On December 6^th, POSCO and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business hosted the ‘Launching ceremony for QSS innovation activities to make living manufacturing sites’ at Top Metal, located in the Namdong Industrial Complex in Incheon.

The ceremony was a result of the ‘POSCO-Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business Agreement to Spread QSS Innovation Activities,’ with the aim of expanding POSCO’s small and medium company innovation activity support from those involved in businesses with POSCO in the Pohang and Gwangyang regions to all 450 companies nationwide.

Seventy people attended the event, including Chairman Kim Ki-mun of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, CEO Chung Joonyang, as well as presidents and employees of small- and medium-sized companies participating in QSS innovation activities.

POSCO will provide overall management support from forming an innovation culture to talent fostering, efficiency management, and environment management to the small- and medium-sized companies participating in the QSS innovation activities.

The first priority will be to settle 5S (arrangement, order, cleaning, cleanliness, habituation) activities to eliminate sources of pollution and maintain a clean working environment. Daily inspection sheets will be utilized for systematic equipment inspection such as cleaning, tightening, and lubricating facilities, and maintaining the most optimal conditions through ‘management through the eyes’ activities. Material management efficiency will be maintained by adhering to fixed products, fixed quantities, and fixed locations, and preventing ‘time wasted from searching,’ while safety accident prevention will be guided through facility improvement and education.

Top Metal, where the event was held, has received QSS activity support from POSCO since last year, and since introducing QSS activities has seen great management results including reduced product manufacturing time, cost reduction, and improved quality and productivity.

 Participants heard Top Metal’s innovation activity results and learned innovation know-how by benchmarking real on-site cases, and developed a desire to improve productivity and secure competitiveness through QSS activities.

CEO Chung Joonyang commented, “In an era of increasingly intense and infinite competition, our small and medium companies must become stronger to survive, and to survive must become accustomed to change and improvement. The QSS activities POSCO is supporting will become the base for small and medium companies to grow innovation capabilities and become stronger.”

POSCO and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business will start with support of 50 companies this year and extend it to an additional 100 companies each subsequent year, with plans to support a total of 450 small and medium companies by 2017 and help strengthen their competitiveness and continuous growth.

The POSCO Family Partners Day is an event where best cases of shared growth activities are rewarded, and participants can share their activity results and development direction. 

▲ Approximately 300 members attended the event including CEO Chung Joon-yang
as well as  presidents and employees of both primary and secondary investing companies

An award for best case of shared growth activities was presented in 5 categories: △shared results; △technology cooperation; △productivity innovation; △cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises; and △QSS. Six individuals were also presented with awards in the newly created individual category, which aims to encourage POSCO and investing company employee participation in shared growth activities.

For best cases in each category, △’Nickel Ore Loading/Unloading Rate Improvement’ of SNNC cooperating company PORT.L, △’Joint Development of Reaction-type Steam Turbine Technology’ of POSCO Energy cooperating company HK Turbine, △’Productivity Improvement through CDQ Material Maintenance Technology Innovation‘ by POSCO CHEMTECH cooperating company Seong Ju Industry, and △’2 Steelmaking RH Vessel Operation Improvement Case’ by POSCO CHEMTECH cooperating company Sekang Industry were selected. In the QSS category, POSCO client company Top Metal and POSCO E&C cooperating company SI TECH both received the award.

 Aside from the Best Case award, 11 companies were presented excellence awards, and 3 POSCO employees and 3 POSCO investing company employees were commended with awards for their shared growth activity efforts with cooperating companies.

After the award ceremony, there was a presentation session on the results and development direction of shared growth activities. The participants reaffirmed establishing a strong steel ecosystem with the solid network between POSCO Family cooperating companies.

The participants also announced the POSCO Family Shared Growth Principles, which define the principles and regulations that the POSCO Family must adhere to as a pan-social model company, and POSCO Family and cooperating company employees pledged to take the lead to set an example. 

A performance by the POSCO PCP Choir followed the main event. The POSCO PCP Choir, which consists of 40 employees of POSCO and cooperating company employees, created beautiful harmony and received great responses from the audience.      .

With this event, POSCO will continue its successful achievement that POSCO and cooperating companies have made and use it as foothold for a new leap forward, and make an effort so that the shared growth culture can spread throughout the POSCO Family.