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Case 1 Iron & Steel Sector: Kobe Works

Special Feature: Quality Assurance

Kobe Steel's commitment to "Only One" products is sustained by innovation in quality manufacturing. In this special feature, we explore the issue of quality assurance from the perspectives of our main businesses. Surface Defect Inspection System Automotive manufacturing technology is becoming more sophisticated and complex every year. To meet ever more exacting demands for quality, we are constantly upgrading and enhancing our quality assurance system. A good example is our cold heading quality KCH series of wire rod, which has earned high marks among our customers as a base material for nuts and bolts. Surface quality is especially crucial for a product of this kind, which is why we developed our own automated surface-defect detection and removal system that begins inspecting product surfaces after steelmaking when the steel is in the form of a billet, a semi-finished product. By monitoring product quality before the final stages of manufacturing, we are able to deliver top-flight products that satisfy our demanding customers. To detect shallow defects that result during the rolling process, we submit the finished wire rod to a final inspection after pickling. In the Quality Assurance Section, quality-control engineers who monitor product quality during the steelmaking and rolling processes meet with staff members once a week and convene quality improvement committee meetings once a month. Topics or problems discussed at these meetings that require further study are brought up at quality assurance meetings attended by Kobe Works executives. In addition, we engage in "quality risk assessment" with the aim of preventing initial defects from occurring. Each division extracts and evaluates risks related to product quality with the idea of eliminating major risks before they arise. Introduced in full-fledged form in 2005, this system has become firmly established at Kobe Works. Issues and results obtained by any of the divisions are discussed by the Quality Assurance Liaison Committee. Daisuke Ogura Manager, Quality Assurance Section Wire Rod & Bar Technology Department Kobe Works Making Defects "Visible" by Providing Information Currently, Kobe Works is promoting a quality assurance program designed to render defects "visible" to people actually involved in the manufacturing process on the factory floor. This is done by gathering data and disseminating it to all Kobe Works employees. Although the system can still be improved with regard to the accuracy of the information and the frequency of dissemination, the sharing of data clarifies problem points and leads to steady improvement in quality control. By renewing quality assurance information on a daily basis and feeding it back to the factory floor, we can take the "visibility" process further by establishing a system in which operators undertake quality assurance activities autonomously. Our quality assurance efforts are not restricted to Kobe Works alone. We also implement regular inspection visits to secondary processors and others who transport and store our products to ensure that they also adhere to the strict quality standards we ourselves abide by. Our policy is to maintain quality assurance procedures right up until delivery of the product to the customer. In this way we help to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Automatic Surface Defect Detector for Steel Billets