Quality Improvement
- Supplier Quality Assurance
- Quality Control Improvement in Manufacturing Processes
- Global Sharing of Service & Support Information
- Improvement of Employee Quality Control Skills
Epson conducts activities to improve the quality of its products, services, manufacturing and sales in order to provide quality that exceeds customer expectations and earns their trust.
Supplier Quality Assurance
Epson internally manufactures key components such as printheads for inkjet printers. At the same time, our suppliers also provide us with many of the parts needed for manufacturing. Therefore, our quality assurance programs go beyond the Epson Group. We share our approach to quality with our suppliers and work with them to improve quality.
For example, we stipulate our basic quality assurance policies and requirements in quality assurance standards, verify the quality of parts by visiting suppliers, and give them advice about ways to improve.
Quality Control Improvement in Manufacturing Processes
The role of manufacturing processes is to create products that accurately reflect the voice of the customer captured in product plans and designs. In manufacturing processes, we build products that meet specified quality requirements. We specify a lot of quality controls for product components and processes. Quality control engineers are sent to manufacturing sites worldwide to introduce quality improvement activities so that we can strictly manage required controls at the sites and assure quality.
We collaborate with local engineers to solve problems logically, develop the talents of manufacturing professionals, and improve quality at plants around the world.
Global Sharing of Service & Support Information
Epson has built service and support organizations around the world so that our customers can use our products and services with confidence.
We hold an annual Epson Group Services and Support Conference that is attended by people in charge of these functions at our overseas regional sales headquarters and some sales companies. The purpose of the meeting is to improve the quality of our service and support. At the meeting, we share technical information about service and support, as well as about the use of our products and services by customers. We also review actions and discuss issues to formulate long-term strategies. The results of the meeting are used in our Group companies around the world.
Improvement of Employee Quality Control Skills
Training
Epson provides quality control training to all employees so that they can help improve quality. Manufacturing personnel, engineers, and office workers separately receive training for the basics of QC first. After that, they receive systematic training to learn the skills required to fulfill their duties and participate in E-kaizen programs (see below).
In addition, we train and certify QC trainers at overseas production sites and certify trainers so that our overseas employees can receive the same level of training as our employees in Japan.
Epson aims to develop people who are able to identify and address the root causes of problems so that we can produce and sell products and services that exceed customer expectations.
Standard QC Courses for All Employees (FY2023, Japan)
| Course | People newly tranied | % trained |
|---|---|---|
| QC Introduction | 365 | 87% |
| QC-ABC | 315 | 74% |
| Region | Number of Production Sites with Licensed Trainers | Licensed Trainers1 |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Asia | 7 companies | 76 |
| China | 4 companies | 40 |
1 Number of licensed trainers as of March 31, 2024.
Kaizen Activities
The entire Epson Group participates in continuous improvement activities. Called "E-Kaizen" at Epson, these activities are used by both teams and individuals to solve problems.
Epson holds an annual Worldwide Team Presentations conference at which the best teams from each of four blocs (Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and Europe/ America) present the results of their kaizen activities. Their accomplishments are judged, and the teams that report the most outstanding accomplishments are recognized with awards. In addition to sharing kaizen presentations within each bloc, Epson reports best activities in the company newsletter and on the company intranet to motivate others to learn and make their own improvements.
The 2023 Worldwide Team Presentations conference was held at a central venue instead of online for the first time in four years. A total of 13 teams participated. There were four teams from three companies in Japan, four teams from three companies in Southeast Asia, four teams from two companies in China, and one team from Europe and North America. "The Big Dipper," a team from production site Epson Engineering (Shenzhen) Limited in China, was presented with the President's Award in recognition of the outstanding actions it took toward reforming the cleaning process to reduce environmental impact.
Activities to Raise Awareness
November is CS & Quality Month across the global Epson Group. During the month, all personnel are encouraged to think about what a commitment to customer satisfaction, as enshrined in the Management Philosophy, means, and to look back on the quality of their own work.
The slogan for the 2023 fiscal year was "Adhering to the fundamentals, do reliable work, improve quality, and win more Epson fans."
With manufacturing processes evolving as digital technology and automation are introduced, we believe it is essential for every employee to improve the quality of his or her own work in order to provide customers with value through products and services of more reliable quality. To this end, we conducted workshops led by the head of Quality Assurance, shared best practices internally, and held workplace discussions.
Through activities like these, we are endeavoring to win more Epson fans, not only by demonstrating a commitment to customer satisfaction but also by showing all stakeholders that Epson genuinely is a good company.
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