Basic Approach
The products provided by the construction industry are social infrastructure that are used not only by the direct client but also by many other people over decades. To live up to this social responsibility, we at Tokyu Construction have set up a quality management system.
Quality Policies
In order to assure the quality of our products (civil engineering structures and buildings) and improve customer satisfaction, we carry out the following practices when undertaking design, construction supervision and construction work.
1. Addressing risks and opportunities
We identify risks and opportunities that may affect our assurance of product quality and improvement of customer satisfaction, consider the extent of their potential impact, and respond accordingly.
2.Understanding needs and expectations
We explore, clarify and understand the needs and expectations of our customers as well as the applicable regulatory requirements in order to meet them.
3.Setting quality targets
We set effective quality targets for the following business divisions to assure product quality, increase customer satisfaction, and support our management policies.
・Civil Engineering Business Division
・Building Construction Business Division
The support division for management sets targets for the effective utilization of resources (e.g. human resources, information and communication technology and other infrastructure, employee work environments, know-how), in order to assist these business divisions in achieving their targets.
4.Operating and improving systems
We operate our quality management system and make continuous improvements in our planning, design, construction and after-sales service processes.
Quality Management System (QMS) and Operational Status
By October 2000, our head office and all of our branches across Japan had acquired ISO 9001 certification. In September 2004, we registered under the company-wide integrated quality management system (QMS). Since 2005, we have conducted annual external audits that cover both the QMS and our environmental management system (EMS). At every stage from sales, design and construction, we ensure that the head office and branch offices comply with manuals and implementation guidelines based on the QMS, and make continuous improvements using the PDCA cycle. To be able to conduct the internal audits required by the QMS, we carry out auditing skills training for obtaining internal auditor qualifications as well as follow-up training after a given number of years. In this way, we aim to improve quality, reduce defects and prevent their recurrence in order to provide products and services that satisfy our customers.
Operation of the Quality Management System
Internal System, Training, and Awareness Activities Ensuring Quality
In response to the discovery of defective foundation pile tips in July 2021 during train station improvement works, we have been strengthening and revising our quality control system to prevent recurrence.
Before starting construction, staff members from our branch offices, work sites and specialized departments will first check the safety and quality control checkpoints of the construction project from various perspectives. Based on the items in the preliminary review, we check and share the general components of quality, cost, delivery, safety and environment (QCDSE)* with subcontractors and others onsite, through various venues such as construction safety review meetings, work procedure briefings and work meetings prior to conducting the relevant construction work. If a construction-related issue arises, we discuss the issue with our in-house engineering and other departments before proceeding to the next step. Together with implementing this process more rigorously, we are reviewing our system to ensure that information is promptly shared with management in case of trouble during construction.
Our team of engineers working at construction sites are composed of the appropriate personnel chosen for their experience and other factors. In addition to technical supervision and staff support during busy periods, the head office and branch divisions have reviewed and strengthened systems related to quality assurance, including in-house inspections.
We also constantly review our training programs to improve the construction management skills of our managers and middle-class workers, and to improve the skills and early-stage development of our young engineers. Specifically, we conduct job rotations to provide diverse experiences as well as use an OJT Master Card to record and provide visual information on the necessary basic knowledge and skills they have acquired, with the aim of providing an efficient and effective education. We strive to raise our employees’ quality awareness through various means, including sharing cases of quality control and handling of defects during regular training sessions and daily meetings, holding site-based study sessions called Site-Learning, and conducting Rolling Back sessions, in which work setups are visualized and senior employees share their experiences.
Since FY2022, we have been conducting a program to raise awareness, designating the month of November as Quality Month and the first week of the month as Quality Enhancement Week. In January 2022, we expanded the scope of the whistleblowing system to include subcontractors and other business partners, with the aim of preventing quality problems as well as detecting and remedying them as early as possible.
We will continue to work together as a company to thoroughly implement measures to prevent quality problems from recurring, improve construction quality and restore trust.
*An acronym formed by the five components making up the fundamentals of construction management: quality, cost, delivery, safety and environment.
