Haier guides innovation thanks to its 'golden rule' commitment

Haier Group holds standardization as a golden rule for its business, laying a solid foundation for its rise as a world-leading brand of major household appliances.

Founded in 1984, the Qingdao, Shandong-based company introduced a refrigerator production line from Liebherr's German unit, and more importantly, a German system of standards, according to company officials.

In the same year, based on its studies on Liebherr, the newly-established Haier soon established nearly 4,000 standards for its operations in accordance with its overall business strategy.

It also set up a department dedicated to the company's standardization work, covering design, production and quality control.

Its strict standards have ensured the quality of Haier products and boosted its sales in China and around the world.

Over the past 33 years, Haier has gradually become a market leader in the global home electronics and appliance market, and the company plays a major role in setting international standards.

By the end of 2016, it had submitted 90 proposals on drafting and revising international standards, 43 of which have since been adopted. It initiated or took part in the effort to draft or revise 410 standards for the Chinese home appliance industry, with 365 of them approved and promoted.

Now Haier ranks first in China's home appliance industry in terms of submitting proposals for national and international standards, according to the company.

Haier has 180 experts who work in international and regional standardization organizations, and more than 60 of them work at the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Organization for Standardization.

As it is expanding its global presence, the home appliance giant has developed a system of standards that apply to all of its facilities around the world.

One example is Haier's safe water heater technology. Before the technology was introduced in 2002, sometimes people were electrocuted when they took a shower due to poor power use conditions in China.

To benefit all its customers around the world, Haier decided to improve and standardize new water heating technology.

The job took the company years of arduous efforts to persuade experts in other countries, who believed house builders, instead of home appliance producers, should be responsible for safe power use.

Haier succeeded in 2008, which made it the first Chinese home appliance producer to help revise international standards in the industry.

The move boosted Haier's sales of water heaters by 40 percent and the industry's overall sales grew 8 percent year-on-year.

It made a proposal in 2015 to the IEC, suggesting it should improve standards on refrigerators' freshness technology.

The standards, which were adopted in February 2017, prompted refrigerator manufacturers to shift their focus from creating low temperatures to keeping food fresh, which are what customers are most concerned about, said the company.

Haier has also made considerable efforts to study intelligent technologies and standards to help boost the sector. So far it has upgraded 28 plants, involving more than 800 procedures.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn