Product Quality and Quality Management

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Product Quality and Quality Management

In line with commitment to quality-"High-quality, reliable products that our customers can usewith confidence"-set forth in the Sony Pledge of Quality, Sony is promoting continuous, decisive

efforts to enhance product quality and to reinforce its quality management system.

Sony's Quality Management System Organizational Structure

(Updated on August 31, 2010)

Sony recently reconfigured its quality management system by reviewing its quality management

mechanisms across all processes ,from development, planning, design and manufacturingthrough to sales and service; redefining the roles, responsibilities and authority of those

responsible for product and service quality; and establishing guidelines to guarantee an

appropriate level of quality. Based on this new quality management system, Sony has developeda framework and is to implementing measures on an ongoing basis to improve the quality of its products and services.

This framework and examples of such measures are shown below.

Framework of Sony's Quality Management System


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y Has appointed an Executive in Charge of Product Quality and Safety and has tasked them

with coordinating efforts to improve product and service quality and ensure timely

responses to problems;y

Has appointed Quality Officers within each business unit and has tasked them withspearheading product- and business-specific initiatives under the supervision of theExecutive in Charge of Product Safety and Product Quality and the senior executive of

the relevant business unit;y Has appointed Quality Officers to coordinate service departments in markets around the

world where Sony products are sold and has tasked them with spearheading a network of global-level initiatives under the supervision of the Executive in Charge of Product

Safety and Quality and the individual in charge of the relevant regional headquarters;y Has created a framework for promoting business unit- and region-specific initiatives to

ensure Sony's products comply with pertinent laws and regulations;y Has obtained certification under ISO-9001 for all sites manufacturing electronics

products;y Has formulated mid-term quality targets, fiscal year quality targets and key indicators for

quality-oriented business plans of the Sony Group, with the aim of fulfilling the SonyPledge of Quality; business units and regional headquarters subsequently formulated

fiscal year quality targets and quality-oriented business plans to guide quality-improvement initiatives;

y Has held regular Quality Strategy Meetings, attended by top management, which functionas the ultimate decision-making authority for quality in the Electronics business, to

deliberate and decide on policy, strategies, and targets related to product quality, as wellas key measures to further improve quality;

y Has held regular Quality Officer Meetings, attended by Quality Officers in each businessgroup, to evaluate the progress of quality-oriented business plans, promote initiatives

aimed at achieving targets, and debate specific activities and responses to quality-relatedissues and shared challenges. As well, Sony has held a Global Quality Officer Meetings,

attended by regional Quality Officers, to share information on initiatives for increasing product and service quality in each region and to share challenges and efforts, thereby

contributing to global efforts to improve product quality;y Has formulated Sony Group quality standards applicable to Sony's electronics products

and related services, focusing on such criteria as product safety and performance, labelingand services. These standards are updated continuously to reflect technological advances,

changes in applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and social changes;y Has strengthened rules worldwide from September 2006 to ensure prompt reporting to

the Executive in Charge of Product Safety and Product Quality, when Sony receivesinformation about an incident involving a Sony product that affects customer safety or

has the potential to do so. Based on these reports, the Executive in Charge of ProductSafety and Product Quality provides the necessary follow-up, instructs the relevant

divisions to investigate the incidents and respond appropriately to the customer. InDecember 2007, Sony applied the same system to possible software vulnerabilities in

products, and ensures full implementation of the system.



R esponding to the Customer


Sony makes active use of customer feedback to improve its products. Opinions, reports of

malfunctions after purchase, questions regarding use and other feedback received throughCustomer Information Centers are promptly and accurately evaluated and disseminated to the

planning and design groups so that improvements in product quality can be made in a timelyfashion, thus contributing to efforts to enhance product power.

One example was the release of digital cameras and video cameras with improved usability,

through the provision of operation guides and step-by-step instructions on the products' LCDscreens. In another example, customer feedback prompted the redesigning of the external storage

media slot of a digital photo frame, thereby enhancing usability.

y Utilizing Customer Feedback

Quality Hot Line


It is vital to detect product quality-related problems as early as possible. To that end, Sonytherefore established the Quality Hot Line in 2003, to gather product quality-related information,

including reports of problems, as well as opinions from Sony Group employees. Employees can



send messages regarding such matters as issues that are too difficult to handle at their workplaceand problems concerning the quality of Sony products and/or services from the customer's

perspective, to the Quality Hot Line's in-house website. U pon investigating a problem toascertain the veracity of the information received, the Quality Hot Line proposes and introduces

measures to prevent previous problems from recurring and precluding potential new problems.

