Quality

We establish quality policies at each business division and plant, and each develops its own quality assurance and quality improvement systems. This enables them to perform detailed quality control on a product-by-product basis.
Plants, which are the center of manufacturing, and the subsidiaries that belong to the plants are included in these systems, and work together on quality management system (QMS) and other quality management initiatives.

Quality Management and Product Liability System

To gain and nurture customer trust in our products and services, we have established Companywide Quality Assurance Regulations and Product Liability Prevention Regulations. The objective is to proactively prevent quality problems, and to take prompt organizational countermeasures against any problems that do arise.
The current quality management and product liability system covers The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. and Japan Steel Works M&E, Inc. Our diverse products range from materials to industrial machinery and defense equipment, and the quality management systems required also vary. Therefore, product manufacturing takes place under the quality management structure shown below, with plants-the very heart of monozukuri-shouldering manufacturing responsibility, and business divisions assuming ultimate product liability.

Reporting Lines

• Regular reporting

  At meetings of the Management Council, general plant managers report on the status of quality management, improvement progress, and new developments.

• When a major quality problem occurs

  Reports are made by general plant managers, who are responsible for manufacturing, to business division directors, who are responsible for products, and ultimately to the representative directors.

• When a product liability problem occurs

  Same as 2

Structure of Quality Management and Product Liability System

Quality Management Initiatives

Our main initiatives for quality management of each product category are outlined below.

• Acquisition and implementation of quality management system (QMS) certification
  • Acquisition and implementation of ISO 9001, a standard for QMS for general manufacturing industries, to improve customer satisfaction and the quality control system
  • Acquisition of certifications and compliance with standards based on required standards in individual business areas
    Examples: ISO 9001 (QMSs at each plant), ASME (pressure vessels, tanks, parts for nuclear power generation) and others
• Realization of quality that raises customer satisfaction
  • Unified quality improvement activities by design, manufacturing and research departments
  • Continuation of companywide quality control improvement activities
• Reliable assurance of quality (raising awareness)
  • Establishment and regular revision of quality manuals
  • Reliability through education and awareness-building guided by mottoes (solicited from employees)
• Activities to reduce the defect rate
  • Learning from past defects (using root cause analysis) to prevent recurrence
• Countermeasures against serious defects
  • Quick resolution by forming a priority measures team for serious defects and thorough measures to prevent recurrence

At JSW Group, our three strengths-technology, prescience and innovation-are evident throughout our initiatives for quality management. Our plants have been transitioning to in-house manufacture of main components for each product, and research, design and manufacturing departments are cooperating in team activities to enhance component quality.
An organizational structure that enables ideas generated through the processes of design, analysis, material production, machining, quality inspection and technological development to be fed back with good communication is the basis of our strength in technology, and incorporating views from different positions leads to innovation. The system of fully integrated production at our plants, from materials to finished products, is the source of our ability to respond to customer needs.
In our quality management activities, we take measures to ensure that products are not only free from defects prior to shipment, but that they also remain so after delivery to the customer.

We focus on three key points:

• Quality improvement involving the supply chain
• Prediction and prevention of defects at the plant
• Responding to customer requests for quality improvement

For example, to predict and prevent defects at the plant, we compile and maintain a database of defects that have occurred in the past. At meetings immediately after receiving an order, the departments concerned look back to the causes of defects that occurred in similar construction projects in the past, and countermeasures that were taken, to prevent them from happening again.
In addition, the service department responds to performance improvement and modification requests after delivery as needed, and strives to increase the level of customer satisfaction.
In the event that a defect occurs after delivery, the quality management, research and design departments cooperate to investigate the cause, formulate a plan for countermeasures and implement measures promptly so that there is no impediment to the customer's production plans.