Tokyo (December 20, 2011)-Bridgestone Corporation held its Second Bridgestone Global TQM (Total Quality Management) Conference on Friday, December 16, at the Bridgestone Technical Center in Kodaira, Tokyo.

The slogan for this year's conference was "Standards are Our Guiding Principle. Actively implementing KAIZEN through Genbutsu-Genba Concept" (Genbutsu-Genba or decision-making based on verified on-site observations is one of the four foundations of The Bridgestone Essence, the company's global philosophy). Continuing the tradition from the previous year, this conference was held with the goal of furthering improvement activities throughout the Group. To facilitate this, superior examples of improvement activities from various Bridgestone Group companies were shared, allowing attendees from around the world to learn from the efforts of their peers.

This event was attended by over 400 Bridgestone employees from across the globe, including those from operating sites in Japan, the United States, Costa Rica, Spain, Turkey, China and Indonesia. A total of 15 improvement activities from various functions, such as production, sales and service were presented. The activities were judged according to how well they addressed on-site needs. Four TQM Awards and two Awards of Impression were awarded at the conference to employees whose improvement activities were deemed to be superior based on these criteria.

Bridgestone Global TQM Conference

Going forward, the Bridgestone Group will continue to promote quality improvement activities in accordance with its "Customer First" philosophy of providing superior quality throughout its supply chain.