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.
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 100 years ago was the start of our manufacturing and has been passed down today as our DNA.
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 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 and Environmental Promotion 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 introducing “individual quality targets” and “quality model factory” systems aimed at raising quality awareness of all employees.
Principal Initiatives for FY 2021
Our North American Subsidiary Receives the “Customer Value Leadership Award” from a Major U.S. Research Firm
In October 2021, our North American subsidiary U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission, LLC received Frost & Sullivan’s Customer Value Leadership Award.This award recognizes companies who provide products and services that demonstrate overall superiority in terms of price, performance, and quality. The award was given in recognition of the company’s nearly 50-year track record in the North American roller chain market and the brand image it has established by providing high-quality products. It was also recognized for developing technical capabilities that allow flexible customization to meet customer needs as well as its ability to earn customer trust through an approach that emphasizes quality over price.
The 23rd KAIZEN Conference: Nine Selected Circle Teams from Japan and Other Countries Presented Their Case Studies of Improvement
We held the 23rd Tsubaki Group KAIZEN Conference in March 2022. Although the event was held via webcast instead of in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nine circles selected from Japan and other countries delivered presentations on the results of their initiatives. Following a screening process, the Mobility Division was awarded the Judges’ Special Prize for its efforts to avoid the frequent equipment stoppages in the factory automation system.
The driving force of the Group’s growth is our employees’ high awareness of the issues involved in their assigned work and their eagerness to continuously take on the challenge of KAIZEN.
