Development & Production Location - List of Articles
Development & Production LocationSodick China Suzhou Plant
QVP＋ activities developing human resources capable of thinking by themselves
General Manager Nishimura
The Suzhou Plant contains many Chinese staff with years of experience at the plant.
There are some 50 veteran employees with 20 or more years of employment to their name, a number which accounts for one quarter of the entire plant.
Mr. Nishimura sees that the reason people stay around is “Not just due to the popularity of Japanese companies. The people of Suzhou are sincere and have a strong sense of obligation, and I feel that many still feel a debt of gratitude for employing local Chinese people when the Suzhou Plant was first established.”
“These employees work with a strong sense of commitment towards both the work we do at the Company and our identity,” (Mr. Nishimura).
Director, Manager of Materials
Deparment Liang Feng
Director Liang Feng holds the Japanese staff in high regard, saying “They are highly motivated towards work. They are also always thinking about how t o improve efficiency in work tasks.” This approach to work has long been an established custom among Japanese workers, which was then successfully ‘permeated’ through the Chinese staff ranks as well. Mr. Liang speaks of the high level of morale at the Suzhou Plant, saying the “Plant has an enjoyable atmosphere where motivated staff work together in complete harmony.”
The ‘QVP＋ (Quality Victory Plan Plus) activity’ management policy introduced across the Company, including overseas sites, played a major role in communicating the unique Japanese approach to work to Chinese staff members, and this has been finely integrated to maintain consistency between company-wide Sodick policies and those at each work site.
This unique QVP＋ activity initiative is intended to promotes improvements in the ‘quality of our work’ in which each and every employee forms the foundation upon which quality is based, and calls on employees to come up with, and put into practice, specific solutions to reducing work times, resolving complaints, reviewing costs and eliminating unnecessary processes, etc.
Getting employees to ‘think by themselves’ is a key part of this initiative, and this helps raise the standard of all employees across the Sodick Group. QVP＋ activity results are shared across all departments and Group companies through the ‘Global Presentation on QVP＋ Activities’ held annually, and this has allowed the Company to continually maintain a ‘world-wide quality standard’.
Work quality has greatly improved through QVP＋ activities, “This has allowed us to greatly streamline work processes and subcontract deadline management, and has reduced defects. Previously Chinese staff tended to leave work up to others, but now they are able to work on their own accord and produce high quality work”
(Mr. Liang).
Die-sinker EDM for China "AD32Ls" waiting to be shipped
When asked on what plans lay in store for the Suzhou Plant’s future, Mr. Liang reveals his ardent ambitions, “I hope to see us producing not only higher grade electrical discharge machines, but also have a hand in developing injection molding machines as well.” The Suzhou Plant also has a determined resolve. “It doesn’t matter if it is for the level of accuracy, performance, or something else entirely, I want to see us make a product that is regarded as the ‘best China has to offer’,” (Mr. Liang)
Interview with departments
Huang Jun, Deputy Manager of Coordination Department
[Manufacturing Division]
Huang Jun, Deputy Manager of
Coordination Department
With everyone working together as one, we can produce top quality products.
I supervise the entire manufacturing floor.
I am both fully aware of all work operations of the Machining Department, Tuning Department and Quality Department, and I have a keen insight into the areas of expertise of each person in charge, making it possible to streamline human resource coordination efforts. Our production plans may undergo unforeseen changes for various reasons. When this happens, I decide on an appropriate course of action for the redistribution of personnel between departments.
I see myself as a creative Manufacturing Department Manager, capable of pointing out defects within processes and areas where coordination is lacking, while also thinking on the problems present and their solution.
Shen Qing, Deputy Manager of Processing Department
[Machining Division]
Shen Qing, Deputy Manager of
Processing Department
Various images of processes and procedures spring to mind when conferring with General Manager Nishimura on processing-related matters.
Suzhou Plant still has room to grow.
I am responsible for machine structure casting processing, sheet metal processing and other processing tasks.
