Sustainability | GovernanceQuality Assurance
Our Approach
TDK pursues the corporate mission of contributing to society through the manufacture and supply of outstanding electronic components.
"Quality" is the key management axis in this quest, positioned as the top priority in activities aimed at realizing top-caliber products built to consistently live up to customers’ expectations.
Positioning "quality" as a crucial management cornerstone, we prioritize quality in our activities to deliver high-quality products and continuously meet customer expectations. Specifically, our quality assurance activities focus on the three themes of "People," "Technology," and "Systems," aiming to achieve "zero defects" throughout the product lifecycle-from shipping, distribution, assembly by set manufacturers, usage by end-users, to disposal.
We adhere to the philosophy that "quality cannot be guaranteed through final inspection!" Instead of relying on the final inspection to eliminate defective products, we strive to ensure product quality by building quality into each process and producing 100% defect-free products.
We aim to instill this quality mindset, emphasizing quality improvement from the upstream stages of product design, process design, and equipment development. By eradicating defects, we achieve high-quality products that satisfy and earn the trust of our customers.
Governance
General manager of headquarters quality assurance function, which role is to be filled by a corporate officer, supervises QA activities in the Group as a whole, endeavors to share and develop principles and policies, and promotes activities by the entire Group toward their realization. In addition, each business division has a QA function, the head of which supervises and executes QA activities in the division.
TDK is a company with operational sites globally. The company deploys its quality assurance activities while maintaining close communications with all its sites, and fully leverages DX to conduct quality-related education, as well as in compliance and international standard responses, and in improving its reliability technology.
In the event of a situation involving a serious quality issue with the potential to exert significant societal impacts, the general manager of headquarters quality assurance function promptly escalates the matter to the TDK Group Representative Director, President and CEO and the corporate officers in the relevant function or business.
Initiatives for quality assurance activities are reported to the Board of Directors and audited by the Audit & Supervisory Board members. Additionally, quality meetings are held involving management and regular reports are made.
Awards are presented annually to quality assurance activities recognized as having achieved outstanding outcomes at the TDK Group, and these outcomes are then disseminated and deployed throughout the company as best practices, with the aim of promoting quality improvements and increasing the motivation of TDK Group team members (employees).
Strategy
As a company which is responsible for the design, manufacture, and supply of products, quality assurance is one of our most urgent priorities. Additionally, by strengthening quality assurance from the upstream management, we enhance the motivation of our team members through recognition and awards for departments that achieve excellent results.
Risk Management
The TDK Group implements Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) activities. In these activities, as quality risks, which represent situations with the potential to exert significant societal impacts, the company manages compliance with performance and safety with the potential to endanger or impact the lives of consumers; as well as those pertaining to compliance with international standards; the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive; and the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, through appropriately identifying and responding to opportunities and risks.
Metrics and Targets
Medium- to Long-Term Initiatives
Our Medium- to long-term initiative for quality assurance is "Transformation to upstream management." Under the three quality themes of "People," "Technology," and "Mechanisms," TDK promotes a wide range of initiatives. These include quality improvements instigated by our team members; the development of small-group activities to enhance our Monozukuri power; promoting quality education utilizing DX; design reviews utilizing AI to enhance upstream management; and the improvement of product reliability technology to cater to future client requirements and applications.
Initiatives
Top Priority Measures in the "Advance to Zero Defects"
The following activities are being forwarded toward achieving "Advance to Zero Defects," a constituent of TDK’s basic approach to quality assurance.
(1) Strengthened design development processes
In its quest for zero defects, TDK thinks it is necessary to build product development systems capable of turning out 100% good products in design activities. More specifically, steps are taken to define risks prone to occur in each product development process at an early stage, thereby creating and applying an upstream management type quality assurance system to eliminate such problems at the design phase.
(2) Strengthened product manufacturing processes
To achieve "Zero Defect Quality," product design must be accompanied by worksite competence to establish reproducible manufacturing processes that eliminate variations. The main factors that result in quality variations are equipment and operations. Variations caused by equipment have been reduced by clearly defining requirements when designing equipment and by clarifying maintenance procedures; variations caused by operations have mainly been addressed using small group activities. Besides these measures, we are also working steadily to raise quality awareness through ongoing quality education using small group activities, thereby building a "Quality First" corporate culture.
TDK will continue striving to enhance its Monozukuri through further strengthening of its product manufacturing processes, to provide customers with high quality products in a timely manner.
(3) Quality assurance compliance
We strive to fulfill our social responsibilities with high ethical standards in conducting corporate activities in compliance with laws and social norms. Toward this end, we continue working to improve product quality through the pursuit of zero defects, try to foster an awareness of what it means to place top priority on quality, and perform checks through compliance audits for quality.
(4) Responses to product security
In regard to product security, we have been implementing secure development and have taken measures to address vulnerabilities. In response to the introduction of the Cyber Resilience Act by the European Union, we are making preparations for the operation of our Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT).
With regard to vulnerabilities, rather than utilizing a “human wave” approach to data collection, we have adopted software that can be used for system checks, thereby enabling rapid transmission of security-related information and facilitating effective status monitoring.
In addition, we have compiled a software bill of materials (SBOM), and adopted a framework for effective management. This has made it easier to determine whether existing vulnerability data is accurate.
We are also working to satisfy stakeholders’ needs by providing product security rules and tools not only for IoT-enabled equipment, but also for other industrial machinery and for products that incorporate digital elements.
(5) TDK’s continuous implementation of quality education for team members
Having learned the lesson from the incidents involving our humidifier products, TDK implements regular employee education to strengthen awareness of the need to prioritize product safety and quality.
This education is implemented globally for all TDK Group team members. The content is updated regularly in light of any incidents that have occurred in the market and in response to changing requirements, and we are also expanding the range of languages in which the training is provided, and the methods through which it is delivered.
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Prevention and Control of Exposure to Hazardous Substances in Products
To prevent and control the presence of hazardous substances in our products that could adversely affect human health or the environment, TDK introduced an Environmental Product Quality Management System in 2004, which is operated under our Quality Management System (QMS).
To clearly identify chemical substances that are prohibited or subject to control in our products, TDK has established internal standards based on industry-recognized requirements, including IEC 62474 (Material Declaration for Products of and for the Electrotechnical Industry) issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) developed by the Global Automotive Stakeholder Group.
As a component manufacturer operating in the midstream of the supply chain, TDK implements this system throughout all stages of its business activities to ensure effective prevention and control, including “purchasing”, “creating and manufacturing”, and “selling”.
Purchasing (1) - Green procurement
To ensure that no regulated chemical substances are contained in our products, TDK has established the “TDK Standard of Substances in Products”.
We also require our suppliers to ensure that the products and materials they supply comply with the “TDK Green Procurement Standard”.
In addition, we request suppliers to disclose information on chemical substances contained in their products that are subject to reporting or monitoring requirements, including information on Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) in accordance with the communication requirements of the REACH Regulation.
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Purchasing (2) - Incoming inspection
TDK reviews and verifies the chemical substance information received from suppliers and business partners for purchased products to ensure compliance with the requirements of the “TDK Green Procurement Standard”.
Furthermore, to prevent the unintended inclusion of regulated substances resulting from human error, control failures, or other factors, TDK performs analytical testing on incoming materials according to their risk level. These tests are used to verify the content of specific chemical substances and to prevent the introduction of regulated substances into purchased products.
The criteria used to determine risk levels, as well as testing frequencies and other management requirements, are continuously reviewed and improved based on accumulated experience and operational results.
Creating - Environment-Conscious Design (Eco-design) and Product Assessment
We believe that environmental initiatives in a manufacturing company begin at the product design and development stage through eco-design and product assessment. It is at this stage that a product's contribution to sustainable development goals and a circular economy, as well as its potential for reducing environmental impacts, are largely determined.
We also regard environmental consideration as one of the key elements of quality improvement. Eco-design and product assessment serve as important mechanisms for reducing environmental impacts and ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
Throughout the entire product life cycle—including material procurement, manufacturing, distribution, use, and end-of-life treatment—we identify the aspects that have the greatest environmental impact and promote continuous improvements through the development and application of innovative technologies.
Manufacturing - Prevention of Misuse, Mix-Ups and Contamination
At TDK, we rigorously prevent the use of prohibited substances and the occurrence of misuse, unintended inclusion, and contamination (including migration through contact) of TDK-prohibited chemical substances in mass-production environments such as manufacturing processes, storage areas, and warehouses.
To achieve this, we implement a variety of control measures, including material identification and traceability, segregation management, the establishment of procedures and standards, first-in-first-out (FIFO) inventory control, and warehouse receipt and issuance management.
In addition, for manufacturing processes where contamination may occur, such as solder baths, TDK has jointly developed practical simplified testing methods with solder manufacturers and uses these methods to monitor and control lead concentrations, thereby preventing contamination by regulated substances.
Selling (1) - Prevention of Non-Compliant Product Shipment
TDK’s electronic components are supplied not only to industries covered by the RoHS Directive for electrical and electronic equipment, but also to a wide range of sectors, including the automotive and medical device industries. Therefore, our products must comply with the applicable legal requirements and customer-specific requirements for each market.
To prevent the accidental shipment of non-compliant products due to human error, TDK registers the RoHS compliance status of all products in its sales management computer system. This system verifies compliance before shipment. In cases where shipment of a product that is not RoHS-compliant is exceptionally approved, shipment cannot proceed unless the responsible personnel enter confirmation that customer approval has been obtained and complete the required authorization process through an electronic application workflow.
This mechanism helps ensure that non-compliant products are not shipped without appropriate review and approval.
Sell (2) - Disclosure of Information
TDK has established a system for disclosing information on chemical substances contained in its products.
For inquiries from regarding chemical substances contained in products, TDK uses a groupware-based management system that centrally manages the entire process—from receipt of inquiries by sales departments to responses provided by technical departments—enabling prompt and accurate responses to customers.
