the whole office could burn down if someone left their machine on with the USB device plugged in
Our company could loose reputation and our company value could decrease, this would have knock on effects:
1. Loss of income due to customers taking their business else where
2. I could loose my job due to budget cuts, redundancy, or liquidation
Danger to customers lives (through an office fire, this is the absolute worst case scenario)

The above list may seem extreme but it is possible. For the first few points, the company would most probably seek some form of compensation. Lets say for example that out of the 1.5% that are a fire hazard, only 0.75% cause a fire and ruin the computer workstation. So out of 10,000 USB drives, ~75 could be affected and the rough price of an office PC being £300. That would result in ~£22,500 of compensation paid.

The course of action I therefore suggest would be this. Conduct a more thorough test on the previous batch to make sure we didn't have an oddly high number of potential failures. If the results come back as there was a descrepency and was within the limits set by quality control team. Then no further action needs to be taken.
How ever, if that batch did prove to be hazardous, I would have a look to see what changes have been made on the hardware and software side in the different revisions of the model and pin point the cause of failure. Once this has been found, it can be rectified and a new revision can then go into production (pending saftey testing). Now, to keep the customers happy the management has a few options. They can either take their chances and maybe offer a free extended warrenty or recall the product and offer a free replacment.

References

REF1 - The British Computer Society Code Of Conduct, First point under Public Interest heading states that "In your professional role you shall have regard for the public health, safety and environment."
REF2 - http://www.it2trust.com/pdf/Blockmaster.SafeStick_Datasheet.pdf - First line of text in the orange box on page 1

Useful Links

Lexar Recalls USB drive - http://www.recallfinder.com/?src=cpsc&page=item&category=Computers&subcategory=Computer_Equipment&item=06205