Tokyo (September 19, 2014)-Bridgestone Corporation held its fifth annual Bridgestone Group Global Total Quality Management (TQM) Conference on September 12, in Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan.

The theme for the conference was "Standards are Our Guiding Principle. Actively Implementing KAIZEN Through The 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 corporate philosophy).

Continuing a tradition that began in 2010, this year's conference was held with the goal of furthering improvement activities throughout the global Bridgestone Group. Examples of improvement activities from various Bridgestone Group companies were shared, allowing attendees from around the world to learn from the efforts and accomplishments of fellow employees.

This conference was attended by over 270 Bridgestone employees from around the world, including Japan, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Italy, Poland, China, Thailand, Singapore, UAE and South Africa. A total of 15 improvement activities across various functions, such as production, sales and service were presented, and the activities were judged according to how well on-site needs were addressed. Five TQM Awards and Three Impression Awards were handed out at the conference to employees whose improvement activities were deemed to be superior. And three earned the Grand Prize, which is newly founded this year to further invigorate activities of TQM.

GP* : the Grand Prize