One example of measures proposed and introduced by the Quality Hot Line was the redesign of software for processing signals from a video camera based on information provided by a Sony

employee, enhancing the resolution of images copied onto a DVD by a DVD writer.

As of March 2010, Sony had received more than 1,300 reports since the establishment of theQuality Hot Line. The diverse range of information received has included proposals to make

products and manuals more user-friendly, and has led to more than 800 improvements.

As these initiatives indicate, Sony is wholeheartedly committed to improving product and servicequality from the customer's perspective with the aim of maintaining and enhancing customers'

trust, confidence and satisfaction.



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Monitoring Quality in Markets


Sony has established dedicated quality management organizations in each of its business areasthat are responsible for monitoring quality for pertinent products in market places. With the aim

of fortifying its ability to identify quality issues in the markets and to accelerate its ability to



respond in the event of a problem, in May 2009 Sony created a market quality monitoringcommittee within its headquarters in Tokyo, enabling it to swiftly gather information from a

wide range of sources, both in Japan and overseas, in the event of a product quality issue in themarket. The headquarters' quality management and technology experts gather weekly and share

quality issues among them. They are also responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of

responses in such situations, ensuring responses are consistent and promoting the adoption of measures to prevent previous problems from recurring and precluding potential new problems,thereby helping to expedite Sony's quality improvement efforts.

Since it began operating, the headquarters' market quality monitoring committee has held a total

of 30 quality study meetings and has reported on 51 incidents. For 35 of these incidents, thecommittee recommended and oversaw the implementation of measures aimed at preventing

previous problems from recurring and precluding potential new problems. In cases where problems are relevant to multiple businesses areas, the committee analyzes the causes and works

with headquarters' R&D departments to develop constituent technologies and evaluationtechniques to prevent problems from recurring, as well as implements measures and concurrently

shares pertinent information throughout the Sony Group, thereby preventing previous problemsfrom recurring and precluding potential new problems.

Initiatives Aimed at Improving the Quality, Safety and Long-Term R eliability of

Products


Initiatives Aimed at Improving the Quality of ProductsSony pursues design-, manufacturing- and parts-related initiatives aimed at improving product

quality.

Design-related quality initiativesAt the start of the design process, the individual in charge of a particular business group verifies

new technologies and new parts and-from a user's perspective-determines how a product is to beused. At the conclusion of the design process, the individual in charge ascertains the degree to

which the intended level of product quality and reliability has been realized. This approach prevents the occurrence of problems pertaining to new technologies and product parts, as well as

ensures product designs that incorporate consideration for user convenience.

Manufacturing-related quality initiativesDetermined not to introduce, or produce quality-related problems in any way, Sony adheres to a

policy of workmanship at all of its production sites that ensures customers can use Sony productswith confidence. Initiatives include establishing independent quality-related targets at each site

and pursuing continuous improvements in product quality through Groupwide implementation of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, integrating Sony headquarters with business groups.

Parts-related quality initiativesRecognizing the importance of parts, and resolved to manufacture products built for long-term



use, Sony carefully selects key parts independently for each of its major product categories and is pursuing focused efforts aimed at increasing the reliability of the parts it uses.

Initiatives Aimed at Improving Product SafetyAs another part of the effort to improve the safety of its products, Sony has established an in-

house committee to address product safety from a medical perspective, and has prepared related

internal standards, which it updates and modifies as necessary to reflect the ever-evolvingunderstanding of human health. Sony is also promoting efforts company-wide to strengtheninternal processes for ensuring that Sony's products are in line with applicable laws, regulations

and standards.

When developing products employing new technologies, Sony also seeks advice on productsafety from a medical perspective from experts outside the company, which it then incorporates

into product development, design and engineering. When deemed necessary, Sony also conductsevaluation tests to verify safety with the assistance of specialized organization.

