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Product Safety & Quality
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Progress in FYE2025 (as of March 31, 2025)
- Quality awareness survey overall positive response score (in Japan)
- 72
Our Approach
At LIXIL, we firmly believe that quality is the key to earning the trust of our customers and society, and we are committed to improving the quality and safety of our products. Pursuing the highest-quality manufacturing and services around the world, we make sure that we are compliant with local and international standards, such as ISO 9000 series and Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), and have established the LIXIL Quality Principles.
For any significant quality-related issue, based on the LIXIL Product Safety Principles, we collaborate with our business partners in promoting quality management, adhering to our own quality standards that exceed regulatory requirements.
LIXIL Quality Principles (Opens new window) PDF: 40KB >
LIXIL Product Safety Principles (Opens new window) PDF: 40KB >
Governance Structure
In Japan, LIXIL conducts quality management reviews through quarterly meetings of the Japan Quality Management Committee, driven primarily by the Safety and Quality Management Division. This division is overseen by the Chief Environmental Impact Officer (CEIO), who reports directly to the CEO. Quality managers of business divisions report to the CEIO on the progress toward specific targets set by each division, and seek strategic direction to help them refine quality management systems and solve quality-related issues. The CEIO reports to the Board of Directors on progress vis-à-vis targets, audit results, and any other important information relating to quality risks, and in turn receives advice and instructions from board members.
Quality Management System
We also conduct annual internal audits of all production sites and subsidiaries in Japan based on the LIXIL Quality Principles and our own quality standards, which are compliant with the ISO 9000 series. Some production sites and subsidiaries in Japan have acquired ISO 9001 certification and undergo relevant external audits regularly.
Product-specific Chief Operations Officers (COOs) manage product quality outside of Japan.
Enhancing Quality across the Product Lifecycle
To ensure customer safety, LIXIL is focused on enhancing quality across the full lifecycle of all products, from development to procurement, manufacturing, distribution, and after-sales support.
1) Design and Development
LIXIL has developed various systems for correctly recognizing and complying with local and international laws and regulations. We apply globally recognized risk assessment methods such as Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and Design Review Based on Failure Mode (DRBFM) in our design and development processes.
2) Materials & Parts Procurement
We set quality standards for our parts suppliers and check compliance with those standards through regular quality audits. We also conduct ad hoc audits in the event of any change in the 4Ms* of production or the emergence of a quality-related problem. We collaborate with suppliers to generate further improvements by sharing our procurement principles and improvement examples, and work together to solve quality-related issues.
* A method for identifying and solving problems by analyzing the four production elements of Man, Machine, Material, and Method.
3) Commercialization, Production & Sales
We only commercialize products that have met rigorous stress tests and quality checks for durability, weather resistance, and other properties, and apply a company-wide quality management system (QMS) for distribution. This QMS covers the instructions for installation based on defined quality standards that are updated regularly and constantly shared among all distributors. To raise awareness of quality management, we hold a regular workshop for LIXIL distributors and external certified installation partners. All employees working at LIXIL distributors, in particular, take part in a quality control training program.
Products that require specific labeling to indicate conformance with safety and quality standards are clearly marked in our catalogs and other sales tools as meeting the required criteria, to help customers select appropriate products. We also strive to provide more readily understandable product explanations, including interactive showroom displays and online videos.
4) Responding to Product Defects & Problems
To ensure the safe use of our products, we provide instruction manuals for all our major products, and videos explaining how to care for and clean those products on our website. We also offer a long-term warranty of up to 10 years to ensure the safe use of our products over a long period.
Furthermore, in preparation for the unlikely event of a product-related accident or defect, we have established a comprehensive system to ensure a prompt and appropriate response, which includes a robust communication system for incident reporting, a process for investigating the cause, the development of preventative measures, and a mechanism for ensuring their thorough implementation. We rigorously investigate the cause of any problem through the system and implement improvements, not only in product design, but also across all processes from manufacturing to distribution. To prevent product defects and issues, we consistently work to advance organizational management to ensure improvement measures are fully integrated and to strengthen governance frameworks to enhance the effectiveness of the quality management system. We regularly analyze customer feedback, including opinions and concerns received through channels such as our customer service center. These findings are shared with design and development teams to drive product improvements.
