OMRON considers safety to be the most important consideration, even before functionality, performance and cost. As such, OMRON strives to maintain and enhance the safety of its products and services at every stage of its business process from product planning and development through production, all the way up to sales, after-sales service and disposal.

To realize maximum customer satisfaction, which is one of OMRON’s Management Commitments, the company continually seeks to improve the quality of its products and services, in accordance with the quality assurance policy that puts quality first. To this end, all employees are working hard to raise quality in their daily work.

Basic Quality Policies

• Achieve quality levels that satisfy our customers.
• Establish, maintain and improve quality systems based on ISO quality standards.
• Promote quality assurance activities through the participation and cooperation of all employees.

OMRON has set forth a Group-wide quality policy, while also preparing quality manuals for each business division and Group company, in order to establish a solid quality assurance system.

By March 31, 2011, OMRON Corporation’s three business divisions, 16 Group companies in Japan, and 24 Group companies abroad had acquired ISO 9001 certification for their quality management systems. This has led to the establishment of a PDCA cycle at each organization. The PDCA cycle is intended to first formulate an improvement plan, implement the plan, and evaluate the degree of achievement, and then reflect the evaluation results in the next improvement. Strict implementation of a PDCA cycle helps ensure the safety and quality of products, enabling continuous improvement of quality and prevention of quality-related problems.

The Global Process Innovation HQ, as a corporate headquarters division, has a well-established structure to support quality enhancement on a global scale, through reinforcement of development organizations, quality approval for purchased parts, and advancement of failure analysis technologies.

ISO 9001-certified sites

※1　TS16949 (Automotive quality management standards) certified

※2　ISO13485 (Medical device quality management standards) certified

The Global Process Innovation HQ conducts quality audits for business companies, business divisions and Group companies, aiming to improve and upgrade their quality management systems.

OMRON believes that quality must be supported by all employees, from those who are directly involved with quality, such as development, design, production and quality assurance staff, to salespeople, planners, and even directors and officers. Based on this belief, OMRON emphasizes quality education with various programs categorized by rank for new employees to managerial-class employees, in order to continually nurture quality leaders. Rank-specific quality training programs are also available at each business company.

In fiscal 2010, in addition to these regular training programs, a more practical training program was organized for leaders and managerial-class employees. This training offers in-depth treatment of subjects covered by the basic quality training, which targets new recruits and recently promoted managers. This provides onsite problem-solving by digging deeper into quality problems.

In China where many of OMRON’s production sites are located, quality training was conducted for managers of local production sites during fiscal 2009. In fiscal 2010, an OMRON classroom was set up at technical colleges abroad, aiming to recruit and develop personnel essential for accelerating the global roll-out of OMRON’s product creation philosophy, including quality assurance.

OMRON Group Quality Training Programs

OMRON manages customer inquiries and complaints on defects in order to quickly detect serious quality problems that may affect customers' safety and prevent the recurrence of similar problems.

To convey serious quality problems to top executives rapidly and correctly, OMRON has established a Serious Claim Reporting System and its internal Product Quality Risk Reporting Rules. Along with agile response to customer complaints, quick detection of serious claims and preventing the recurrence of similar claims are sought by the corporate headquarters division in charge of quality assurance. This is done in collaboration with the quality assurance departments of business companies and divisions.

At OMRON, internal Crisis Management Rules are also available to appropriately and rapidly take necessary countermeasures in the event of serious accidents such as those that involve bodily injury, death and fire.

OMRON has also formulated its PLP* Rules which stipulate the implementation of four activities listed below. Based on these rules, OMRON seeks to prevent PL accidents involving defects of products manufactured and sold by OMRON that cause damage to customers’ lives or possessions, while also ensuring the supply of highly safe products.

1. Activities for maintaining product safety
2. Actions to take in the event of PL accidents, and measures to prevent the spread of damage and recurrence of similar accidents
3. Activities necessary to avoid PL risk
4. Education and information release related to PLP, and inspection of PLP activity status

* PLP（Prevention Product Liability）

PLP stands for Product Liability Prevention, which deals with techniques for identifying, minimizing and managing risks in product liability to prevent PL accidents, i.e., product defects that put the use of the product, health or life of third person, or properties at risk.