Quality Assurance

training to the technology divisions in order to implement

FY2011 Activities
more detailed design reviews. Additionally, it promoted
In fiscal 2011, the Group enhanced its NPDS activities, planned initiatives at sites outside Japan, such as approving
adopted new Quick DRs (design reviews), and began providing auditors for special processes.
Creating Quality to Earn the Confidence of Society

Local Future Shareholders

Related stakeholders Customers Employees Suppliers Communities Generations and Investors
FY2011 Highlights

Governance
Obtaining Quality Assurance Management In fiscal 2011, the Group adopted new Quick DRs and
System Certification began providing training to engineers in the technology
Industrial products that support today’s affluent lifestyles must perform their prescribed functions safely and reliably. The NSK Group has obtained the following quality assurance divisions in order to implement more detailed design reviews
As the advance of technology and globalization continues to accelerate, companies are expected to contribute to the management system certifications and attempts to maintain for small-scale design changes. Quick DRs are a system for
growth of the broader society by providing high-quality products and advanced technologies that meet the specific and improve its efforts through internal audits and audits by conducting effective design reviews in a short time by focusing
needs of consumers across a range of countries and regions. third parties: ISO 9001, the international standard for quality on alterations and changes with the aim of preventing
management systems, ISO/TS 16949, the quality system for defects. Three types of training sessions were established from
automotive production and relevant service part organizations, introductory to advanced and attended by 212 people, from
and AS 9100 certification, the quality system for the aerospace design department staff members to section and department
NSK’s Approach Goals and Performance
industry. Maintaining and improving these quality assurance managers (see Figure 3).
Goals: Quality Creation That Ensures Customer management systems ensures that the NSK Group’s products
No.1 in Total Quality
meet the high quality standards required by customers. NQ1 Program for Stable Production with
Social Satisfaction
As of March 31, 2012, all 54 product manufacturing sites in Zero Defects
The NSK Group aims to become “No. 1 in Total Quality.” In In order to facilitate the creation of quality levels that are
Report
other words, the Group is working to achieve the industry’s indispensable to meeting the NSK Group’s mid-term plan, the the NSK Group had obtained one or more of these certifications. The NQ1 program is being implemented with the cooperation
best quality in everything it delivers—not only products and Group is carrying out activities under the following three programs. of manufacturing, design, production technology, quality
services, but also information. The Group believes that this assurance, and other departments across the NSK Group. The
NPDS: Building Quality into Each Process
commitment to quality ensures that its products will satisfy 1. NSK Product Development System (NPDS) objectives are to bring defects as close as possible to zero,
customers all over the world (see Figure 1). In order to quickly transform new orders into reliable, stable The NSK Group deploys its NSK Product Development System optimize the flow of both information and physical items

Social Report
production, the NSK Group is promoting initiatives that build (NPDS) globally. The system enables the Group to respond through all processes from parts and materials procurement to
quality into each process. to new orders with speed and reliability, to steadily develop delivery, and to achieve efficient, stable production.
Organization: Quality Board Meeting
2. NSK Quality No. 1 (NQ1) Program products that meet customer expectations, and to ensure In fiscal 2011, the Fujisawa Plant, which produces extra
To strengthen Group-wide initiatives NSK Group management The NSK Group is promoting initiatives to realize stable efficient mass production. large bearings, made efforts to standardize the settings used
checks the status of quality control and directs the needed production and ensure near-zero defects. When an order is received, the technical, production, and during machining by quantification techniques in the grinding
initiatives in a top-down manner at the Quality Board Meeting, 3. Human Resources Development other issues are first discussed from every angle to determine process cultivated through the long experience of veteran
which is chaired by the president and composed of directors in The Group is promoting human resources development in order whether the order can be accepted. If it is accepted, at each workers, so that anyone
charge of each business division headquarters. to build a stronger foundation for quality creation. process—from product can perform them. This
NSK has also established quality committees in the planning to development enabled the plant to
Automotive Business Division Headquarters and the Industrial and design, prototype succeed in dramatically
Machinery Business Division Headquarters and developed manufacture, and mass reducing the incidence of
a structure for strengthening quality improvement efforts production—confirmation parts needing reworking
through cooperation among the manufacturing, sales, and is made that all issues are and parts discarded
design departments (see Figure 2). being resolved, thus build- as defects. Photo 2: Explaining the NQ1 program at
the Fujisawa Plant
ing quality into the product. Photo 1: Q
 uick DR training
Figure 1: Quality-Building Initiatives Figure 2: Quality Board Meeting