Sony recognizes the safe and comfortable viewing of 3D is a significant issue and since 1997,

representatives from Sony have sat on committees set up by various industry organizations andhave attended meetings on international standardization to handle image safety, with the aim of

advancing knowledge of potential health risks or concerns including motion sickness.Leveraging this knowledge, Sony is also participating in the formulation of industry guidelines

for 3D.

Initiatives Aimed at Improving the Long-Term Reliability of ProductsIn 2009, Sony established a new quality and reliability laboratory that focuses on further

enhancing the safety and long-term reliability of its products, supporting its ability to provide products that customers can use with confidence for many years.

In recent years, the increasing trend toward smaller, lighter products has diversified the

environments in which Sony's products are used. Ensuring long-term product reliability requiresnew constituent reliability technologies that mirror the evolution of product development, as well

as new evaluation techniques that reflect changes in the user environment. Efforts are also being promoted across Sony Group businesses to apply these constituent reliability technologies and

evaluation technologies to parts used in Sony products.

Efforts to Eliminate Software Vulnerability


The digitization and networking of consumer electronics products and an increase in the relativeimportance of software in recent years has heightened the danger of, among others, the leakage

of personal information and the destruction of data. As a consequence, software vulnerability has become an important issue.

In addition to establishing a special function for collecting security risk-related information fromoutside experts, Sony has created an internal software vulnerability team comprised of

individuals assigned to each business group who are responsible for software vulnerability



issues. Based on information received, the team-led by such individuals-assesses the impact of risk on customers from a security perspective and implements appropriate measures.

To ensure its ability to deliver products that customers can use with confidence, Sony has also

established internal guidelines pertaining to software vulnerability and continues to implement

employee training programs. Additionally, in 2009 Sony reinforced its product securityframework by introducing a mechanism that detects software vulnerabilities during the securityinspections prior to product shipment and ensures that the inspections are duty conducted.

R esponses to Quality Issues


Sony recognizes that ensuring its customers' trust, confidence and satisfaction is the most

important crucial management task and strives to prevent quality-related problems through thesystems and efforts described above.

Following a product quality issue involving lithium-ion batteries for notebook PCs in 2006, Sony

made several design improvements including selecting a higher grade of insulation materials andredesigning the device's structure to prevent foreign particles from penetrating the devices.

In addition to implementing the forced internal short-circuit test of cells and introducing newevaluation techniques, Sony developed a new manufacturing process for these batteries with

enhanced levels of cleanliness, building on know-how accumulated in the fabrication of semiconductors, thereby further improving battery quality.

Sony strives to prevent quality-related issues through the kinds of systems and efforts described

above. As this case illustrates, Sony also responds swiftly when a problem arises, by

investigating the facts and taking the appropriate actions. Sony approaches such efforts with aglobal perspective, working closely with concerned parties in local markets.

Sony also seeks to respond swiftly to the concerns of customers in the event of a quality-relatedissue, following a process common to all Sony products for determining the basic policy and

timing of a public announcement. This process starts with the gathering of information fromCustomer Service Centers worldwide and collaborating with concerned local parties to ensure an

accurate grasp of the issue. Based on information collected, Sony identities the causes of aquality-related issue and implements the appropriate measures, taking prompt steps to verify the

effectiveness thereof, as well as to view the issue from the customer's perspective, and decidingon countermeasures in cooperation with the individuals in charge of product quality at local sites

to provide the same level of service to customers worldwide.

With regard to methods and media for issuing public announcements of product quality-relatedissues, Sony examines the effectiveness of the various means at its disposal, including theInternet, e-mail or other electronic media, as well as direct mail, newspaper advertisement or

other conventional media.

External R ecognition




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As an organization that manufactures and sells a wide range of products in markets around theworld, Sony strives to ensure its ability to provide a stable supply of safe products by promptly

resolving safety-related issues by, among others, leveraging its internal product supply systemsand reporting to top management, and is working actively to raise awareness internally by

capitalizing on lessons learned from Sony's voluntary recall of battery packs in 2006, as well asto rebuild its culture of product safety. In fiscal year 2009, these efforts were recognized when

Sony was chosen to receive the Director-General for Commerce and Distribution Policy Awardin the third METI Minister Awards for Best Contributors to Product Safety, sponsored by Japan's

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

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