Strengthening our quality assurance system and implementation of the quality audit for all regular divisions and domestic/overseas affiliates
At KUBOTA, an original quality assurance system is in place in each of the consolidated divisions and regular divisions to satisfy the diversifying needs of customers for pipes, agricultural machinery, and KUBOTA's other products and services, thus maintaining high quality and product safety.
In order to ensure safety of all our products regardless of whether they support the basis of the customers' daily lives but not directly used by our customers or those that are directly used by our customers, we are pouring our full efforts onto manufacturing them and ensuring the best possible quality for each different product.
To enhance the efficiency of this system, we conducted a quality audit, in addition to the conventional ISO*1 audit, at KUBOTA and its domestic / overseas affiliates.
Stimulating quality improvements through small group activities
Presentation at a meeting
at KUBOTA's head office
On February 5, 2010, a screening meeting was held at the large hall of our head office to select prize-winning groups nominated by KUBOTA's business sites for their outstanding performance. About 150 people from relevant divisions attended the meeting and listened to the presentations of the nominated groups.
In the Nationwide QC Circle* Conference, the Oasis Circle of the Tractor Section of the Tsukuba Plant, one of the Gold Prize winners in 2008, was awarded a prize for "inspiring the audience."
* The "QC Circle" is a small group within the same workshop that voluntarily conducts quality control activities. As part of company-wide quality control activities, this group continuously carries on self-development and mutual development, while also striving for control and improvement of the workshop utilizing quality control techniques, with all the members participating.
Status of ISO9001 Certification
In 1993, the Hirakata Plant became the first business site of the KUBOTA Group to obtain ISO9001 international quality assurance certification, which was quickly followed by other sites and affiliates within the Group. By promoting the quality management program based on ISO9001, KUBOTA is committed to earning customer trust and delivering satisfying, high-quality products.
[Business sites in Japan and consolidated divisions]
※As of 2010.3.31
Affiliates in Japan
Key to the abbreviation of certifying bodies
● JQA: Japan Quality Assurance Organization, ● JICQA: JIC Quality Assurance Ltd., ● JMAQA: Japan Management Association Quality Assurance Registration Center, ● MSA: Management System Assessment Center, ● DNV: Det Norske Veritas AS (Norway), ● JCQA: Japan Chemical Quality Assurance Ltd., ● JUSE: Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, ● JSA: Japanese Standards Association, ● LRQA: Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Ltd. (U.K.)
Encouraging environmentally-friendly purchasing practices
A meeting held to request cooperation
from our suppliers
At the KUBOTA Group, we are promoting environmentally-friendly purchasing practices in compliance with our Charter for Action that stipulates the KUBOTA Group "conducts its operations with concern for preserving the natural environment." While the Green Procurement Guidelines have been in place at KUBOTA since 2001, a new initiative to reduce negative environmental impact substances was launched by the Farm & Industrial Machinery Consolidated Division during FY2009. The aim of this initiative is to develop a plan to reduce the use of six specified substances such as hexavalent chromium and lead and offer more environmentally-friendly products in cooperation with our suppliers, thereby fulfilling our social responsibility for environmental preservation. Furthermore, efforts to comply with the REACH regulations (Regulations on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restrictions of Chemicals) are also under way.
