The TOKYO KEIKI Group’s products flourish in a variety of fields around the world, including shipping, aerospace,
industrial machinery, farming, construction machinery, and social infrastructure. As the manufacturer providing
these products, we understand that research and development, and quality management serve as the foundation
of the Group’s management. In both research and development, and quality management, we promote the
development of products that contribute to society, as well as the improvement of their quality, through Groupwide
initiatives implemented by our administrative divisions, and through the initiatives of the internal companies
and subsidiaries who engage in close contact with our customers.
Research and development approach
The basic policy of our Group’s research and
development is based on our Management Philosophy—
“To contribute to society, with a focus on our business
of leveraging electronics and other advanced technology
to create products that embody functions of human
senses: measurement, cognition, and control.” Research and development is carried out based on
the technology strategy and R&D plans of our research
arm, the Research & Development Center, and is also
implemented as part of product development by our
internal companies and subsidiaries.
Research and development system
Our Research & Development Center primarily engages
in relatively long-term research and development and, in
general, the development of products utilizing the center’s
results is conducted by the development departments of
our internal companies and subsidiaries. Seizing future
business opportunities, the Research & Development
Center researches and develops technologies that will
serve as the core of a business. At the same time, our
internal companies and subsidiaries engage in product
development, including the development of products
whose commercialization is still years away, based on
customer needs. In addition, the Research & Development
Center is also responsible for providing technical support
for individual projects, and for undertaking research and
development that would be inefficient for our internal
companies and subsidiaries to perform on their own.
Development Committee
The Development Committee is an organizational body
chaired by the Chief Engineering Officer. Its members
include the Chief of the Research & Development
Center and engineering managers from various internal
companies. The Development Committee determines a
variety of matters concerning the drafting and execution
of our Group’s technology strategies, with the committee
chair making proposals and reports to the Management
Conference as necessary.
Industry–government–academia collaborative research
Our Company also proactively engages in industry–
government–academia collaborative research.
MEMS* hemispherical resonator gyroscopes
Moving devices, such as drones, use inertial navigation
systems to measure their acceleration and angular velocity
to move while maintaining an awareness of the direction
and distance they have moved. This enables them to move
autonomously without a GPS signal. Moving accurately
over long periods of time, however, requires the use of
an ultra-high precision gyroscope. In connection to such
ultra-high precision gyroscopes, TOKYO KEIKI’s research
into MEMS hemispherical resonator gyroscopes using
3D integral molding was selected in FY 2021 for the
Japanese government’s National Security Technology
Research Promotion Fund. The aim of this research is to
apply TOKYO KEIKI’s strengths in gyroscope technology
to MEMS to create gyroscopes that are highly precise yet
small, lightweight, energy efficient, and low in cost. Such
gyroscopes could be used in a wide variety of applications
in a society that is seeing more and more drones as well as
a variety of other autonomous, automated moving devices.
* MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems): Micron-level components
mounted on silicon or glass substrates or organic materials, etc., and which
are equipped with electronic circuits, mechanical components, sensors,
and actuators (devices that convert energy into physical movement), etc.
Our approach to quality management
Our Group’s basic philosophy regarding quality is to
“Prioritize quality in our products and earn the trust
of customers.” This philosophy is embodied by and
integrated on an organizational level through the Group
Code of Conduct and the Code of Ethical Conduct,
among others.
Common quality control policies
In order to put our basic philosophy into practice, each
internal company has formulated its own quality policy
and is working actively to acquire and maintain various
certifications, including ISO 9001.
Acquisition of ISO 9001 and other certifications
| ISO9001 |
Marine Systems Company
Measurement Systems Company
Fluid Power & Control Systems Company
Inspection Systems Company
Communication & Control Systems Company |
| JIS Q 9100 |
Electronics Systems Company |
Quality management promotion system
Two tiers of quality assurance activities
We have established a Quality Management Supervisory
Office to deal with company-wide issues relating to quality
under our Headquarters’ administrative divisions.
The Quality Management Supervisory Office engages
in the cross-organizational management and supervision
of quality to ensure that our Group’s products remain
above a certain level of quality. The office also engages in
activities to prevent risks to quality before they manifest.
More specifically, in addition to maintaining and managing
the Technical Production Regulations, which are
company-wide rules regarding the quality of our products,
the Quality Management Supervisory Office complements
the independent quality management efforts of individual
quality assurance departments by conducting inspection
quality audits of each internal company and subsidiary.
