Quality
- Related ESG :
- S G
Management approach
Policy and approach
Toyobo group is striving to ensure customer satisfaction and win customers' trust, not only through the safety of our products and services, demonstrating concern for the environment, and maintaining compliance with relevant laws and regulations, but also through high quality standards. In order to achieve this, we have formulated The Toyobo Group’s Basic Policy on Product Safety and Quality Assurance. To safeguard the quality and safety of the products and services that we provide, we have established an appropriate management system, we perform quality inspections using suitable procedures, and we also strive to ensure that data is properly handled.
< The Toyobo Group’s Basic Policy on Product Safety and Quality Assurance >
- Product Safety and Quality Assurance Principle
The Toyobo Group will strive to provide products and services that satisfy and earn the trust of society, consumers, and customers.
- We will ensure all employees have a keen awareness of the need to prioritize quality while keeping the customer’s perspective in mind.
- We will provide products and services that meet the changing needs and expectations of the times, that are useful to society, and that give due consideration to the safety and protection of the environment and information.
- Activity Policy for Product Safety and Quality Assurance
- (1)
- Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
We will comply with all relevant laws, regulations, standards, and norms in relation to the safety of our products and services. - (2)
- Ensure product safety
We will ensure the safety of our products and services not only for their intended use but also against any reasonable, foreseeable misuse.
We will also strive to improve safety by voluntarily setting higher safety standards when necessary. - (3)
- Establish a system for promoting product safety
We will promote product safety and quality assurance throughout the product lifecycle, from development, design, manufacturing, sales, use and disposal, as well as throughout the supply chain. - (4)
- Protect and provide information appropriately
We will strive to protect all confidential information obtained through any
product safety and quality assurance activities as set forth in the Toyobo Group
Privacy Policy.
We will also proactively provide relevant information to stakeholders whenever
appropriate. - (5)
- Promote education and awareness
We will promote awareness of product safety and quality assurance through education and awareness activities of all employees, including officers.
Structure
The Group has established a Quality Assurance Division Conference to oversee product liability (PL) and quality assurance (QA). This conference is composed of executives responsible for quality, the General Manager of the Quality Assurance Department in charge of each business division, and members of the Quality Assurance Management Department, and it meets monthly. Additionally, the PL/QA Promotion Committee, consisting of business division General Managers as promotion members, is scheduled to meet six times a year; in FY2025, the committee convened six times as planned.
The Group has implemented a “three lines of defense” system since FY2022, consisting of three departments: the first line (business divisions/production sites), the second line (Quality Assurance Division), and the third line (Internal Audit Department), creating a multilayered framework to detect and prevent misconduct.
The three lines model for quality assurance
Targets and indicators
< Targets >
- We will increase customer satisfaction by practicing quality management throughout our entire supply chain, including upstream areas, and ensuring quality that can be trusted.
< Indicators and results >
| Initiatives | Indicators | Targets | Results (FY2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 incidents per year | 0 incidents |
|
100% | 100% |
- Incidents related to products: Defined according to internal standards based on the defintion stipulated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Initiatives
QA initiatives
Employees have shared access to the Quality Assurance Manual, which describes the basic approach and code of conduct for executing Toyobo Group’s development, production, and sales activities. This manual represents the basic philosophy of manufacturing within Toyobo Group.
The Quality Assurance Manual has been translated into multiple languages and is distributed globally to each site. Additionally, study sessions using a digest version are held to deepen employees’ understanding of manufacturing across the Group.
We have established a QA system for each product and service to ensure quality and product safety at every stage. We have also formulated Quality Assurance Guidelines and are working to build a structure that guarantees quality.
Overview of QA initiatives
To strengthen the quality assurance system and quality governance, the General Manager of the Quality Assurance Division conducts an annual review of the quality assurance initiatives in each business division. This review includes discussions to identify and address challenges specific to each business and to verify the soundness of their activities. Additionally, interim reviews are held to monitor progress on improvements.
November was again designated as Quality Month for FY2025. During this period, key initiatives included disseminating quality assurance messages from the president and division heads, along with displaying Quality Month posters and digital signage across all sites. We also held PL/QA seminars, and discussions were conducted at each workplace using examples of quality-related misconduct as reference.
Product safety promotion activities
For each department and group company, we conduct PL/QA assessments carried out by the Quality Assurance Division, which has been made independent of the business divisions, or by QA personnel from different departments, to verify and improve PS activities. Moreover, we have established criteria for assessing PL and PS risk, and based on these criteria, we carry out inspections at each stage, from product development to sales, striving to reduce risk.
All possible measures are taken to ensure PS, and training drills are also conducted on a regular basis at all business divisions based on PL incident scenarios. PS remains a crucial theme throughout the whole of the group, and we will continue to mitigate risk as much as possible and strive to fulfill our social responsibility.
PL response system
Product safety and quality assurance education
We implement PS and QA education not only for new employees and new managers, but also for other employees at each level.
| Name of seminar | Number of times held | Target / purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar on basics of quality assurance | 3 times per year | Education for new employees and department-specific education | Packaged into e-learning format |
| Qace seminar* | 4 times each in the first half and the second half of the year | Development of core human resources for quality control and quality assurance, and construction of an in-house human resource network for quality | Held FY2023 to FY2025 |
| Quality Exchange Meeting | Once a year | Improve engagement in quality assurance departments | Launched in FY2023 |
| Education on cases of quality irregularities | 79 times per year | Awareness education for development and sales departments | Launched in FY2025 |
- "Qace" is an acronym formed from "Qa_assurance," "Qc_control," and "Qe_ensurance."
| Name of seminar | Month held | Target / purpose | Theme in FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PL/QA seminar | November | Held as a component of quality assurance in which all employees participate | Creating a workplace that does not tolerate misconduct |
| Quality management seminar | February | Held as an opportunity for top management to consider quality management | Can trust be maintained without integrity? |