Factories In Japan Research Articles

European trade ceramics on the Arabian Peninsula 1800–1960

European trade ceramics found across Arabia date from the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries and were made at factories mostly located within northwest Europe. After c. 1930, imitations of European ceramics are increasingly represented from factories in Japan and later China. Combining the information from archaeological excavations on the Arab coast of the Gulf and ceramics from museum and private collections, information from the archives of the British India Office and the Maastricht pottery order books for Arabia, a relatively detailed overview of this market for trade ceramics can be reconstructed. Three key points may be highlighted: First, the complex routes via which European ceramics arrived within Arabia, second, the significance of the link between producers and consumers on opposite sides of the globe, exemplified by specific designs and types of vessels manufactured for the Arabian market, and third, new layers of meaning that were given to such objects as they were incorporated into the homes, social fabric and the lives of people in Arabia.

Application of Metaheuristics to Packing Formation Support Systems of Pre-Cut Lumber Factory

In recent years, wood has been considered as a building material from the perspective of SDGs. Pre-cut lumber is often used for wooden houses, including roofs, floors, and pillars. It is preprocessed into a certain shape for the joint parts and has joint brackets if necessary. The use of them has the advantages of shortening the construction period and reducing the construction cost. The number of pre-cut lumber production factories in Japan decreased from 757 in 2001 to 659 in 2011 and then increased to 730 in 2016. Compared with 2011, the number of factories with sales of <500 million yen in 2016 decreased by approximately 30%, while the number of factors with sales of ≥500 million yen increased by 80%, indicating a trend toward a larger scale [1]. Therefore, improving the productivity of these factories is imperative. We have been researching the conversion of factories into smart factories to improve the productivity of pre-cut lumber manufacturing company A. In this company, employees take 1.2 h to prepare packing plans every day, and the company faces the challenge of improving the efficiency of planning operations. Herein, we propose an algorithm using an iterative local search (ILS) with Or-opt (ILS + Or-opt) for packing formation support systems to improve the efficiency of planning operations. This algorithm has the following two features. First, it uses Or-opt to create a neighborhood for a local search. Second, uses exchange neighborhoods when repeating the ILS to achieve diversity in the search.

In Pharmaceutical Factories in Japan, Dry Powders (Decoctions) are Doing Wonders Nowadays. A Review

In Pharmaceutical Factories in Japan, Dry Powders (Decoctions) are Doing Wonders Nowadays. A Review

Supply of labour during early industrialisation: Agricultural systems, textile factory work and gender in Japan and India, ca. 1880–1940

This article explores the reasons behind the marked differences in the gender division of labour in the emerging textile factories in Japan and India in the first half of the twentieth century. In Japan, the overwhelming majority of the workers in spinning mills were young, unmarried women, while in India men—married as well as unmarried—formed the bulk of the factory textile workforce. We argue that variations in agrarian systems and labour regimes constitute an important set of factors explaining some of these differences in gender patterns. The structural differences in the productivity, intensity and the social organisation of labour in agricultural economies in both countries led to notable variances in the gender composition of the supply of (rural) labour for the factories. Differential deployment of rural farm and non-farm labour, in combination with distinct labour recruitment practices in the countryside, caused rural households to adopt radically different income-generating strategies.

Local governments' response to accidents in chemical factories in Japan: Focus on petroleum industrial complexes special accident prevention areas

This study analyzes the current situation and issues associated with the response of local governments to accidents in chemical factories, with a focus on chemical petroleum complexes in Japan. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 134 local governments of special accident prevention areas based on the Act on the Prevention of Accidents in Japan, and 67.2% responded. A quarter of the respondents stated that they experienced more than 20 accidents in the last 5 years. However, the number of local governments that have formulated accident response manuals and prepared evacuation plans was almost half. About 12% described the range of information provided to the residents in advance. The results of the analysis revealed that preparedness of local governments in responding to accidents varies substantially and that local governments that have many factories tend to formulate response manuals and evacuation plans. The study suggests that municipalities should formulate evacuation plans and response manuals, while prefectures should take the initiative to streamline responses for accidents and provide information to residents based on the analysis results.