Within each internal company, the Quality Assurance
Department is established independently from the Sales,
Engineering, and Production departments, providing
advice and guidance in the contracting, design and
development, purchasing, production, inspection, and
service stages of the work process. In addition, we have
established a Company Technical Production Rules
framework, allowing each internal company, with their
varying characteristics, to draw up its own operational
rules as long as they do not violate the Technical
Production Rules.
Schematic of the two-tier quality management system
Quality Subcommittee
The Quality Subcommittee was established as a forum
for sharing information and resolving cross-organizational
quality issues within the Company. It meets under the
jurisdiction of the Chief Quality Officer, with the quality
managers of each internal company and subsidiary
as members. It is held four times a year by the Quality
Management Supervisory Office to identify Companywide
problems and future challenges relating to quality,
and to formulate measures to resolve them. In the event
that concerns emerge regarding quality at an internal
company or subsidiary, a report is made to the Chief of
Quality at a Quality Subcommittee meeting. If the Chief of
Quality deems it necessary, corrections may be indicated
and information about the issue may be escalated to the
necessary level, such as the Management Conference.
Specific measures for quality management
Inspection quality audits
The Quality Management Supervisory Office conducts
inspection quality audits on each internal company and
subsidiary. In order to ensure audit effectiveness and
improve the quality management capabilities of our
internal companies and subsidiaries, audit methods and
scope are revised annually.
Activities of the Quality Subcommittee
Aiming to further improve product quality, the Quality
Subcommittee has worked to build a defect database
to share throughout the Group information on defects
as well as peripheral knowledge, which had previously
been accumulated on an individual basis by each internal
company and subsidiary. Currently, the subcommittee is
engaged in gathering internal examples of defects and
organizing this information in order to begin sharing the
database.
Improvement proposal (M-tag) activities
We are using so-called “M-tags” to promote
improvements within the Company. M-tags are a way
to identify M (“muda,” or waste) in the workplace and
describe it on a tag such that it leads to improvements.
All employees participate in this activity, and the seven
kinds of workplace waste are tallied for each site and
categorized into “individual” and “circle.” The aim is to
improve work operations, including the work environment
itself, and in turn help increase quality consistency.
| Seven kinds of workplace waste
|
| 1. Over-processing |
| 2. Inventory |
| 3. Overproduction |
| 4. Waiting |
| 5. Motion |
| 6. Transport |
| 7. Defects |
Quality training
Examples of defects are used to create educational
materials such as Defect Example Reports and One-Point
Lessons. Relevant personnel are also informed about
such defects and horizontal deployment and education
are provided to change employee behavior with the aim
of preventing a defect’s reoccurrence. In addition, internal
quality audits are one means we use to strengthen
quality management systems, and we conduct internal
auditor education in order to maintain and enhance the
capabilities of our lead and regular auditors. Further, each
of our internal companies holds quality meetings to report
defects and share solutions.
Specific activity examples include hierarchy-specific
education on quality assurance and quality management
systems at the time of company entry as well as when
being promoted to a higher position at the Nasu Plant’s
Electronics Systems Company and Communication
& Control Systems Company. An example of an
everyday education activity is our holding of human error
debriefings, whose aim is the prevention of defects. In
addition, we hold a quality assurance month. Aiming to
maintain and enhance awareness of quality on a routine
basis, during the month we solicit quality slogans from
employees, posting outstanding examples in our plants
and also adding them to the signatures of employee
emails.
Numerical results: customer satisfaction
The aim of our Group’s quality management is to
improve customer satisfaction through the thorough
implementation of problem solving-oriented quality
assurance that engages with customers until their
problems are overcome, even when those issues are
inherent to the customer and not caused by the quality
of our products. In order to understand and improve
customer satisfaction, each internal company is devising
various ways to quantitatively measure customer
satisfaction in accordance with the characteristics of their
respective businesses.
Moreover, because ensuring quality is directly linked
to customer satisfaction, we also perform quantitative
management based on failure costs and aim to share
causes and countermeasures.
Supply chain management
Our basic approach
The essence of production activities is to procure the materials
necessary for product manufacturing at the right time. By
building and maintaining relationships of trust with our Group’s
suppliers and working to realize reciprocal benefits, we
will achieve stable production and contribute to society by
providing reliable quality.
Our Basic Materials Management Policy
Our basic approach to material procurement is to obtain products of reliable quality, at reasonable
prices, at the right time, and in the right quantities.
To this end, we will develop, maintain, and manage our role as the center of a company-wide purchasing
organization, thereby helping to ensure that the procurement of materials is conducted in a smooth and
appropriate manner.
In addition, we will strive to maintain and improve a robust and stable supply system for material
procurement that is based on relationships of cooperation and trust with our suppliers.
- Maintain and manage TBB, the core system for purchasing operations, and
related systems (purchase requisition B sheet system, accounts payable
system, factoring system, Web-EDI, and lease system), and conduct
purchasing and related operations based on mutual cooperation.
- Cooperate with the Factory Materials Department to improve the efficiency
of purchasing operations through ongoing promotion of subscription to
Web-EDI.
- Continue to implement internal controls (compliance with laws and internal
regulations, risk management, and purchasing processes relevant to
financial reporting) in purchasing management operations.
- Conduct static observations of major suppliers and provide feedback to
relevant departments in order to maintain and improve a robust and stable
materials supply system. In addition, maintain close relationships with
cooperative associations and their members through regular and irregular
cooperation on various occasions.
- As the purchasing department of the head office, work on cost reduction and
improvement activities aimed at strengthening our organizational capabilities.
Our Group’s supply chain management system comprises the
Material Management & Purchasing Office, the Headquarters’
administrative divisions; and the purchasing divisions of each
internal company. The relationship between the Material
Management & Purchasing Office and company purchasing
divisions is non-hierarchical, and, as an organization under
the direct control of the President, the Material Management
& Purchasing Office supports each company’s purchasing
activities.
Purchasing management initiatives
The Material Management & Purchasing Office engages in
administrative tasks such as maintaining and managing basic
companywide policies, the Standard Purchasing Rules, and
standard basic business agreements used by our Group.
The office also provides companywide guidance on the Act
against Delay in Payment of Subcontract Proceeds, etc. to
Subcontractors (Subcontract Act); supervises purchasing and
procurement; maintains and manages our core information
system (TBB system); manages credit based on supplier
management information; and supports the activities of cooperatives and partner association members. In addition,
the Material Management & Purchasing Office is in charge
of procuring materials for product development in the
Headquarters District. Each internal company’s purchasing
division primarily purchases the production materials necessary
for that company’s production activities, engaging in efficient,
fair, and equitable transactions with our suppliers in Japan and
overseas. When initiating a transaction, it is standard practice
to conclude a standard basic business agreement prepared
by the Material Management & Purchasing Office. Actual
purchasing is conducted using our TBB system, ensuring that
the transaction is in accordance with the Standard Purchasing
Rules. Each individual company engages in the development
of the skills of its purchasers. The Material Management &
Purchasing Office also encourages purchasers to take a
seminar on the Subcontract Act, and urges the individual
purchasing divisions to promote the taking of the same. In
FY2021, 16 out of 56 purchasers took the seminar.
Improving quality across the supply chain
Business policy briefings for suppliers are held in May every
year primarily at each of the Group’s production sites (the Nasu
Plant, Yaita Plant, and Sano Plant) in an effort to provide accurate
information. Quality audits are based on each internal company’s
quality management system and are conducted at the start
of transactions, on a regular basis, and on other occasions
as deemed appropriate. The scale of our Group’s suppliers is
varied. Many of our machined component business partners,
in particular, are small in scale, and with them we value faceto-
face dialogue with purchasers. Placing importance on direct
communication makes it easier to know a supplier’s working
conditions and quality management, and also helps to build
long-term relationships of trust with suppliers. In FY2021, we
conducted a total of 46 supplier audits.
In addition, there is a system to certify suppliers involved in
cutting and sheet metal processing, assembly processing, etc.
as green procurement companies (companies taking measures
against environmentally hazardous substances), which are subject
to green procurement inspections that we perform. During these
inspections, we provide explanations and guidance on reducing
or eliminating environmentally hazardous substances.
Toki-mate J-Kai
Toki-mate J-Kai is an organization for young managers at
the Group’s small and medium-sized suppliers and the next
generation of business managers. In addition to technical
exchanges and study sessions, the association regularly holds
events to visit our domestic and overseas production sites for
training purposes. The association is fully supported by the
Material Management & Purchasing Office and the purchasing
departments of each production site.