CSR

Following the implementation of the 2020 Medium-term Management Plan, we revised the Fujikura Quality Policy in June 2016, which represents our Company-wide policy on quality. In addition to realizing quality management that satisfies the trust customers place in us, our aim is to further strengthen the safety of our products and ensure quality in procured and subcontracted products. The quality management activities of our Group focus not only on product quality but also on the quality of our various business processes. We base this in our quality management policy, where “the quality of the business that creates a product in the day-to-day production process itself is integrated as the quality of that product.”

In fiscal 2013, we introduced the in-house company system, and strengthened quality control from receiving orders to delivery. We also set Key Performance Indicators (KPI) concerning quality, and unified the audit standard. KPI is used for monthly follow-ups to assess quality status.

The business units and domestic and overseas subsidiaries of Fujikura have built and are operating quality management systems (QMSs) optimized for their business operations based on the ISO 9001 standards for quality management systems.

Fujikura's Corporate Quality Assurance Committee, which is chaired by the director in charge of quality assurance and composed of the general managers of the business units holds regular meetings, where they determine corporate policies and quality targets, discuss a range of corporate problems, and exchange opinions and make decisions on the issues.
The Quality Assurance Inspection Committee performs audits on each business unit and subsidiary of Fujikura to check the state of QMS operations. Also the committee continued to carry out QMS audits focusing on monozukuri (manufacturing).

Based on the recognition that complaints represent the worst responses from customers, we will continuously place priority on reducing the number of customer complaints. Most of Fujikura's products are manufactured at its domestic and overseas subsidiaries, and we cooperate with these Group companies to identify the causes of any complaints and implement measures to prevent the reoccurrence of similar problems.

Due to an increase in production following CQO activities in recovery from the severe floods in Thailand in previous years, there has been a slight increase in complaints from 2013 fiscal year onward. However, quality has been improving with the activities undertaken from 2015 by the new Chief Quality Officer (CQO).

Serious complaints are reported to top management, including the director in charge of quality assurance, and an ad hoc team is established to identify the causes of problems where necessary. We take these measures to minimize the damage caused to customers. We will continue to implement quality assurance activities to reduce the number of serious complaints to zero.

Whenever we have a "product accident" as defined in Japan's Consumer Product Safety Act, it is reported to top management, and first priority is given to implementing countermeasures for the accident. Fujikura deems it essential to ensure product safety and we are using product safety-related risk assessment tools (such as the R-Map method) and introducing product safety activities focusing on the design and manufacturing processes to prevent product accidents.

As part of our 2015 fiscal year activities, we took comprehensive action in preventing silent change by utilizing case examples from other companies and conducting product safety hearings across all business divisions, forestalling product-mediated incidents stemming from silent change.

As part of Fujikura's human resources development program, the Company provides young engineers with stratified education on quality management annually. We are now reviewing the details of quality education under the slogan "firsthand knowledge" to help employees acquire the basic and practical quality management abilities through this education. Employees engaged in R&D, who definitely need such education for their jobs, are taught statistical quality management immediately after joining the Company.

From the 2015 fiscal year, we have been working to strengthen and ensure quality control, promoting the acquisition of qualifications such as QC Examination Certification.

As for our small-group activities, we held Global Fujikura "KAIZEN" Presentation meetings four times a year. Thanks to the G-FPS activities that gave inspirations also to the indirect departments, in addition to presentations on conventional improvements made to manufacturing processes, a lot of presentations were given on improving office operations.