Quality Management
Basic Policy
Quality management is one of the most important aspects in obtaining the trust and satisfaction of customers in the provision of products and services.
All of our group employees are responsible for thorough quality management.
The basic policy
As a basic policy in line with the Japan Iron and Steel Federation’s guidelines, aimed at strengthening the quality assurance system, we are promoting 1) the enhancement of education on quality compliance (compliance with laws and regulations), 2) activities to reduce quality risks, and 3) the extraction of quality risks through quality audit. Quality management issues are shared by the Quality Management Committee, chaired by the Executive Vice President in charge of quality management.
By having the Committee review actions to take to resolve the issues, we strive to maintain and improve our quality management system.
Organization for Quality Management
Nippon Steel’s quality management system is based on autonomous quality management activities by each steelwork, business unit, and group company including overseas ones. The Quality Management Division, in cooperation with the steelworks and business units, promotes quality compliance education, behavioral risk reduction activities, and the extraction and correction of quality risks through quality audits.
Information on quality-related events is promptly shared across the Group and at appropriate times measures are launched to resolve issues through standardization, systemization, and automatization. These measures are then implemented to enhance the identification management of actual products and to improve reliability of testing and inspection.
Target and KPI
- Systemization and automation aimed at more credibility in testing and inspection
Initiatives and Achievements
Specific activities
Education on quality compliance
Employees of the Company and the domestic and overseas Group companies receive quality compliance education. It covers such topics as the importance of compliance with laws and regulations, the impact that our products and work have on society, quality risk management, and internal rules and standards. In addition, we conduct group discussions with the participation of all employees, using quality non-compliance cases that occurred in and out of the Company in the past as learning material. We also conduct quality-related e-learning programs and on-site quality lectures to foster a strong awareness of quality compliance.
Number of e-learning participants in FY2024: 71,296
Activities to reduce behavioral risks
Based on the analysis of the cause of past quality issues, we have established the Five Basic Rules of Quality Behavior, which all employees involved in quality assurance are expected to follow.
We are actively working to embed these rules across the organization to promote their consistent practice. To improve the reliability of testing and inspection, we also introduce the systems, including quality design systems, automated data retrieval, identification management systems, and finished product quality judgement systems, in each process from order to shipment, thereby eliminating risks caused by human intervention. At the same time, we are strengthening the management practices, including initiatives to ensure psychological safety on the frontlines of quality control, and will continue to intensify these activities going forward.
Quality audits
The Quality Management Div. performs periodic quality audits in the Company and the Group to highly earn the trust of customers. In addition to the audits carried out directly by the Quality Management Div. of the Head Office, we are also working to establish a reinforced system of autonomous audits performed by certified auditors assigned to each steelworks. Furthermore, we are working to raise the credibility of our quality management system by earnestly addressing guidance from external audits such as ISO 9001 and JIS certifications to improve the quality of our products.
- Quality audit results for FY2024
Steelworks and areas: 23audits Group company sites: 61audits
(armband and badge)
Quality management system and standardization activities
Quality management system (ISO 9001 certification)
All steelworks of Nippon Steel are ISO 9001 certified. By implementing the quality management system, we ensure that the processes used to provide products and services to customers are appropriately managed. We will efficiently proceed with activities to clarify each steelworks’ quality policy and to improve quality continuously.
Standardization activities
With regard to Japanese and international steel standards (JIS, ISO, and ASTM), we promote the revision of standards, the standardization of steel products through public-private cooperation by participating in the standardization activities led by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation.