Feature in FY2014:
Reformes to improve quality Part.2

As a measure in response to the issue of whether or not our current evaluation methods adequately meet the changing needs of customers and able to satisfy the demands of users in different countries around the world with different usage conditions, we have introduced a "My Understanding Sheet." For example, this sheet is used by people in charge of new products scheduled for release to write down the types of evaluation necessary. This is based on their understanding of the product as obtained from engineering departments such as new technology and design changes, operating requirements, and factors that could affect the mechanism of how the product works. As a result, new evaluation criteria are established based on the knowledge and imagination of all those involved to better evaluate products in order to achieve a more reliable verification of the product's quality and also reduce customer downtime.

Currently we are building a system to gather a wide range of data from around the world, such as customer operating data, maintenance and service activity data, maintenance parts shipping information and call reports from customer contact centers. This will accelerate the process of proposing solutions to product development, maintenance and service issues, and make them more specific.

The failure to gather all the necessary information and communication difficulties due to the time differences and distances involved can be a real bottleneck when cooperating with relevant departments to investigate and respond to questions and problems from overseas, and applying that information to improve product quality or incorporate it in future models.
Therefore, to resolve the problem, in 2012 we started a system of 15 to 30 minute long morning telephone meetings with Japanese technical personnel stationed overseas. Exchanging information directly each day also provides other benefits, such as preventing problems before they occur.