Some parts delivered by suppliers are of varying quality. I endeavor to contact the supplier and communicate these issues as soon as they arise. Most suppliers have worked with Sodick for an extended period of time, and are acutely aware of the ins and outs of Sodick’s business.
Having said that, the difficulty of manufacturing anything to a stable level of quality over a long period of time is something I am reminded of on a daily basis, especially when, for example, a problem may suddenly pop up out of the blue after continuing to produce the same component for the last six months.
QVP＋ activities greatly aid in the resolution of these issues. Continually improving our jigs and tools is a daily effort. While our five-face machining center typically fixes workpieces into places at two points, for some unknown reason we continued to see instances where vibration was occurring. We brainstormed for ideas within the department, before eventually resolving the issue by adding a support jig.
Program proposals also sometimes come from workers in the field.
An operator that constantly worked on the same process day-in, day-out came up with a proposal for a program procedure that would help streamline work operations. These case examples are presented at the QVP＋ Presentation, and represent just one way the Machining Department at the Suzhou Plant is actively evolving.
Zhou Bin, Deputy Manager of Quality Control Division, Quality Assurance Department
[Quality Control Division]
Zhou Bin, Deputy Manager of
Quality Control Division,
Quality Assurance Department
Creating a Sodick creed with quality control at its core!
We approach our work with this sense of spirit spurring us on.
I am responsible for product quality control. Everyone in this department is conscious of the need to ‘create good quality products’. ‘Even the slightest scratch is unforgivable’. It is with this in mind that we created a team that tours all production machinery in operation with lights in hand as a visual representation of what it means to maintain high levels of quality.
Sodick has plants outside of China in Japan and Thailand as well. I visited our other plants to study how quality is maintained elsewhere. This tour helped bring to my attention certain measures that were not in place at the Suzhou Plant, such as the use of digital check lists, and special tools designed specially for harness checks. I hope that, by incorporating these methods, they can help cement an unwavering level of trust for products produced at the Suzhou Plant.
Sodick Suzhou Plant employee trip
In China, year-end and new year parties occur during the Chinese New Year. For packed events, over 50 Chinese-style round tables can be reserved out for all Suzhou Plant employees for a banquet extravaganza that contains a lot of food, drink and laughter.
Employees at the Suzhou Plant also go on an employee trip once or twice a year.
Trip destinations are decided together based on staff requests, with trips going to places such as Qingdao, Guilin and Macao.
Everyone treats each other as family. These activities help grow a sense of cooperativeness, and may just play a significant role in ensuring that manufacturing operations run smoothly.
The future for Suzhou Sodick
Demand for automation
As labor costs are on the rise in China, we are seeing increasing demand for IoT, and automation as well.
The need for automation continues to gather steam at customer processing sites, which often require extremely high levels of precision in the order of several microns.
Sodick Suzhou’s linear motor drive wire-cut EDM boasts incredible positioning performance, and can easily develop systems capable of meeting the precision requirements set for automation tasks.
Response to environmental restrictions
China is advocating for environmental conservation efforts as part of its national policy, and is tightening environmental restrictions as part of the Amendments to the Environmental Protection Law introduced in 2014. Suzhou City has also introduced stricter restrictions over the last year or two, and “Representatives from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment performing regular inspections on facilities to ensure that coating and other such odors do not disperse outside the work site grounds” (Mr. Liang).
The Suzhou Plant employs active carbon filters, and ensures training is provided to staff, as part of the strict odor/dust measures in place. With the construction and establishment of new apartment buildings and schools in the surrounding area, the area is quickly becoming an ideal living environment, which, in turn, is putting increased importance on the need to implement initiatives toward SDGs (sustainable development goals), in addition to productivity and quality themed improvements.
Summary
The Suzhou Plant was the first point of entry into China, and has established deep ties with Chinese companies over the years since. The plant has also amassed an enormous degree of know-how through its dealings with these Chinese companies. We hope to fully leverage these pioneering strengths in an effort to maintain our position as market leader in the future.
