Materiality Theme | 6. Instilling Canon Quality Globally
Aiming for Continuous Quality Improvement
We seek to enhance quality in every process, from product planning through to customer service.
Canon's policy is "a total commitment to 'Quality First'." This means that we seek to improve quality in each process, including planning, development and design, mass-production trial, production, sales and service.
We ensure the creation of high quality products by applying our own strict standards for checking quality in each process, from development and design through to sales. As a rule, quality standards must be met before proceeding to the next stage. The process transition rules were improved in 2010 with the goal of continuous quality enhancement.
In addition, Canon has established unique Product Safety Technical Standards for assessing product safety from the perspective of the customer in each of the processes involved in the development and design as well as mass-production trial stages. These standards provide for strict safety controls that exceed legally mandated safety standards, including the safety of chemical substances and quality assessment of electronic parts.
We also monitor information about post-sale product quality, as well as requests from customers concerning our products. This information is then offered as feedback to the product planning, development and design departments, who use it to enhance product quality.
Flow of Continuous Quality Improvement
Enhancing Our Quality Efforts
By sharing examples of original quality improvement efforts made at our Group companies and plants worldwide, we seek to improve quality throughout the Group.
Each Canon Group company and plant undertakes its own unique approach to enhancing efforts to improve quality. For example, beginning in 2010, Canon Vietnam Co., Ltd. began conducting level-specific training for employees, including "Basic Training for General Workers," "Multi-training for Development of Multi-Process Capable Workers," and "Management and Technical Skills Training for Leaders." A training video is one of the educational tools developed for the basic training of general workers. By repeatedly teaching matters which are not written in the operation standards, such as common sense issues and paying attention to detail, as part of the assembly process "work code," we have been able to create an environment in which inferior quality is not acceptable. Improved quality is also realized through the use of IT to hasten "bringing abnormalities to light" when problems occur.
Such examples of success are shared throughout the Group, and Canon annually hosts "Quality Fair - Quality Awards" to showcase such activities with the aim of raising quality consciousness and increasing employee motivation.
Presenting Canon Vietnam's example of success at the Quality Fair