Chairperson: President
Figure 3: Outline of NPDS

Environmental Report
Promoting the NSK Quality No. 1
(NQ1) program
No. 1 in Process
NQ1 Program for Stable Production
Total Secretariat: Quality Assurance Division Headquarters
Quality with Zero Defects (p. 25) Development Prototype Pilot mass
Product planning Pilot production Mass production
and design manufacture production
Promoting the NSK Product
Product quality Development System Members: Relevant directors Specialists perform rigorous
Business quality (NPDS) program and objective checks to
NPDS: Building Quality Automotive Business Industrial Machinery Business confirm these items
into Each Process (p. 25) Headquarters Quality Meeting Headquarters Quality Meeting
Can the product be Can it be processed Can it be processed Can it be processed
Process Process Process Confirmation items
Human resources designed to satisfy and assembled and assembled and assembled using
development Determination for customer needs? according to the using the intended the same methods in
Building quality into each process transition to the next process design? methods in mass mass production?
Human Resources
production?
Development That
Supports Total Manufacturing Marketing Design Manufacturing Marketing Design
Human resources development departments departments departments departments departments departments
Quality No. 1 (p. 26)

WEB
Reference data is available on NSK’s website. • Global Quality Assurance Organization
www.nsk.com > Sustainability > CSR Reports • Certification for Quality Management Systems

24 NSK CSR Report 2012 NSK CSR Report 2012 25

 Quality Assurance
Creating Quality to Earn the Confidence of Society

Activities to Raise the Quality of Work in Providing Learning Tools and Conducting Training improving the quality of their work. The NSK Group carries In fiscal 2011, the first and second level curricula, which
Indirect Divisions Sessions around the World to Give Customers a out human resources development by providing employees were begun in fiscal 2010, were continued for employees who
The NSK Group aims to achieve industry-leading quality in Deeper Understanding of NSK’s Products with education and training, and asking them to participate in had not yet taken them. Staff responsible for training at sites
everything it delivers—not only products and services, but Bearings, which are the NSK Group’s main products, can fulfill work improvement activities. In fiscal 2011, the Chinese staff outside Japan also participated in this training and prepared to
also the information it provides. Toward that end it carries their expected function if the optimal shape and size bearings at Suzhou NSK Bearings Co., Ltd. in China planned and imple- roll out sales quality training globally.
out efforts to raise the quality of administrative, sales and are chosen for the application when designing the machinery mented their own activities to increase quality awareness. All Furthermore, a third level curriculum has been established,
distribution functions. into which the bearings will be incorporated. Appropriate employees cooperated in the activities, with members of each and training has started in order to reflect opinions from the
In 2008, the NSK head office began efforts to improve the maintenance when the machine is in use is also important. For workplace working together to clarify issues faced in daily sales front and further expand basic knowledge. Aiming to

