From left to right: Seong Yu, VP of POSCO; Young-hoon Lee, CEO of POSCO Chemtech; Dae-woo Lee, employee representative of the labor-management committee; POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon; Won-ho Choi, Chairman of Taehwa; In-hwa Jang, VP of Taehwa; and Tong-il An, General Manager of Pohang Steel Works.

With the completion of the project, POSCO’s top-grade non-oriented silicon steel (Hyper NO) production has increased from 80,000 to 160,000 tons, which is enough to supply parts for approximately 2.6 million electric vehicle drive motors.

Electric steel plates are made by adding 1-4% silicon to iron. They possess excellent electromagnetic properties and consist of high-grade steel material. Depending on the crystallographic direction of the metal, they are categorized as either grain-oriented silicon steel or non-oriented silicon steel. Grain-oriented steel is used as a material for the core of stators like transformers, whereas non-oriented silicon steel is used as a material for rotors like motors and generators as it contains nearly identical electromagnetic properties in all directions.

This capacity expansion project successfully met its goal of producing more top-grade non-oriented silicon steel, which is a core ingredient in high-efficiency premium consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It is an environmentally-friendly material that saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon encourages employees to continue striving towards becoming a leader supplier of high-quality, non-oriented silicon steel.

As demand for environmentally friendly vehicles and high-efficiency consumer products continue to increase, the demand for top-grade electric steel plates (the materials for core parts) is also expected to rise from last year’s 800,000 tons to more than 1 million tons in 2020. POSCO aims to increase its market share by developing customized products for individual electric vehicle manufacturers and providing specialized services. As the quality of consumer electronics improves at home and abroad, POSCO is hoping to see a spike in profit through increased sales of its top-grade non-oriented steel and premium-grade materials for high-efficiency motors.

This project required an investment of KRW 124.1 billion and helped boost the local economy as a total of 200,000 construction workers were employed during the construction period. POSCO was also able to reduce the total cost of the project by shortening the construction period, recycling equipment, and optimizing the design.

POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon said, “With the completion of this project, POSCO is now able to proactively meet the increasing demands for environmentally-friendly cars and high-efficiency premium consumer electronics. We will continue to do our best to give our customers top-quality electric steel plates and lead the premium market with technologically-advanced, high-quality products. ”

With the successful completion of the high-grade material capacity expansion project, the installation of additional equipment, and a stable production system, POSCO is now better equipped to meet domestic and overseas demands for non-oriented silicon steel.

This project is just one of many that POSCO has carried out in order to secure its position as a leading supplier to meet the needs of the ever-expanding high-efficiency premium consumer electronics and electric vehicle market. Other projects have included making improvements to the APL (Annealing & Pickling Line), ACL (Annealing & Coating Line), and the ZRM (Sendzimir Reverse Mill), which is capable of producing 0.15mm steel sheets. This particular project resulted in the production of 0.15mm electric steel plates, which contributes to minimizing power loss in customers’ end products.

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POSCO held a kick-off event for its IP G-Project on October 30 to share project plans for six new projects

Eighty members attended, including CEO Ohjoon Kwon and Project Director of the IP G-Project, who shared the project plans for six new IP G-Projects and resolved to successfully complete the projects. CEO Kwon said, “Detailed plans for achieving the goals for the IP G-Project have been well established.” He also asked those in attendance to make effort to achieve their goals by working closely with other departments.

The IP G-Project integrates mutual IP projects, research assignments and programs into one strategy for efficiency, and started with the intent to expedite Innovation POSCO 2.0 by concentrating the capabilities of all its companies. Under the previous PWS (project-based working system), cooperation between companies and departments within the IP project was possible, but it was difficult to integrate with other activities. So POSCO renamed the projects which require cooperation between research assignments, IP projects and unique programs to the IP G-Project and decided to operate it at a group level.

IP G-Project facilitates the cooperation between all work areas, and is a top-down system that works by themes suggested by the board of directors, which is then approved by the CEO. The goal is to generate over 30 billion KRW in financial performance within the next three years. Unlike IP projects led by professional executives, IP G-Project is managed by c-level executives who operate as the project director.

