On December 16, the winner list of the 1st China Quality Award, China's top government quality honor, was unveiled in Beijing. Apart from two entities wining the China Quality Award, 43 entities and three individuals won the nomination award. This is another government quality honor for Yuchai after it won Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Chairman Quality Award in 2012. At the award conference, Yuchai's total lean management mode based on "zero defect, zero tolerance" drew wide attention from the attendees. Behind the honor was Yuchai's perseverance in the mode and persistent pursuit of "quality foremost".

Yuchai started quality management with standards and began to introduce total quality management in the mid-1980s. In terms of product quality, Yuchai underwent setbacks and encountered typical problems like engine connection rod facture and valve spring fracture. If these problems could not be resolved, it would be empty talk to gain a firm foothold in the market. Recalling the painful experience, Yuchai determined to suspend production for six months to tackle these thorny problems. Hence Yuchai truly established the modern business awareness that "quality is the life of enterprises". Transformation from spontaneity to consciousness and enhancement of quality awareness has injected infinite power for Yuchai's fast rise.

Yuchai pursuing "quality foremost" is just like a thriving tree. After years of efforts, Yuchai stood out in the industry in late 1980s and the early 1990s.

The early 1990s is a golden period for diesel engines. Yuchai focused on the objective of "satisfying customer demands", began to introduce ISO quality standard system and developed rapidly. However, due to insufficient capacity and imperfect management, there were still some problems with Yuchai's products. Some quality problems were covered by robust market demand. The chief quality assurance engineer Tan Guirong who always worries about customers' safety problems was still scared at the thought of the history. Fortunately, market-oriented Yuchai soon realized the seriousness of the problems. To resolve these serious quality problems and satisfy customer demands as early as possible, Yuchai swiftly launched the "triple-jump reliability" project: 30,000-kilometer failure-free operation, 100,000-kilometer failure-free operation and 300,000-kilometer failure-free operation, to comprehensively enhance product reliability and applicability.

YC6G engine is one of the most successful improved engines in the "triple-jump reliability" project. In the current bus market, customers nickname it "Yuchai King". However, the engine has operated with faults before. To resolve key quality problems existing in the localization of YC6G diesel engine such as cylinder score and bearing burning, Yuchai worked out a special improvement plan and successfully launched the engine on the bus market. Thus, Yuchai quickly broke a new ground in the bus market in which it had almost been blank, increased its share year by year and has held a 70% share to date.

Following the "triple-jump reliability project", Yuchai launched the "triple-overtaking" project, the "five-one" quality improvement project and the quality prevention and warning system. This stage may be referred to as the stage of "overtaking opponents" in Yuchai's history of quality management development. Yuchai set the objective of "improving quality by 100 percent in three years" in 2011 and has basically achieved the goal to date, increasing the failure rate per kilometer by nearly 100 percent and substantially reducing the compensation rate and the quality cost ratio.

To improve quality, Yuchai often has extraordinary moves. This year, an astounding scene took place at Yuchai Foundry. At the workshop, the workers shattered cores personally made by them to pieces. Cores are vital to castings. If cores are nonconforming, castings will have potential quality hazards. Once inferior cores flow in the market, Yuchai's brand image will be affected. Thus, Yuchai often educates and warns workers in various forms to enhance their quality awareness.

As an advanced manufacturing management mode practiced by Yuchai this year, lean manufacturing has extended from production to a wide range of fields like purchase and R & D to comprehensively guide Yuchai in production operation and promote its rapid development.

For many years, Yuchai has practiced the quality concept of "zero defect, zero tolerance", implemented the quality policy of "specialization, leanness, innovation and navigation", and established a mode of total lean quality management supported by the quality evaluation system, the quality cost management system, the quality review, prevention and pre-warming system, and reliability growth management according to the quality rules of "finding causes, dividing responsibilities clearly, revising targets and conducting assessment properly", thus increasing product reliability continuously and keeping ahead in warranty mileage in the industry.

With the improvement in product quality, Yuchai's product market has become wider. The national V gas engines and national IV diesel engines newly developed this year have been favored by the market, thus further enhancing Yuchai's brand influence at home and abroad.

(Song Yonggeng/Guangxi Daily)