Yokotenkai (Horizontal) deployment of Kaizen Activities underpinning the Group's strengths

It is my policy to verify the status of workplace kaizen activities and improvements in engineering capabilities and productivity firsthand—at the actual site and by seeing the actual conditions—whenever possible.
This is because visiting the site and directly experiencing your initiatives and the creative ways you solve challenges provides a valuable opportunity to share the wisdom and passion found on the ground. We have long embraced this culture and carry out "SRIM-CZ" activities.
Here, I introduce the SRIM-CZ initiatives taking place at the Automotive Anti-Vibration Business Headquarters of the Komaki Plant and the Fine Elastomer Business Unit of the Saitama Plant.

Workplace Kaizen to Prepare for Emergencies 

The Automotive Anti-Vibration Business Headquarters has identified "creating safe people, workplaces, and organizations" as a key initiative and is actively pursuing kaizen activities on a daily basis.
This time, we received reports on 17 kaizen cases covering aspects such as S.E.C.Q., cost, energy conservation, and the streamlining of workflows.
As part of this, the Automotive Anti-Vibration Business Headquarters, Production Preparation Division conducted an emergency response demonstration, simulating a scenario where a worker fell ill during the painting or bonding process.
This process is carried out independently within the painting booth.
Although the booth door has a small window, conditions inside are difficult to monitor from the outside; furthermore, the location is approximately 50 meters away from the process management area—where personnel typically gather—making it difficult to notice any irregularities.
With the aim of creating a workplace where abnormalities could be detected immediately and emergency response could be provided, kaizen activities were carried out while evaluating various measures.
After the kaizen was implemented, if an employee collapses in the painting room, a motion-detecting transmitter senses the movement and triggers an abnormality alarm 10 seconds after the fall, enabling an emergency response within one minute. In addition to the importance of fostering a safe workplace environment, it can be applied to other plants, so I was once again impressed that this is an excellent example of an initiative capable of implementing Yokotenkai.

Workplace Environment Kaizen Driven by Yokotenkai (Horizontal Knowledge Sharing)

In the Fine Elastomers Business Unit, members from various departments engaged in repeated discussions aimed at boosting employee engagement.
The initiative began by identifying workplace needs through a survey of employees working at the site.
This effort gained momentum after drawing upon examples of workplace environment improvements at sites such as the Matsusaka Plant and the Komaki Plant.
They are sharing the issues raised in surveys as priority areas and are implementing improvements that take diverse working styles into account.
For instance, to address issues such as sound carrying to the surrounding area and concerns about being watched during web conferences in open spaces, proposals were made to create environments conducive to concentration by installing highly soundproof individual or "family-restaurant-style" booths; some areas have already undergone this renovation.
They are currently moving forward with these kaizen proposals, verifying their effectiveness one by one through a process of trial and error in operation for their full-scale implementation in the coming term.
Furthermore, the need to secure additional meeting space has led to a new goal: reducing office documents by approximately 70% and advancing digital transformation (DX).
This growing awareness is supported by the accumulation of daily communication.
Horizontally sharing initiatives across different bases serves as a major stimulus that not only revitalizes the organization but also fosters the growth of each individual member.

Fostering a "Kaizen Culture" Across the Group 

During this SRIM-CZ initiative, I was deeply impressed to see how the presenters are proactively driving kaizen activities while envisioning the ideal future state, all based on key activities that look ahead to the future.
Within the Automotive Anti-Vibration Business Headquarters, Yokotenkai initiatives to other departments and related group companies contribute to improving overall productivity.
We also look forward to seeing our various bases—starting with the Saitama Plant—share the Kaizen cases with one another and drive Kaizen activities from a company-wide perspective that transcends each Business Headquarters.
I frequently visit manufacturing bases—both in Japan and overseas—to engage in candid exchanges of views with the staff there, including discussions on kaizen ideas that are still in the conceptual stage.
Incorporating best practices from other bases into your own operations—or sharing your division’s initiatives with others, as we are doig now—is a core strength of our Group.
If you encounter any difficulties, please do not hesitate to speak up.
I ask all managers and supervisors to foster a workplace environment where such feedback is welcomed and heeded.
There is no end to Kaizen.
Let us not be bound by the past concept, but pursue our ideal state; and let us view change as an opportunity across the entire Group and continue to take on bold challenges.