Development of Ply-Lam Composed of Japanese Cypress Laminae and Korean Larch Plywood

In recent years, the use of cross laminated timber (CLT) has been evolving. In addition, CLT manufactured with various species such as Japanese cedar has been developed to utilize the local resources in each country. However most factories in Japan produce CLT by bonding the laminae in width direction for orthogonal layers, where grain of element is perpendicular to the grain of outer layer, and this process is considered to be one of the factors that reduce productivity. A new wood based material (hereinafter referred to as Ply-lam) using wooden panel such as plywood for the orthogonal layer was developed in order to improve productivity in CLT manufacturing and improve quality. Japanese cypress lamina was used for the parallel layer, where grain of element is parallel to the grain of outer layer, of CLT and Korean larch plywood was used for the orthogonal layer, in order to effectively use Korean larch and expand the utilization of Japanese cypress. The cross-sectional construction of the Ply-lam was 5-layers 5-plies, and the dimensions were 1000 mm (width) × 150 mm (depth) × 4000 mm (length). As a performance evaluation of the manufactured Ply-lam, strength tests such as out-of-plane bending, in-plane bending, out-of-plane shearing and in-plane shearing tests were carried out. As the result of this study, Ply-lam composed of Japanese cypress lamina panels and Korean larch plywood showed very higher out-of-plane bending strength compared to the standard strength of CLT. And the result obtained in other tests seems to show a sufficiently high value.

The relevance of Kaizen-based work-readiness training for South African University of Technology students

Kaizen -based work-readiness training originated in Japan and is based on the ‘lean’ production methods taught in Toyota factories in Japan and abroad. Kaizen -based training is rooted in the Kaizen principles of respect for others, the elimination of waste, continuous improvement, collaboration as the key to productivity and innovation as incremental in work processes. The Employability Improvement Programme (EIP), an initiative between the South African Department of Higher Education and Training, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and South African Universities of Technology, is a Kaizen -based short training programme that was introduced in 2011 with the intention to enhance South African University of Technology students’ work-readiness. The research question guiding the study is: how could a short Kaizen -based intervention contribute to South African University of Technology students’ work-readiness? The data for the study comprise curriculum documents, teaching and learning media, video footage and interviews with participants of the Kaizen events over the period 2016–2018. The study found that the EIP supported students’ acquisition of interpersonal skills and personal dispositions towards work-readiness, but skills that were related to workplace relations in context, professional values and a sense of a broader contribution to society were largely absent. The study recommends that longer term, more integrated and better contextualised forms of training are necessary in attaining work-readiness in the complex South African work context.

Research on horizontal system model for food factories: A case study of process cheese manufacturer

The diary food factories in Japan are facing serious challenges of severe labor shortage and the increased diversity of demand. Food manufacturing companies are forced to improve factories to be more productive and flexible to deal with the expanding market scale in the future and also the product diversity. To improve the productivity and the flexibility, automation technologies have been implemented in manufacturing system with the popularization of Industrial 4.0 and Smart Factory. Based on the actual system construction practice of a dairy factory which is as a case study, this paper proposes a five-level horizontal model with automation technologies, aiming to realize high efficiency, rapid integration and relocation of the manufacturing system. This paper introduces the composition, the specifications and the functions of the horizontal model, and evaluates the function of each level. Finally, through the case study and numerical comparison on cost and labor hours, we verify the superiority of the proposed horizontal hierarchical system model for food factories.

Development of a Robot for Automated Adhesive Interlining in Sewing Factories

Garment factories in Japan require automated work to make up for labor shortage. The purpose of this study is to develop a robot that automates the end process of adhesive interlining. The special feature of this robot is that it can grip and move a flexible fabric and stack it with high precision; as a result, the next process can be easily performed. A non-contact pad is used to grip the fabric, and the gripping point is determined by image processing, which uses a camera. A device was created to simulate the belt conveyor installed in a continuous crimping machine, and the performance of the robot was evaluated by measuring the displacement of the fabrics stacked by it.