Governance
quality of work. In fiscal 2011, the fourth year of this initiative, example, when changing bearings that have reached the end work and in the workplace deepen communication with customers, employees in the
the International Trade and Relations Department performed of their service life, care must also be taken to avoid excessive while deepening their third level curriculum studied three areas of quality control:
activities to improve the work of organizing documents needed impact on the new bearings. To deepen understanding of understanding of quality. process capabilities, reliability prediction and failure analysis,
in administrative procedures for products exported from Japan. NSK’s products, the NSK Group provides workshops and Implementing improvements and “why” analysis. Finally, participants conducted group work
Cooperation was deepened with affiliates outside Japan, learning opportunities around the world to engineers engaged with their own hands led to using the quality control methods studied and shared their
departments involved in export work, and sales departments. In in machinery design and technicians who handle equipment increased quality as well as results through presentations. In fiscal 2011, this curriculum
addition, disparate processes were organized, and efforts were management and maintenance. higher employee motivation. Photo 5: Discussing quality was divided into two parts, one being held in the first half
made to achieve systematization. These efforts made it possible The Group also provided e-learning programs in seven of the year and the other in the second half of the year, and
for any member of the International Trade and Relations languages, which have been well received, as they can be Global Development of Quality Guidance and Audits taken by more than 700 employees who had completed levels
Department to quickly prepare the needed documents, which taken whenever and wherever one likes. Through fiscal 2011, The NSK Group designates heat treatment and other processes one and two.
has improved the level of work in terms of both the speed and more than 25,000 people worldwide have taken the Group’s that are important to the stable production of high-quality
quality of information provided to relevant departments. e-learning programs. products as special processes and subjects them to rigorous
quality control. Since fiscal 2009, the Group has been
strengthening its process management structure, and training
and certifying auditors who work out the main elements of
initiatives, to enable the same level of rigorous management
at plants worldwide. Auditors strive to improve processes
throughout the entire supply chain by visiting and auditing

Social Report
suppliers with special processes in addition to their own plants. Photo 7: Group work during sales quality training
In fiscal 2011, the Group continued certifying auditors
Photo 4: Screen from an e-learning program outside Japan, as it had done in fiscal 2010. In Japan, audi-
Eliminating Imitation Products
Photo 3: Work in the International Trade and Relations Department. tors from different plants conducted mutual audits, increasing
Survey Aimed at Increasing Customer Satisfaction quality management and auditor ability. Low-quality imitation products can damage the safety and
The NSK Group periodically asks customers to respond to reliability of customers’ products into which the bearings
Efforts to Increase Customer Satisfaction
customer service questionnaires. In the surveys, customers were incorporated.
Call Center to Help Resolve Customers’ Troubles evaluate the Group using a five-point scale on matters such as The NSK Group provides information to customers and
At the NSK Call Center, veteran sales engineers who have a product quality and technical support and also indicate their cooperates with sales distributors and administrative authori-
thorough knowledge of the many ways in which customers expectations and opinions of the NSK Group. ties to prevent the use and distribution of imitation products.
use NSK’s products take customer inquiries under the motto Approximately 300 people responded to the survey
“quick, polite, and clear.” The content of inquiries covers all conducted in June 2012. The survey results, which are provided
Working with Suppliers to Improve Quality
manner of fields and ranges widely from technical questions to relevant departments within the Group such as sales and
when selecting NSK products to detailed explanations of technology departments, are used to improve activities in each Photo 6: S pecial process auditors training at The NSK Group works closely with suppliers to improve quality.
catalogues. Call center staff strive to meet customer requests part of the company. Kunshan NSK Co., Ltd. In fiscal 2011, the Group shared quality-related issues
accurately by asking about the background that led to the by attending 58 quality meetings and visiting and auditing
inquiry. Moreover, inquiry information is shared with sales Human Resources Development That Supports Quality Training for Sales Departments suppliers’ sites on 26 occasions. Additionally, the Group and

Environmental Report
departments in each region through an internal system so that Total Quality No. 1 Since fiscal 2010, the NSK Group has implemented sales suppliers carried out initiatives to deepen their cooperative
relevant staff members can follow up as needed. Human Resources Development for Creating Quality quality training sessions intended to raise the level of relationship. These efforts aimed to reduce supplier defects
In fiscal 2011, the center handled more than 800 inquiries In order to achieve customer satisfaction, it is vital for all customer satisfaction by increasing employee awareness of while preventing flaws in the NSK Group’s components and
a month and helped to resolve customers’ issues. employees to understand their own roles, to strengthen quality in sales departments, which are the point of contact materials. Going forward, the Group will strengthen efforts to
their ability to communicate with one another, and to keep with customers. further improve quality with suppliers.

WEB
Reference data is available on NSK’s website. • Basic Procurement Policy
www.nsk.com > Sustainability > CSR Reports

26 NSK CSR Report 2012 NSK CSR Report 2012 27