QC circles are small groups responsible for Quality Control.
This is a method widely implemented in Japan’s manufacturing business to improve quality.
KOBELCO employs this method in its improvement activities,
enhancing not just the quality of its production, but its productivity as well.
The production bases at home and abroad are not equipped or laid out in the same manner. To ensure the highest quality of production at each workplace, improvements that address the respective issues of each factory are required.
At KOBELCO , each production site voluntarily conducts QC circle activities to strengthen productivity. The activity involves a circle of 10 to 20 workers who set up one or two themes that they attempt to achieve per year. The roles of each member are decided within a circle and their task is to address any problems that each member discovers. Solving the problems ensure that each worker heightens their awareness towards quality which in turn raises the level of on-site quality control.
Once a year, we hold a KOBELCO QC Circle Conference for the purpose of sharing information regarding the QC circle activities at each production base. At the conference, the superior improvement activity at production bases at home and abroad are selected and presented to all. The conference is a vital event where production bases can learn from each other and discover new undertakings that could be implemented at their own workplaces.
Other than the conference, each base conducts study sessions that promote the QC circle activities to support KOBELCO production.