AKEBONO REPORT 2012

7/68

AKEBONO REPORT 2012 Akebono Brake Industry Co. Ltd. 5Staying the Course: Akebono Continues Monozukuri Manufacturing Value-Added Products in JapanGoto (Production Engineering): I am in charge of developingmanufacturing facilities as well as of securing facilities fordomestic and overseas locations when additional productioncapacity is needed. From 2011 backed by governmentgrants we have been developing new manufacturing facilitiesthat cut energy costs in half. At the same time we havebeen striving to minimize the heat generated by furnaces although such heat generation is deemed to be a necessaryevil associated with the brake pad manufacturing process.Mita (R&D): Since January 2011 I have been working togain a clear vision of the future of brake products. Our teamsare mostly made up of young associates in their 30s anddiscussions as well as trial and error tests are ongoing aswe assiduously seek to expand the potential of brake productsto benefit people throughout society.Hayakawa (Purchasing): Until 2010 I was engaged inmachinery design in a development section. After joining thePurchasing Division I worked on the Purchasing TechnologyProject looking to reduce overall material costs. Currently Iam in charge of both supplier quality management and crisismanagement in the Purchasing Planning Department. Themain function of my present department is to support theoperations of other divisions. However I was reminded onceagain of the broad role that purchasing plays as we wentthrough the experience of the Great East Japan Earthquakeand the flooding in Thailand events that underlined theimportance of maintaining the supply chain.Onuki (General Affairs): The earthquake affected me too bringing home the importance of general affairs. Currently Iam leading the Energy Policy Project which is working torespond to the risk of electricity supply shortage and concurrentlyleading the Facility Management Project whichaims to assess the robustness of facilities from variousaspects including earthquake resistance.Yamamoto (Monozukuri Center): Since joining Akebono in1976 I have been exclusively engaged in production andhave learned a lot from working in the field. At theMonozukuri Center which was launched in 2011 I amengaged in nurturing human resources with the goal ofpassing on Japan’s manufacturing traditions to younger generations focusing on the improvement of the MonozukuriCenter our in-house training center for production site operators.Our aim is to develop associates who will go on tostrengthen the functionality of production sites and who willprove to be globally capable associates.Applying the Experience of the Great East JapanEarthquake to Manufacturing OperationsYamamoto (Monozukuri Center): On the day that the earthquakestruck I was preparing for a basic technical class fornew associates in Iwatsuki. Because there was no confusionduring the evacuation our associates were able to confirmtheir safety in an orderly fashion and they immediatelyreturned to duty to prepare for the resumption of production.I was impressed by Akebono’s underlying strength whichallowed production volume to fully recover within a week. Torecord the experience of the earthquake associates ofFukushima Manufacturing prepared a DVD of the recoveryand restoration activities. I admire their efforts to preserve arecord for future generations of this spirit of perseverance.Goto (Production Engineering): On the day of the earthquake I was notified that the manufacturing facilities inFukushima were damaged. The next day I drove out there ina vehicle packed with relief supplies and saw what had happened.I would like to utilize the knowledge I gained by closelyseeing the damage to figure out how to build new facilitieswith greater earthquake resistance capabilities.Hayakawa (Purchasing): When the earthquake struck theEmergency Response Headquarters in the PurchasingDivision began with confirming the safety of the division’smembers then contacted suppliers in the Tohoku region toconfirm their safety and the continuation of production. Ifound myself actually having to deal with the difficulty ofmaintaining steady supply chains in a time of disaster. Now I am scrambling to improve the continuity of supply chains.Mita (R&D): After the earthquake I found I needed to identifyrequired parts from the perspective of design and developmentfunctions and then secure substitutes for items whoseregular supplies were suspended. To address the issue wehave to begin with breaking down the specifications for eachTeruyuki YamamotoMonozukuri Center“The Monozukuri Center is aplace for training all associates.We are focusing onhelping trainees understandtechniques through handsonexperience using educationalmaterials tailored foreach class.”Takashi GotoProduction EngineeringDevelopment Department Production Engineering Division“Our sights are on how to achievehigh quality at low cost and howto improve competitiveness. Webelieve that the new manufacturingfacilities we are developingwill play an important role inensuring Akebono continuesto manufacture in Japan.”Special Feature Social Repor t Environmental Repor t Economic Repor t Reference Materials

※このページを正しく表示するにはFlashPlayer9以上が必要です