Pursuit of Quality and Product Safety
Pursuit of Quality and Product Safety
Policy
As the level of quality demanded by society increases, product safety and superior quality are important elements that demonstrate our brand power. We have positioned quality as the driving force behind the advancement of our business, defining quality as “our competitive edge to win customer trust and satisfaction,” and setting our quality policy as “maximizing our competitive edge to achieve 100% customer satisfaction.” Maximizing competitiveness requires maximizing the sum of the competitiveness of all job functions, including design, manufacturing, quality, sales, among others, and we are promoting initiatives from the following perspectives to maximize our competitiveness.
Defense: Initiatives to make existing frameworks and processes more robust*1.
Offense: New initiatives aimed at advancing our business
Foundation: Initiatives that form the basis for business promotion
Through these activities, we aim to eliminate all serious product incidents.
*1 : The strength of a system or machine against external forces.
Policy
As the level of quality demanded by society increases, product safety and superior quality are important elements that demonstrate our brand power. We have positioned quality as the driving force behind the advancement of our business, defining quality as “our competitive edge to win customer trust and satisfaction,” and setting our quality policy as “maximizing our competitive edge to achieve 100% customer satisfaction.” Maximizing competitiveness requires maximizing the sum of the competitiveness of all job functions, including design, manufacturing, quality, sales, among others, and we are promoting initiatives from the following perspectives to maximize our competitiveness.
Defense: Initiatives to make existing frameworks and processes more robust*1.
Offense: New initiatives aimed at advancing our business
Foundation: Initiatives that form the basis for business promotion
Through these activities, we aim to eliminate all serious product incidents.
*1 : The strength of a system or machine against external forces.
Quality assurance system
The Chief Quality Officer (CQO) is the officer in charge of quality, directly reporting to the President who is responsible for managing the Company. For each business division, a quality manager reports to the Director of the respective business division and autonomously promotes quality assurance. The Quality & Environment Center, a department directly under the Company, formulates quality policies, checks quality status, assists each business division in addressing quality issues, and disseminates quality information, recurrence prevention measures, best practices, and other information across the Company. In addition, the Center implements a variety of educational and awareness-raising measures to create a corporate culture that places the highest priority on safety and quality. Specifically, quality manager meetings and liaison meetings are held monthly among Headquarter-related departments and each business division to share information on quality losses and important quality issues, and to discuss and decide on policies and specific measures to address common issues of the Panasonic Energy Group. Furthermore, for major issues that could affect the entire Panasonic Group, the Center works closely with the Quality and Environment Division of Panasonic Operational Excellence to discuss and address the issue.
Our quality assurance system
Quality assurance system
The Chief Quality Officer (CQO) is the officer in charge of quality, directly reporting to the President who is responsible for managing the Company. For each business division, a quality manager reports to the Director of the respective business division and autonomously promotes quality assurance. The Quality & Environment Center, a department directly under the Company, formulates quality policies, checks quality status, assists each business division in addressing quality issues, and disseminates quality information, recurrence prevention measures, best practices, and other information across the Company. In addition, the Center implements a variety of educational and awareness-raising measures to create a corporate culture that places the highest priority on safety and quality. Specifically, quality manager meetings and liaison meetings are held monthly among Headquarter-related departments and each business division to share information on quality losses and important quality issues, and to discuss and decide on policies and specific measures to address common issues of the Panasonic Energy Group. Furthermore, for major issues that could affect the entire Panasonic Group, the Center works closely with the Quality and Environment Division of Panasonic Operational Excellence to discuss and address the issue.
Our quality assurance system
Activities to ensure product quality and safety
The batteries we sell are devices that store high-density energy in large capacities, and their safe and reliable use is an absolute necessity. In particular, Li-ion batteries, our main products, have inherent risks that can lead to smoke and fire; these risks include high energy density, which can cause the battery to reach high temperatures in the event of a short circuit, and the use of flammable liquid as an electrolyte. Given these product characteristics, we issued a recall notice to prevent unsafe accidents, which caused great concern and inconvenience to our customers and other concerned parties.
Based on these reflections and lessons learned, we continue to promote quality innovation, including making quality assurance processes more robust, enhancing safety design, and fostering a quality- oriented culture, to ensure high quality standards with the utmost priority on product safety, and we had no serious product incidents in fiscal 2024. We will continue to work toward the goal of zero incidents going forward.
Making quality assurance processes more robust
To establish a quality assurance process, we have built a quality management system that complies with ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and other global standards, and regularly check its effectiveness through internal and external audits. We also conduct our own quality audits of operating divisions through our Quality & Environment Center to identify weaknesses and issues in terms of quality assurance and compliance, and work with operating divisions to make improvements toward better quality assurance through the horizontal application of best practices.
The environment, fields, and devices in which batteries are used are changing with the evolution of society. To address these changes in the design process, we identify and verify risks together with our customers (B-to-B and B-to-C) and supplier. The identified risks are fed back to product design, component design, and process design to confirm their validity as key verification items in the development process. To prevent problems in the manufacturing process as well, we identify risks and take countermeasures by visualizing key data (DX) and FMEA*2 in all processes from source to shipping, thereby bolstering management. We are also committed to developing human resources capable of putting these initiatives into practice. The Quality & Environment Center takes the lead in providing training in quality tools and statistical management methods, as well as support for hands-on activities.
In addition, we are working to prevent product incidents and claims by establishing risk management guidelines, and we have also established a system to ensure that the Panasonic Energy Group works together to take appropriate countermeasures and responses in the event of a serious product incident, with customer safety as our top priority. The risk management guidelines have been established to take appropriate measures against market incidents based on past unsafe accidents and the reflections and lessons learned from the recall notices. The fiscal 2024 revision specifies procedures, deadlines, etc. for reporting market quality issues to government and other public agencies.
*2 : Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
New product development flow
Developing human resources and fostering a quality-oriented culture
The base of fostering a corporate culture is human resource development, and we are building an education system according to rank and skill, as well as holding various events. We provide training for new technical employees to learn the basics of statistical quality management methods as well as the fundamentals of quality. For young quality personnel, we have established training courses that enable intensive learning and are working to enhance their development. Furthermore, we regularly hold various training sessions and events for all employees to foster a culture of placing the highest priority on product safety. In particular, every November is designated as “Quality Month” to pass on the details and lessons learned from past product incidents. In fiscal 2024, we carried out the following various initiatives.
1. Message from management executives
The CEO, CTO, Director of the Quality and Environment Center, and Directors of each business division delivered messages on the importance of quality, in order to reaffirm that quality is an absolute requirement for our business.
2. Product Safety Forum
With the aim of passing on the lessons learned from our mistakes to the human resources of the new era, the first forum in fiscal 2024 was held with the former quality manager of a Panasonic Group operating company, we supply batteries, who reflected on the recall problems that had occurred in the past for consumer products. The manager spoke about how quality problems can cause great inconvenience to customers using the products, citing case examples, and reminded us of the importance of safety and reliability. In addition, at the second forum, participants learned the basic principles of battery safety from in-house technical experts. In a post-forum survey, we received feedback from young employees and mid-career employees who had not experienced specific cases that the forum was beneficial, and we will continue to provide opportunities for this type of education and handing down of knowledge. In fiscal 2024, we also made a presentation on Li-ion battery characteristics, safe use, and product design at a product safety forum hosted by Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd. to raise quality and safety awareness throughout the Group.
3. Quality compliance learning
Participants learned the importance of quality compliance through educational cartoon materials and confirmation tests on the subject of fraud issues. Although there were no quality compliance issues due to fraud in fiscal 2024, we will continue our efforts to foster a culture of compliance.
Activities to ensure product quality and safety
The batteries we sell are devices that store high-density energy in large capacities, and their safe and reliable use is an absolute necessity. In particular, Li-ion batteries, our main products, have inherent risks that can lead to smoke and fire; these risks include high energy density, which can cause the battery to reach high temperatures in the event of a short circuit, and the use of flammable liquid as an electrolyte. Given these product characteristics, we issued a recall notice to prevent unsafe accidents, which caused great concern and inconvenience to our customers and other concerned parties.
