Quality: Aerospace Business

At SUBARU’s Aerospace Company, the QMS Promotion Office maintains and promotes the quality management system (QMS), and also works on improving the system to enhance quality.
The Quality Assurance Department promotes the following quality assurance activities covering product manufacture, repair, sales, and service, and rolls them out to relevant company departments and suppliers.

• customer feedback
• Identify quality-related issues
• Investigate the root causes
• Formulate measures to deal with them

Quality Management System

Based on its policy of “Giving Safety and Quality Top Priority,” the Aerospace Company has built and acts under the quality management system that conforms to the JIS Q 9100:2016 standards, which takes the JIS Q 9001:2015 standards and adds specific requirements for the aviation, space, and defense sectors.
In addition, it incorporated the Supplements to JIS Q 9100 (SJAC 9068) that are independently and jointly established by the Japanese aerospace and defense industries in order to prevent improper occurrences related to quality.

Quality Management Cycle

To realize products that prioritize safety and quality, the Aerospace Company undertakes quality assurance across various processes from specifying requirements in quality plans to tasks such as design, development, manufacturing, inspection, and testing. Regular project meetings are conducted for each process, where monitoring, analysis, and evaluation occur. The aim is to drive improvements that enhance customer satisfaction, and establish and maintain a robust quality management cycle. Additionally, the effectiveness of the quality management cycle is confirmed through regular Quality Meetings.

Quality Management Cycle

Quality Meetings

The Aerospace Company routinely holds Quality Meetings to verify the adequacy of the quality management cycle. Drawing from analyses regarding product and operational processes from diverse perspectives, encompassing quality and external assessments in such areas as customer satisfaction and external audits, the Aerospace Company deliberates on changes to the Quality Management System (QMS), resource requirements, and strategies for addressing identified risks.

Inputs and Outputs in Quality Meetings

Targets and Metrics

At the Aerospace Company, we have established the following quality assurance management standards based on SUBARU’s quality policy, “At SUBARU, quality is our highest priority as we earn the trust of our customers,” and are carrying out activities accordingly.

• The goal of all activities is customer satisfaction.
• Seek own-process assurance.
• Analyze and improve based on facts in a rational and logical manner.
• Continuously implement the PDCA cycle to constantly elevate our abilities.
• Work to ensure quality in our processes.
• All employees actively participate in quality assurance activities.

Approach to Risks in Quality

Though there are many different types of quality-related risks, ensuring flight safety is the top priority for the Aerospace Company. Risks with the potential to compromise flight safety include parts falling off, loss of control, and engine failure. These risks could lead to crashed planes and, in the worst cases, affect human life.
In order to minimize such risks, the Aerospace Company thoroughly checks the safety of final products as early as the aircraft parts manufacturing stage through initiatives such as own-process assurance on assembly lines, strict inspections, and flight tests on completed aircraft.
We also conduct quality audits not only internally and externally with respect to our own activities but also with respect to that of our suppliers, and if any problems are found, we take prompt corrective action.
By continuing to carry out these activities on an ongoing basis, we are working to reduce risk and ensure flight safety.

External Audits of Product Quality Assurance

The Aerospace Company regularly undergoes audits by third-party organizations as follows to maintain the effectiveness of its quality management system.

• Audit by a third-party auditing organization for JIS Q 9100
• Inspection by the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of certified workplaces based on Article 20 of the Civil Aeronautics Act
• Audit by an auditing organization for the international certification system (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program/NADCAP) for special process work in aerospace

Quality Assurance Training

As part of employee training, we conduct “Quality Education” related to quality assurance for all employees or those involved in specific departmental tasks. In addition, we provide basic training and skills training for inspectors responsible for conducting product inspections.

Four Rules Activity

To bring happiness to our customers, to carry out our social responsibilities with respect to aeronautical safety, and to achieve growth, each member of the Aerospace Company confirms our work rules (procedures, basics). When we find that the rules are out of step with the times, we all work together to improve them, rather than leaving the burden to one person. Through this activity, we strive to increase the quality of our work.

Quality Month Events and Improvement Initiatives

In the Aerospace Company, every November is designated as Quality Month, where we give awards to employees who have contributed to improving quality and pamphlets are distributed to educate all employees on quality.
With the aim of fostering a culture of employee creativity and improvement, we established improvement activity debriefing sessions and the Improvement Proposal System, where employees can propose improvements to their own or other departments throughout the year. This demonstrates our commitment to developing and implementing proactive improvements and evaluating their effectiveness.