Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., has opened a new Field Quality Center (FQC) based at the Nissan Technical Center (Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa), to focus on vehicle quality enhancement processes. The center will conduct Field Quality Investigation Analysis (FQIA) to identify the root cause and solutions to vehicle problems.
The FQC serves as a central collection base for incident parts received directly from the dealerships, where the parts are then subjected to detailed analysis. The FQC is equipped with state-of-the-art testing-equipment and measuring instruments that can replicate actual field conditions in order define the root cause of the problem. This allows the FQC to identify the customers’ vehicle problem earlier and find a solution more quickly, in order to implement the right countermeasures to the products.
The FQC works jointly with the product development and manufacturing engineer teams in order to facilitate a continuous “quality improvement” process. The FQC findings are fed back to the Nissan Technical Center (NTC), where future generation vehicles are being developed.
Nissan Senior Vice President, Total Customer Satisfaction, Kazumasa Katoh said, “The FQC will boost Nissan’s ability to deliver higher customer satisfaction. At the FQC, we will work to improve the quality of Nissan’s vehicles from every aspect in accordance with the Nissan Product Quality Policy (NPQP).” By applying the philosophy of “san-gen shugi” i.e. “the principle of three-origins”, Nissan will endeavor to find solutions to quality issues by seeking out the root of the problem from three perspectives – the real part (genbutsu), on-site vehicle operating conditions (genba) and fact-based data (genjitsu).
Nissan has invested 900 million yen ($7.29million*) into the FQC, which occupies a 4,400m2 area, within the Nissan Technical Center campus. Approximately 210 employees will be based at the FQC. Construction and installation of state-of-the-art test-equipment, including a 4-Axis Vibration Machine**, were completed in June, 2007. The FQC facility was designed to facilitate collaborative efforts with working areas dedicated to manufacturing engineer teams and supplier-partners. Currently, the FQC is host to 10 quality projects in collaboration with different auto-parts suppliers.
With investments made in the new FQC facility, Nissan is able to process four times the quantity of parts-investigation compared to its previous capacity. Prior to FQC, Nissan’s field quality improvement team was located at the Shinkoyasu Operations Center in Yokohama.
Globally, Nissan has three other FQC facilities in operation since 2006, two located in the U.S at Smyrna and Farmington Hills and another in Cranfield, U.K. for Europe. The FQC in Atsugi will serve the Japan domestic market as well as more than 140 countries in the General Overseas Market (GOM). All four global FQC facilities collaborate closely through constant exchange of information in order to enhance Nissan’s global standard of quality.
Nissan is investing in its future through innovation. Recent major investments include the Nissan Global Training Center (GTC) to train global experts in the Nissan Production Way (NPW), Nissan Global Production Engineering Center (GPEC) to standardize production engineering and global manufacturing processes, and Nissan Advanced Technology Center (NATC) to focus on breakthrough technologies for the future.
* Amount in dollars are translated for the convenience of the reader at the foreign exchange rate of 123 yen/dollar.
**A simulator that can simulate real-world road conditions. It allows engineers to study the effects of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) on the durability of each vehicle component.
FQC Fact Sheet
Facility name： Nissan Field Quality Center (FQC)
Location： Nissan Technical Center, 560-2 Okatsukoku, Atsugi-shi,
Kanagawa-ken 243-0126
Land Area： Approx. 4,400m2
Investment： Approx. 900 million yen ($7.29million)
No. of Employees： 210
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Source: Nissan
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