Hirotaka Oike

I worked in quality assurance at an automotive parts manufacturer for five years starting in 2016, and joined EBARA in June 2021. Currently, I am in charge of quality assurance for gas abatement systems and ozonized water generators My primary responsibilities include responding to external customer claims and analyzing failure costs. Regarding the former, if there is a quality nonconformity in products shipped to external customers, I analyze the cause and summarize countermeasures. For the latter, I total all quality nonconformities related to a single product and the costs incurred (failure costs) to examine particularly which areas have issues, what should be modified in the design or manufacturing process, and utilize this for improvements.

When quality non-conformities occur in products, urgent action is often required, involving a lot of effort and hard work. Among these, I feel a sense of fulfillment when I can resolve the issues that caused the problems while coordinating with related internal departments and implementing improvements in future products. Regarding skill acquisition, the QC methods and statistical quality control techniques I learned in my previous duty are beneficial. Additionally, quality assurance often involves coordination with other departments, so proactive communication is essential. I am always mindful of how to explain things so that the relevant departments can smoothly carry out improvement activities.

For mass-produced products, I am considering introducing AI and statistical methods to suppress quality nonconformities. Moreover, this means that human quality assurance can be utilized for areas such as new product development, enhancing competitiveness before mass production. I am also thinking about how to create systems that further reduce quality nonconformities during the transition from new development to mass production. As a message to young people, EBARA's strength lies in the smooth collaboration between departments, where each department actively cooperates with one another. By sharing information with various departments, it is possible to accumulate knowledge. Above all, I believe it is a rewarding workplace where one can take pride in supporting cutting-edge technology such as semiconductors.