Product manuals (Japanese only, opens new window) >
How-to videos (Japanese only, opens new window) >
Improving Product Quality Through Our Stage-Gate System
As part of our efforts to improve quality across the product lifecycle, we have introduced the Stage-Gate System, which separates the various processes involved in product development, in particular, into different stages, from R&D right through to commercialization and merchandising. We are also dedicated to fostering a corporate culture that prioritizes quality from the customer’s perspective.
To raise the level of completion in design, quality, and production, our development, manufacturing, and sales departments work in collaboration at each stage of the product development process. Each product is evaluated and discussed at every “Gate” placed in between the stages, and quality managers make decisions for each business division before the product moves onto the next stage. The evaluation criteria set in each gate are constantly reviewed to pursue the development of even higher-quality products.
Concept of Stage-Gate System
The Pursuit of Superior Quality Product Manufacturing and Services
Quality Control and Product Safety Education
LIXIL strives to prevent product-related quality defects and accidents from occurring or recurring by identifying risks that could cause such defects and incidents, raising employee awareness, and encouraging universal improvement activities. In Japan, LIXIL conducts regular training for employees* on enhancing product quality and product safety.
As part of these training activities, we use case studies of past product-related quality defects and accidents along with the actual products and descriptions of background factors to foster understanding of the fundamental cause of product safety issues.
* Scope: Directly hired employees (including contract employees).
Our archive displaying examples of past quality issues and product incidents
Progress in FYE2025:
- Conducted a total of eight training sessions for 44 new managers on managing quality and preventing product-related accidents, to enhance quality awareness among managers.
- Conducted product safety training sessions for 38 new hires.
- Conducted face-to-face training and e-learning sessions to a total of 5,357 employees, expanding the scope of target participants inof training on quality regulations, quality management systems, quality-related legislation, and problem-solving methods beyond the management level.
- Provided e-learning on 16 regulations related to quality management, including Japan’s Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act, to strengthen legal compliance awareness of all employees in our sales departments, attended by over 2,000 employees.
Promoting Internal Awareness Through Information-Sharing and Forums
As part of our awareness-raising activities, we use our internal social media platform to disseminate information on our quality policies, messages from the CEO, and case studies. We also publish the LIXIL Quality Journal four times a year to help consistently raise employee awareness on quality topics. The journal highlights initiatives of departments at each plant and stories of learning from mistakes that have led to further quality improvements. In addition, we promote quality-related activities and foster a quality-focused culture by showcasing best practices from our manufacturing divisions through articles and videos.
Furthermore, LIXIL holds an annual Product Quality Forum in November to recognize outstanding improvement activities selected from around the globe. In recent years, these consistent efforts to raise awareness have led to an increase in customer-oriented improvement activities that are more closely aligned with customer needs.
All-Employee Awareness Survey and Action Plan
Every year, we conduct quality awareness surveys of all employees in Japan to raise awareness of product quality and promote quality-enhancing initiatives. Each department sets action plans that include capital investments to improve quality, based on the survey results. As a result of progress made in each department, the score measuring employee awareness of the importance of product quality remains stable.
Meanwhile, as the manufacturing division tended to have low divisional scores, we have arranged cross-training activities to share best practices among all plants. These activities proved to be effective, with the scores of many plants increasing compared to the previous year. Such positive examples are published in the LIXIL Quality Journal. We also produced video clips of interviews with heads of plants and individual divisions to share with all sites in Japan and around the world, with the aim of further strengthening quality awareness across the organization.
Quality Awareness Survey Overall Positive Response Score
Responding to Serious Product-Related Accidents
In Japan, whenever a product-related accident occurs, the product quality department collects information within 24 hours of receiving notification and sends an emergency notice to relevant departments. If an accident that could have serious consequences occurs, the department that receives the initial information reports the incident directly to the CEO and the officer in charge to ensure an even swifter response. The department also cooperates with other departments to formulate on-site responses and thoroughly investigates accidents. We submit a report to relevant government authorities within 10 days of an accident occurring, as stipulated in Japan’s Consumer Product Safety Act. Having mounted a comprehensive emergency response, we then turn our attention to preventing a recurrence by incorporating any lessons learned from accidents in product design and proactively developing technologies that help ensure accident prevention and safety.