By establishing a plan to complete each project, all related activities are integrated with concurrent engineering strategies, accelerating the performance outcome. Project progress is directly monitored and guided by the CEO. Through integrated VP (visual planning), the effect of cooperation is maximized.

At the end of the year, the continuation of the project will be reviewed by management and if necessary, performance will be constantly evaluated, even after completion of each project. POSCO plans to put all its efforts into creating outstanding results through the IP G-Project and to achieve Innovation POSCO 2.0 as soon as possible.

POSCO’s Innovation Activity named QSS has been the main driving force behind POSCO’s many unique innovations and promising results. With the help of QSS, POSCO was able to drastically improve its facilities while minimizing wastage since the initial application.

However, as it reached the “Best Plant” stage, the employees evaluated and urged that an application of existing QSS is unsuitable for facilities that operate 24/7. Taking into account, POSCO has made adjustments and developed an upgraded version of QSS named QSS+ which reflects the characteristics of steel company and respects autonomy. On August 12^th, 2014, POSCO held the proclamation ceremony for this new QSS+.  Let’s look into details!

One More Step to ‘POSCO the Great’ with the new QSS+

QSS+ with My M&S (Machine&Safety) Activities

Newly introduced ‘My M&S (Machine & Safety)’ differentiates the QSS+ from the existing QSS. Besides this new application, the rest of previous activities, such as 5S (Working Environment Improvement) and My Machine, remain identical. The new My M&S is specifically designed to create the world’s most safe and an ideal working environment for the employees mainly by deviating away from traditional ‘top-down’ to ‘bottom-up’ approach, which enables each division to self-set goals.

Furthermore, in order to heighten its technology capability in parallel with the QS5+, POSCO implemented 5 Stage OJT System and the ‘Master Hand of the Year’ program that nominates and honors 6 of the most talented technicians every year. In the long run, QSS+ will enable employees to ‘integrate work and innovation’ through efficient management.

Another Step to ‘POSCO the Great’ with Innovation Projects

In addition to QSS+, POSCO has been spurring the realization of ‘POSCO the Great’ through Innovation Projects. Ever since POSCO announced the ‘Project-oriented work method’, POSCO is expediting outcomes by applying ‘Project Visual Planning’ which allows POSCO to systematically manage the process and utilize a suitable methodology to its ongoing projects.

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VP (Visual Planning)

VP highlights P-D-C-A (Plan – Do – Check – Action) to stimulate efficient and effective performance of a group. This VP can be categorized into four groups depending on characteristics of the business: V-MBO type (methodical execution of business strategy related work), Work Diet type (unnecessary task cut down), Project type (efficient goal achievement) and Task Sharing type (constant task sharing).

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On August 12^th, Chairman Ohjoon Kwon complimented on the project layout status and excellence of coordinators after a thorough inspection on ongoing field projects and future plans. Moreover, he expressed that “innovation projects must target for the tasks that will actually generate profit” and requested for the projects to contribute to creation of fruitful outcomes by cooperating with relevant departments such as research, marketing and sales. 

Notes from Chairman Ohjoon Kwon on Steps Toward ‘POSCO the Great’

POSCO Chairman Ohjoon Kwon made a request for the employees to amplify their passions as QSS+ officially starts from its ceremony. He believes that passion is the key energy force to carry out the robust manufacturing sites to ‘POSCO the Great’ into realization. How would he define the further steps toward ‘POSCO the Great’?

Give value to the field sites

First, please give yourself values to your account. The sites manufacture the products that customers want, and it is the sites that determine whether values can be granted to the company or not. I hope that all the leaders at this ceremony could give values to each self. It is the leaders who are responsible for creating a workspace where the employees at sites could find their own values.

Be a master, not a servant

Second, I believe that if one thinks like a master, the one is motivated to seek for more works to do. Each leader must actively cope with changes and set up a goal by perspectives of Quality, Stability and Safety. Then, both the leaders and employees should estimate what needs to be done and bring out to actions in order to reach the goal.

Create positive energy by compliments and appreciations

Third, there is an old African proverb that says “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” If we encourage and cooperate with open minds, we will inspire positive energy to each other and this will be the driving force to consistently and accurately bring out the QSS+ activities.

We ask for your continuous attention tothe QSS+’s establishment as a good methodology that possesses the world best installation ability and surpasses the outcomes of the existing QSS!