Visit and Inspection of SumiRiko Engineering and SumiRiko Metex

In late November, I visited and inspected two group companies, SumiRiko Engineering (SRK-E) and SumiRiko Metex (SRK-M), located on the premises of the Komaki Head Office and Komaki Plant.
SRK-E is engaged in custom-made services from design to local installation of production facilities,and is also active overseas.
SRK-M manufactures metal fittings used in anti-vibration rubber for automobiles and hydraulic hose mouthpieces for construction machinery.In this issue, we will introduce two companies' Kaizen examples.

SRK-E's Kaizen Case Study

SRK-E introduced its efforts to digitize its entire manufacturing division.
The company had many inquiries about every single part related to equipment, and each process required checking a large number of paper slips, but the digitalization helped them to reduce man-hours and costs.
It was encouraging to see the young engineer's eyes shining as they worked energetically on improvement activities.Social norms and IT tools are constantly changing and advancing.
By absorbing these changes and flexibly following them, I believe that both the workers themselves and the company will grow.

SRK-M’s Kaizen Case Study

The biggest issue that was raised by SRK-M was the time loss during material transportation.
To solve the problem, the company began working to ensure the basic 5S (“Seiri(sort)”, “Seiton(set)”, “Seiso(Shine)”, “Seiketsu(Standardise)”, “Shitsuke(Sustain)”) and to separate people and vehicle so that accidents involving contact between forklifts and people would not occur, while at the same time ensuring a clear line of sight in the manufacturing process.
Safety is our top priority, and we have always asked for separation of people and vehicles.
It is wonderful that they were able to start working on issues that were not addressed last year, but it appears that there are still many areas for improvement.
I hope that they can learn from the divisions that are ahead of us and make our workplace safer.

What I have conveyed to them

Please promote information sharing not only within each company but also within the whole Sumitomo Riko Group to enhance synergy.
Please keep bringing up any points that are difficult or hard to work on, not only within the plant.
There is no end to Kaizen activities, so I would like you to challenge new things "without being bound by past concepts" and use them as a path for the future.