Regarding suspected legal violations, our technology or other relevant departments will ascertain if an infringement has occurred and submit a report to the authorities concerned. We follow a similar process for suspected legal infringements as we do for product-related accidents, namely, we conduct a thorough investigation of the cause and implement appropriate countermeasures to prevent a recurrence.
Number of Legal Infringements and Significant Product-Related Accidents
| FYE2023 | FYE2024 | FYE2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of serious product-related accidents | 6 | 7 | 11 |
| Number of legal infringements | 1* | 0 | 0 |
* Regarding the fact that the PSE mark stipulated in Japan’s Electrical Appliances and Materials Safety Act was not displayed on the LED lighting (third-party product) mounted on LIXIL’s three-sided mirror: The third-party product was independently arranged by sales representatives, so, to prevent this from happening again, we have reinforced the fact that purchasing products without involving the pertinent business division is strictly prohibited, and conducted training on the Act for our sales representatives. We also reviewed the purchasing process at the sales department to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
Emergency Procedure for Responding to Accidents
Awareness-Raising Activities to Prevent Accidents at Home and in Schools
In Japan, approximately 16,000 people die each year from accidents in the house, a figure roughly four to five times the number of traffic fatalities. Recognizing this, LIXIL is committed to raising consumer awareness of product safety and preventing accidents in the home through various educational initiatives.
Since 2013, we have conducted product safety seminars tailored to specific audiences, including older people and educators. In 2014, we began distributing free educational DVD sets for use in schools and offering outreach classes led by our employees. We have continued to expand the reach of these initiatives, including the introduction of remote learning programs for elementary schools in depopulated areas in 2022 and focusing on accident prevention in schools as well as in homes.
Developing Teaching Materials and Outreach Classes for Children
- Total Number of Outreach Classes and Participants
- 500 times, 17,187students
Think about Safety in the House: Safety Education Program
We have developed educational materials on safety for elementary school students, in cooperation with NPO, the Association of Corporation and Education (ACE), and provided these materials free of charge to educators. The materials encourage children to learn about hidden dangers in the house and proactively think and implement ways to prevent accidents.
Outreach classes offered by our employees have also attracted 16,683 students over a total of 474 sessions to date. We also created our own animation videos to appeal to the students in our outreach classes for early elementary school grades. The materials won the Award of Excellence at the Commendation foron Instructional Materials for Consumer Education conducted by the National Institute on Consumer Education (NICE) in 2014 and 2022.
Learn more about Safety Education Program (Japanese only, opens new window) >
Product Ideas to Keep Schools Safe: Online Safety Education Program
To provide equal opportunities for children living in underpopulated areas, we have worked together with the association Professionals for All Schools to develop new online learning materials and conducted a total of 26 lessons for 504 elementary school students. These materials received the Award of Excellence from NICE in 2023.
Learn more about School Safety Education Program (Japanese only, opens new window) >
Outreach classes
Online lessons
Seminars for Consumers
We help consumers think of ways to prevent accidents at home by giving lectures at product safety seminars hosted by the National Federation of Women’s Organizations and other consumer organizations nationwide. The seminars cover topics such as accidents in toilets or bathrooms, tripping over steps, and falling down.
In FYE2025, we held 19 sessions and attracted about 860 participants, bringing the cumulative total to date to 9,871 participants over 111 sessions.
- Total Number of Seminars and Participants
- 111 sessions, 9,871people
Product safety seminar
External Evaluations & Awards
LIXIL has been awarded the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award in the Large Enterprise Manufacturer/Importer Category of the 2024 Product Safety Measures Award (PS Award) program, sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. This prestigious award recognizes LIXIL's initiatives in promoting appropriate construction and accident prevention through DX, designing and developing safer products using CAE analysis, and actively working to improve product safety through the establishment of product safety standards and outreach classes.
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