ESPEC Quality is more than a word

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Increasing Customer Satisfaction
and Product Quality/Safety

Product and Service Quality Assurance

Quality Policy

We provide environmental testing devices used by our customers in their QA(QUALITY ASSURANCE) activities. As such, the quality of our products is directly linked to the quality of their products, and we feel that this heavy responsibility represents why we are in business. Based on our basic philosophy to “provide more reliable products and services that allow our customers to safely, comfortably, and surely fulfill the mission,” we at ESPEC work towards creating high-quality products that meet the expectations of our global customers.

Quality Assurance System

We have established a unique system we called EQA (ESPEC QUALITY ASSURANCE) in Japan and overseas.
In 1993, we were also assessed for and obtained the ISO 9001 (international standard of quality management) certification ahead of the competition. Following that, we completed ISO certification update in 2015, and we have been continuously improving our quality assurance system.

QMC Activities

We are shifting QC activities, which are mostly conducted at our production sites, to "small group activities" performed daily by all employees in order to improve customer satisfaction and create added value. These activities have been implemented as QMC (QUALITY MANAGEMENT CIRCLE) activities.
Every year, many circles engage in improvement activities and achieve high results in terms of quality improvement, cost reduction, and operational efficiency, while also contributing to human resource development.

Improving Customer Satisfaction

The 4 Promises of our After-sales Service System for Safety and Security

So that customers can use our products with complete peace of mind, we provide after-sales service based on the following 4 Promises.

1.Fast service

In Japan, we operate a full-time technical support system that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for a rapid response in case of emergency.

2.Preventive maintenance plans

ESPEC offers an extensive range of preventive maintenance options so that customers can be confident in using our products over extended periods.

3.Long-term maintenance system

We have created a system that can supply maintenance parts for a period of up to 15 years, providing long-term support for our customers’ environmental test chambers.

4.Safety system proposals

We provide peripheral equipment that can minimize damage in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.

Added network functionality in standard maintenance contract services

In September 2023, we added mobile device/cloud network functionality to our maintenance contract services as a standard menu item. With network functions, it is possible to monitor and control chamber operating conditions even from a remote office or home. When an error occurs in a chamber, the customer is notified by email and at the same time ESPEC also detects the error and provides support for rapid chamber recovery by means such as remote diagnosis. Renting a mobile communications terminal that includes a SIM eliminates the need to connect to the customer’s company network, perform LAN installation work, and other similar work. We save our customers the hassle of chamber management through digital transformation of chamber management tasks and preventive maintenance service (annual inspection and replacement of worn parts) to ensure reliable chamber operation and fixed repair fees.

Supporting worksites through comprehensive on-site maintenance service

We offer comprehensive on-site maintenance services to support our customers throughout the lifecycle of their environmental test chambers, from installation to disposal, including installation of peripheral equipment, product recycling through the wide-area certification system, and CFC recovery, as well as maintenance of the chambers. We make chamber management easier for our customers and help optimize their maintenance and operating costs.

After-sales service certification system

We have introduced a new after-sales service certification system based on global common evaluation standards in order to train service engineers equipped with advanced specialized technical skills. It can be used not only by ESPEC service engineers but also by service engineers at distributors and cooperating companies in order to standardize and improve the level of service. The system grants three levels of certification based on skills, technical abilities, and official certifications.

Customer Support Desk

We have set up the Customer Support Desk as a system that provides one-stop solutions for issues arising in all types of scenes, from product purchasing to product disposal. It allows us to directly respond to a range of customer inquiries. We also conduct regular internal training on the proper way to respond to customers and product knowledge, so we can keep improving the quality of our customer response.

World’s first All Weather Simulation Chamber

Our All Weather Simulation Chamber, the world’s fist facility that can recreate various weather environments found around the globe, is located at the Kobe R&D Center. In additions to all kinds of environmental factors (temperature, humidity, snow, fog, rain, light, wind), it can also create dynamic weather environments, for example sleet turning to snow. The facility is open to external parties to help promote open innovation.

All Weather Simulation Chamber (snowfall test)

Website for engineers, "Test Navi"

We have developed a website specializedin information on reliability technology for engineers called "Test Navi."It gives customers helpful information in practice settings, such as environmental testing knowledge, basic information on reliability technology, and the latest testing trends, at the appropriate timing. The number of members registered with "Test Navi" currently exceeds 23,000.

Held sponsored lecture at xEV Testing Initiative

In September 2022, we held a lecture as a sponsor at xEV Testing Initiative, Japan’s first business conference on the quality, safety, and reliability of electric vehicles.
The conference is organized by the Steering Committee for xEV Testing Technology, which is vice-chaired by Noboru Sato, Executive Advisor to ESPEC and a visiting professor at the Institute of Innovation for Future Society of Nagoya University. In the lecture, an ESPEC employee talked about changes and challenges in xEV testing methods that have emerged along with the evolution of xEVs (electric vehicles), on the basis of our testing technologies and knowledge cultivated through laboratory testing services offered to many customers.

Held CAR ELECTRONICS Expo online exhibition

In March 2022, we opened the CAR ELECTRONICS Expo online exhibition. The expo showcases ESPEC products used in various processes in advanced automobile fields and test cases. The expo also offers a virtual tour of our All Weather Simulation Chamber, which recreates various weather environments found around the globe.

Launch of the Fukuchiyama Plant virtual tour site

In March 2023, we launched a website that allows visitors to take a virtual tour of ESPEC’s Fukuchiyama Plant.
Visitors can see the manufacturing site and videos of different processes in an immersive, virtual reality (VR) environment.

The Fukuchiyama Plant virtual tour site

ESPEC Reliability Seminar

The ESPEC Reliability Seminar is a means of providing useful information about reliability testing to customers. In FY 2022, the seminar was held online and was attended by approximately 250 customers.