Implementing quality management education
In Japan, Honda offers a training curriculum divided into four courses according to in-house qualifications and the extent of individual workers' quality control responsibilities in order to improve associates' quality assurance skills.
The Honda QC Basic Course (HBC), which was first offered 41 years ago, provides an example of how Honda is working to train its personnel to be leaders in improving quality, for example by opening the course to suppliers in addition to associates. Similar curricula for providing necessary training have been put in place at overseas production facilities.
The following diagram indicates the objective, duration, and number of trainees for each FY2012 course:
Overseas quality control training
Quality control education objectives and number of participating trainees
| Objective | Period | No. of FY2012 trainees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| QC Junior (QCJ) Course | Students study how to put into practice the basic approach and methods (in the form of quality control techniques) for satisfying customers by manufacturing better products faster and more reasonable, and providing better service. | Total of 1 day | 605 participants |
| QC Foreman (QCF) Course (Intermediate) | Students study how to put into practice the quality control techniques and approaches needed in quality assurance activities in manufacturing. | Total of 2 days | 655 participants |
| QC Foreman (QCF) Course (Advanced) | Students study how to put into practice the expert techniques and approaches needed to work in quality-related operations. | Total of 3 days | 185 participants |
| Honda QC Basic Course (HBC) | Students become quality control experts capable of resolving difficult problems and achieving tasks by studying the approaches and techniques of statistical quality control (SQC*) | Total of 22 days | 53 participants |
* SQC: Statistical Quality Control is a general term to describe statistical concepts and scientific methods.
