Quality Management (Customers)
Basic Concept
Based on the Tsubaki Spirit corporate philosophy, the Tsubaki Group is dedicated to maintaining and improving the Tsubaki brand as a manufacturing company through the pursuit of superior quality and thorough quality assurance.
Basic Quality Policy
We do not pass defects on to the subsequent job process. We will all follow the rules, and make quality products.
Established: December 2001
Revised: October 2018
Our Basic Quality Policy adheres to the following principles.
- We will reaffirm our focus on our customers.
- We will apply the concept of ‘zero defects’ to our own work, and not pass any defects along to the next process, thereby ensuring quality each step of the way.
- We declare that every single person within the organization will have a sense of ownership and do a great job.
- We will look back to our founding principle of “making quality products” and start a new page in Tsubaki history.
“Making Quality Products” as the Starting Point of Manufacturing
Our founder, Setsuzo Tsubakimoto, began manufacturing chains in 1917. When he was excited but had misgivings about the development of a new business, he would remember something that the president of the spinning company that he worked at previously told him when he quit: “Make quality products.” No matter what you’re making, make quality products. Our founder took this lesson firmly to heart and made sure all his employees knew it. This determination made a century ago marked the inception of our manufacturing legacy, which continues to be ingrained in our DNA to this day.
System for Promoting Quality Management
We have established a system for promoting quality management led by the Tsubaki Group Quality Committee.
In April 2018, to further ensure the effectiveness of these efforts, we established the Quality and Environmental Promotion Department (current the Quality Assurance Department) as a headquarters operations overseeing the entire Group, and the Quality Managers Committee as a cross-organizational implementation body.
In addition to traditional quality control assurance activities in each division, the Company conducts audits from a third-party perspective, formulates Group quality guidelines, and implements cross-organizational activities to improve quality. Through such methods, we not only aim for zero defects in quality but also to strengthen our system and abide by our promises to our customers. In doing so, we are strengthening the governance of quality management while maintaining and improving the Tsubaki brand.
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System for Promoting Group Quality Management
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Framework for Strengthening the Quality Management System
Quality Management System
The Group has obtained ISO 9001 certification, the international standard for quality management systems, at its manufacturing bases in Japan and overseas. As such, we have established a framework for quality management based on the ISO.
Quality Education and Human Resource Interactions
The Group aims to improve quality management skills by developing level-specific education on “quality” and “improvement” in its Companywide educational system. As we move forward, we will enhance quality specialist education centered on the Quality Assurance Department, such as providing education on statistical methodology, nurturing lecturers, and promoting the acquisition of quality control examination certificates as well as implementing initiatives such as fieldwork for quality training participants from Group companies for a period of one or two years. At the same time, we are operating a cross-Group improvement proposal system and fostering a culture of everyday improvements among all employees, and are deploying these improvements to other areas in order to maximize their effects.
Principal Initiatives for FY 2023
Conducting Quality Monitoring at Overseas Manufacturing Bases Focusing on Actual Workplaces and Actual Products
The Motion Control Division (hereinafter “MC Division”) is engaged in manufacturing in six countries and regions: Europe, the Americas, Australia, China, Taiwan, and Japan.
In order to improve the quality and reliability of the Tsubaki brand, the Japan MC Division serves as the global quality assurance center, and conducts quality audits of each manufacturing base. Although quality audits via web meetings continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, a quality audit was conducted at Tsubaki Motion Control (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in China in July 2023. There are elements which can only be understood in actual workplaces, and we reconfirmed the importance of audits based on actual workplaces and actual products, and the effectiveness of face-to-face communication.
In the MC Division, expanding sales of products customized to meet local market needs is an issue, and quality management of overseas manufacturing bases is becoming increasingly important. We are maintaining and improving quality with our primary concern being global standardized quality.
Excellent Supplier Awards Received from Global Automobile Manufacturers
In the Mobility Business, we have received excellent supplier awards from automobile manufacturers in recognition of our quality, delivery, and service performance.
In FY 2023, our Thailand subsidiary Tsubakimoto Automotive (Thailand) received the 2023 TPS Activity The Winner: Advance Group award from the Toyota Co-operation Club. In addition, a total of 14 supplier awards have been received by Group companies in China, South Korea, Thailand, the UK, and the US.
