Quality Management
Approach and policy toward quality management
Our Group’s products are of high quality, characterized by their unique soft texture and supple feel, and at the same time, they are durable enough to be used for long periods of time in outdoor environments. To ensure a stable supply of such products to our customers, we continue to build up a quality management system and have obtained ISO9001 certification, an international standard for quality management systems, as well as IATF16949 certification at our domestic and overseas business locations.
Our Group has established the following Quality Policy, and we carry out quality management in accordance with this policy.
Quality Policy
(1) Our company’s Quality Policy is set forth as follows:
- 1. Focus on customer needs
- We will strive to develop attractive products, improve productivity, and enhance services by accurately grasping customer needs.
- 2. Compliance with rules
- We will strive to comply with laws, regulations, standards, and customer criteria related to production.
- 3. Prevention of occurrence/recurrence of nonconformities
- We will appropriately make efforts to prevent the occurrence/recurrence of nonconformities by taking corrective and preventive actions and analyzing information on complaints, and strive to pass on our know-how in these areas.
- 4. Review of production and business processes
- We will review our production and business processes and strive to continuously improve their effectiveness and efficiency.
- 5. Strengthening of cooperation with partner companies
- We will strengthen cooperation with partner companies to improve sound procurement, production, quality and sales systems.
(2) The Quality Policy will be implemented through the quality management system based on IATF16949 and JIS Q 9001.
(3) In accordance with the Quality Policy, all people in each division and department are requested to actively utilize the quality management system, set quality objectives, develop their abilities, improve the efficiency of their work, and continuously implement self-evaluation of their performance.
Quality Management System
The president of Daiichi Kasei is responsible for the quality management system based on ISO 9001 and IATF 16949. Under the supervision of the quality control manager appointed by the president of Daiichi Kasei, respective section/department managers and staff work together to promote quality management. Matters related to the quality management system are discussed and decided at the “Quality, Development and Manufacturing Meeting.”
In operating the quality management system, product auditors, manufacturing process auditors, and internal quality auditors are appointed from each division and department to monitor and continuously improve products, manufacturing processes, and the quality management system.
Certification of conformity with quality management standards
Acquisition of ISO 9001 Certification
| Date of certification | January 15, 2016 (Initial registration date: July 12, 1999) |
|---|---|
| Type of standard | ISO 9001:2015 |
| Registered scope of activity | Development and manufacture of polyurethane leather |
| Related business sites | Daiichi Kasei (Head Office, Gyoda Plant, Gunma Plant, Research Laboratory, Warehouse), Ultrafabrics Inc. |
| Certification number | JQA-QMA15343 |
| Certification body | Japan Quality Assurance Organization |
Acquisition of IATF16949 Certification
| Date of certification | September 12, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Type of standard | IATF16949:2016 |
| Registered scope of activity | Design and manufacture of polyurethane leather |
| Related business sites | Daiichi Kasei (Head Office, Gyoda Plant, Gunma Plant, Research Laboratory, Warehouse), Ultrafabrics Inc. |
| Certification Number | JQA-AU0372 |
| Certification body | Japan Quality Assurance Organization |
Product development system that reflects customer needs
Our Group has established and operates a system to develop products that meet customer requirements and demands. Ultrafabrics sales and product development personnel conduct surveys of needs related to the market and customers to understand the appearance, performance, functions, etc., required by customers. Daiichi Kasei’s product developers prepare samples that meet the identified needs and seek approval from the Ultrafabrics representatives and customers. Once it is confirmed that customer approval has been obtained, the person in charge at Daiichi Kasei registers the product number, and upon receiving orders, mass production is started.
Customer satisfaction survey
We conduct customer satisfaction surveys in order to gain a broad understanding of customer evaluations and requests. The results of the surveys are shared within our Group and fed back to product development and production systems to improve product quality and customer satisfaction. Specifically, we check the “scorecards” issued periodically by automotive parts manufacturers, and tabulate and confirm the results of our Group’s evaluation of each company’s evaluation items. If the score is lowered, i.e., customer satisfaction is lowering, we confirm the items for which the score has dropped, gather information from the manufacturers concerned, and investigate the causes within our Group, and then take necessary corrective measures.
Initiatives in the supply chain
We also conduct quality management for our supply chain, including raw material manufacturers and outsourcing contractors for some processes, to maintain and improve the quality of products and services supplied. Specifically, in addition to conducting self-check questionnaires for suppliers and interviewing them to confirm quality and supply systems, we visit outsourcing contractors to check their on-site quality management systems and point out areas where improvement is needed.