Factory Inspection at the Komaki Plant

In early September, we inspected the factory in Komaki Plant.

As a countermeasure against coronavirus infection, we downsized the tour and walked through each of the manufacturing sites at the Komaki Plant in two days.

In MONOZUKURI (manufacturing) companies, managers often visit their factories.

We also have a practice that our president and board members show up at each of our business units on a regular basis.

Until last year, I used to visit those production sites without any notice when I had time, and asked some questions such as “Why is this work set up like this?” to the floor members.

Perhaps it was because I wasn't the president of the company at the time, associates of the production sites were very friendly and willing to talk to me, and I could learn a lot from them.

This time, however, I visited there as the president and I felt a little sad because people on the manufacturing sites seemed to be too polite to me.

Regarding the inspection

Especially in the first half of this fiscal year, production was not stable due to the effects of the coronavirus, and I think the plant had a lot of difficulties in its operation.

Even under such a business environment, it was encouraging to see young associates reporting energetically on the details of improvements at the manufacturing site and the status of safety and production as usual.

In response to the report, I made the following points, among others.

* Safety is our top priority.

* Be aware of the importance of responding to abnormalities.

* Our job is not to summarize the trends in production status in figures, but to analyze the figures and make improvements from there.

* I hope that the details of the Kaizen (improvements) will be actively communicated with other departments to disseminate the information horizontally and lead to improvements throughout the company.

Regarding the future

From the second half of the fiscal year, we are afraid that the difference in production volume for each plant and line will become even greater depending on customer trends.

However, at times like these, I think the real capability of our company and its plants will be tested, and our daily efforts and accumulated improvements will be reflected in our business results.

I have reaffirmed my determination to continue communicating with everyone on the manufacturing sites to make the Group grow into an " Global Excellent Manufacturing Company".