Based on these reflections and lessons learned, we continue to promote quality innovation, including making quality assurance processes more robust, enhancing safety design, and fostering a quality- oriented culture, to ensure high quality standards with the utmost priority on product safety, and we had no serious product incidents in fiscal 2024. We will continue to work toward the goal of zero incidents going forward.
Making quality assurance processes more robust
To establish a quality assurance process, we have built a quality management system that complies with ISO 9001, IATF 16949, and other global standards, and regularly check its effectiveness through internal and external audits. We also conduct our own quality audits of operating divisions through our Quality & Environment Center to identify weaknesses and issues in terms of quality assurance and compliance, and work with operating divisions to make improvements toward better quality assurance through the horizontal application of best practices.
The environment, fields, and devices in which batteries are used are changing with the evolution of society. To address these changes in the design process, we identify and verify risks together with our customers (B-to-B and B-to-C) and supplier. The identified risks are fed back to product design, component design, and process design to confirm their validity as key verification items in the development process. To prevent problems in the manufacturing process as well, we identify risks and take countermeasures by visualizing key data (DX) and FMEA*2 in all processes from source to shipping, thereby bolstering management. We are also committed to developing human resources capable of putting these initiatives into practice. The Quality & Environment Center takes the lead in providing training in quality tools and statistical management methods, as well as support for hands-on activities.
In addition, we are working to prevent product incidents and claims by establishing risk management guidelines, and we have also established a system to ensure that the Panasonic Energy Group works together to take appropriate countermeasures and responses in the event of a serious product incident, with customer safety as our top priority. The risk management guidelines have been established to take appropriate measures against market incidents based on past unsafe accidents and the reflections and lessons learned from the recall notices. The fiscal 2024 revision specifies procedures, deadlines, etc. for reporting market quality issues to government and other public agencies.
*2 : Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
New product development flow
Developing human resources and fostering a quality-oriented culture
The base of fostering a corporate culture is human resource development, and we are building an education system according to rank and skill, as well as holding various events. We provide training for new technical employees to learn the basics of statistical quality management methods as well as the fundamentals of quality. For young quality personnel, we have established training courses that enable intensive learning and are working to enhance their development. Furthermore, we regularly hold various training sessions and events for all employees to foster a culture of placing the highest priority on product safety. In particular, every November is designated as “Quality Month” to pass on the details and lessons learned from past product incidents. In fiscal 2024, we carried out the following various initiatives.
1. Message from management executives
The CEO, CTO, Director of the Quality and Environment Center, and Directors of each business division delivered messages on the importance of quality, in order to reaffirm that quality is an absolute requirement for our business.
2. Product Safety Forum
With the aim of passing on the lessons learned from our mistakes to the human resources of the new era, the first forum in fiscal 2024 was held with the former quality manager of a Panasonic Group operating company, we supply batteries, who reflected on the recall problems that had occurred in the past for consumer products. The manager spoke about how quality problems can cause great inconvenience to customers using the products, citing case examples, and reminded us of the importance of safety and reliability. In addition, at the second forum, participants learned the basic principles of battery safety from in-house technical experts. In a post-forum survey, we received feedback from young employees and mid-career employees who had not experienced specific cases that the forum was beneficial, and we will continue to provide opportunities for this type of education and handing down of knowledge. In fiscal 2024, we also made a presentation on Li-ion battery characteristics, safe use, and product design at a product safety forum hosted by Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd. to raise quality and safety awareness throughout the Group.
3. Quality compliance learning
Participants learned the importance of quality compliance through educational cartoon materials and confirmation tests on the subject of fraud issues. Although there were no quality compliance issues due to fraud in fiscal 2024, we will continue our efforts to foster a culture of compliance.
Corporate Governance
Pursuit of Quality and Product Safety
Compliance with Laws and Regulations
Corporate Governance
Pursuit of Quality and Product Safety
Compliance with Laws and Regulations
