Sustainability
Creation of Quality
Quality-Related Education
In order to facilitate greater product value and to better meet the expectations of customers, the NGK Group provides
employees with quality-related education focused on acquiring skills that can be used to incorporate specific customer
needs into new products.
NGK, along with other Group companies, is continuously working to improve quality management system (QMS) training, which incorporates real-life topics into practical training and the promotion of operational improvement measures.
Quality-Related Education in FY2019
| Program name | Number of days and participants | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| QCI | 3-day lecture, 1 consultation session, 1-day report session, total approx. 40 days; 51 manufacturing staff members in their 3rd year and 80 mid-career hires | Perform data-based decision-making and QC7 tools exercises; carry out QC story-guided problem-solving procedures |
| QCI Training for Group Companies | 2-day lecture, 3-day consultation session, 1-day report session, total 11 days: 8 people in total | QCI level problem-solving practical training implemented by NGK |
| Quality Basic II | 4-day lecture, 3 guidance sessions, 1-day report session, total approx. 45 days; 62 engineering staff members in their 3rd year + 2 Group company staff members | Outside and in-house instructors provide instruction in statistical approaches to quality control and oversee exercises in applying them to business task-specific problem-solving |
| Learning from Failure and Methods of Creation | 1.5-day lecture, 4-day exercise, 1-day presentation session, total 6.5 days; total of 155 participants | Lecture and exercises that teach analysis and application skills useful for learning from failure Supplemental special lecture focused on common examples of organizational failure provided in order to facilitate reorientation in thinking among management |
| Prevention Training | 1.5-day lecture; total of 16 participants |
Develop an understanding of product liability laws, including how such laws have been applied in specific B2B cases Understand basic approaches to preventive action and recurrence prevention; understand risk elimination procedures |
| Issue examination and discussion: 0.5 days × 4 groups; total of 20 participants |
Operational systems improvement training based on participants' work challenges and aimed at stimulating prevention activities | |
| QMS Training | Lecture on ISO/IATF standards: 1 day for each; total of 340 participants |
Develop an understanding of the intent and key requirements of standards |
| Lecture on ISO/IATF standards: 2 days for each; total of 122 participants |
Cultivate and certify internal quality auditors | |
| Strengthening internal auditing capability: 1 day; 38 participants |
Building up process auditing ability for improved QMS effectiveness and greater quality compliance awareness | |
| VDA6.3 process auditing: 1 day; 33 participants | Develop an understanding of process auditing required by VDA standards |
Points of Strengthening Quality-Related Education
QMS Training
We provide training aimed at helping personnel be able to more effectively capitalize on internal audits and, thereby, improve the effectiveness of quality management systems and increase awareness and knowledge of quality compliance. In fiscal 2019, we worked together with outside instructors to prepare skills enhancement courses tailored to internal auditors within the NGK Group, and, based on the positive response received from course participants, we will continue to develop them further.
77 Employees Pass Self-Maintenance Expert Test (Grade 1: 31 Employees, Grade 2: 46 Employees)
Seventy-seven manufacturing division and engineering center employees who are engaged in NGK's voluntary maintenance activities passed the Self-Maintenance Expert Test (Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance) conducted in October (Grade 1: 31 employees, Grade 2: 46 employees). This qualification is given to those who possess a broad range of knowledge and skills necessary concerning quality management, safety, and machinery maintenance, and are certified to have the ability of planning and implementing voluntary maintenance activities and giving instruction. NGK will continue to encourage employees to acquire such qualifications in order to improve quality management capabilities at manufacturing sites.
QuiC Activities to Improve Quality with Full Employee Participation
Since 2003, the NGK Group has held QuiC (Quality up innovation Challenge) quality improvement activities in which all employees participate. These activities consist of quality improvement activities by small groups or individuals and suggestions that strive to enhance the quality of production; best practices are then shared by the entire NGK Group. Every July, NGK holds a company-wide contest at its headquarters to highlight examples of outstanding improvement activities with the intent of horizontal expansion throughout the company.
In fiscal 2019, the contest was held over two days, and was divided between manufacturing and non-manufacturing
divisions.
For the manufacturing division contest, 13 practices were introduced, including those from six Group companies in and outside Japan. The non-manufacturing division contest began with a keynote speech in the morning about how to create a “self-propelled” organization. This was followed in the afternoon by the introduction of eight non-manufacturing practices, including those from three Group company teams. Around 700 NGK Group employees and executives attended the competition.
Suggestion Activity Participation Rate
| FY2017 | FY2018 | FY2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing divisions | 98% | 100% | 98% |
| Non-manufacturing divisions | 93% | 92% | 85% |
| Clerical divisions | - | - | 60% |
| Number of suggestions | Approx. 38,000 | Approx. 28,000 | Approx. 29,000 |
Manufacturing Division
At the manufacturing division contest held on July 10, ACC won the Grand Prize for successfully improving testing capacity, along with lowering the incidence of defects, to accommodate growing demand.
Non-manufacturing Division
At the non-manufacturing division contest held on July 16, the President's Special Award was presented to NGK Adrec for enlisting the help of sales and manufacturing divisions in sorting through the build-up of unneeded part numbers and implementing a smart product control system.
Sending Award Recipients and Outstanding Proposal Commendation Recipients to Training in and outside Japan
Training at a Group Company outside Japan
From the end of October to the beginning of November, four fiscal 2018 QuiC Outstanding Proposal Commendation recipients and two fiscal 2019 QuiC Grand Prize recipients visited NGK Group company ACE in Belgium. There, the visitors and local employees presented and discussed best practices and mutually reinforced the importance of pursuing operational improvement.
Training in Japan
In late December, six fiscal 2018 Outstanding Proposal Commendation recipients and 13 fiscal 2018 QuiC Excellence Award and Special Award recipients visited Okinawa to attend a nationwide QC Circle Conference and participate in discussion sessions about the differences between NGK and other companies, among other topics.
Group Company outside Japan
Local staff and team members take part in a training session at ACE
Training in Japan
Team members sent to attend the nationwide QC Circle Conference
Quality Activities at Production Bases outside Japan
From their inception, production bases outside Japan have created quality systems appropriate to their situations and acquired ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certification.
Monthly reports from each base regarding customer complaints and the status of manufacturing quality are discussed at quality activity meetings, enabling the entire NGK Group to evaluate the quality status in a timely manner. Moreover, quality activity rules and annual quality objectives are distributed in an attempt to develop and enhance quality activities.
Strengthening Quality Education at Production Bases outside Japan
In fiscal 2019, quality compliance-related education seminars were held at six NGK Group companies in the U.S. as part of quality of operation activities focused on maintaining and improving the operational systems that are in place to ensure that promises made to customers are fulfilled.
The issue of the NGK Group’s non-conformity in delivery testing procedure of insulators, along with the initiatives undertaken and rules put in place in response, was presented to the attendees in order to foster greater understanding of, and recognition about the importance of, quality compliance.
Expanding Improvement Activities to Production Bases outside Japan
The NGK Group is working to expand improvement activities to production bases outside Japan.
For the overseas training in 2019 we visited Group company ACE in Belgium and implemented the following:
- Team discussion and a presentation to local staff on the topic of “What is ‘improvement’?—proposals and small groups”
- Toured the factory with local staff and discussed how to identify problems and solve them
- Presented examples of improvement