일본 식물공장의 특징 및 운영 현황 분석

Purpose: Plant factories are active in Japan and around the world. The purpose of this study is to analyze the status of the plant in operation in Japan, its operation mode, the project proponent, and cultivated crops. Based on the results of the analysis, we will review the overall contents, characteristics and problems of plant factories. Through the above research, it is possible to provide basic knowledge necessary for the concept and operation of domestic plant factories, and it can be applied to the study of vertical farm through eco-friendly utilization of vacant houses or buildings as part of domestic urban regeneration plans. We expect to be used as basic data. Method: First, we analyzed the previous researches on the plant factories which have been carried out to date and examined the overall research trends. Second, the concept and characteristics of the plant were analyzed. Third, based on the analysis of general characteristics of plant factories in Japan, the status of plant factories was analyzed and analyzed by detailed items. Result: The results of the analysis of the operation types and characteristics of plant factories are as follows. First, under the support of the national government, the plant is being promoted in parallel with the business improvement of the plant. Second, we are preparing for an aging society, which is a social problem. Third, it expects to be supported by engineers in the industrial and manufacturing fields, including improvements in top management of production and management, including work management and labor management.

Perspective Index of Production Workers

IntroductionUsing data obtained from a questionnaire of 354 workplace leaders and 3,116 workers at 97 factories in Japan's electrical and electronics industry, this study examines relationships among a perspective index, job satisfaction, and desire to leave one's job (i.e., turnover candidacy) (Okada & Inamizu, 2014; Takahashi, 1997, 2002, 2013a, 2013b; Takahashi, Ohkawa, & Inamizu, 2009, Takahashi, Ohkawa, Inamizu, & Akiike, 2013). A perspective index shows the awareness level of one's future or the organization future to which one belongs, as well as how engaged a person is in his/her work from a long-term perspective. Takahashi's (1997) survey, mainly targeting white-collar workers, showed that a perspective index has a mostly linear, positive relationship with job satisfaction, and a mostly linear, negative relationship with turnover candidacy.The main factors involved in this study are the subjects, leaders on the shop floor (gemba in Japanese), and gemba workers involved in manufacturing. Few studies are performed to determine whether a perspective index can verify the effects exerted on job satisfaction and turnover candidacy in the abovementioned roles. In addition, the gemba in Japan's electrical and electronics industry in recent years has been competing with emerging countries. While this is likely to make it difficult to have a perspective on one's own future or that of one's company, examining the results that perspective indices hold is essential.The results of the analysis are as follows:(1) There is a mostly linear, positive relationship between the perspective index and job satisfaction.(2) There is a mostly linear, negative relationship between the perspective index and turnover candidacy.(3) The job satisfaction level of the gemba leaders was almost the same as that realized by Takahashi (1997), but the job satisfaction level among manufacturing workers generally tended to be higher. Moreover, turnover candidacy among manufacturing workers was lower than that realized by Takahashi (1997).Research MethodData used in this study's analysis is from a survey entitled Denki Sangyou no Genbaryoku Chousa (A Survey of Shop Floor Capability in the Electrical and Electronics Industry; Shintaku, Inamizu, Fukuzawa, Suzuki, & Yokozawa, 2014), where a questionnaire survey regarding the factory, gemba leaders, and workers was conducted. The subjects of the survey belonged to companies that are affiliated with the Japanese Electrical, Electronic, and Information Union and that have a shop floor.In addition to considering measurements used in existing research regarding strategy and organization in Japanese companies, interviews were conducted at approximately ten companies. Points of interest identified during the interviews were incorporated in the questionnaires. Furthermore, feedback obtained from business experts regarding potential answers to questions and their significance was considered, and the questionnaire was completed at the end of November 2013. From December 2013 to January 2014, the questionnaires were distributed to the subjects and then collected.The questionnaire types and response rate details are as follows:Questionnaire A: Survey of the workplace and factory.Subjects: Factory manager, general manager, and others with an overall perspective of the factory and workplace.Contents: Products manufactured at the factory and the state of human resources; the level of centralization of factory functions and the frequency and satisfaction of inter-department coordination; the state of organization at the factory level, namely the organizational climate at the headquarters and the factory; inter-site relationships; factory performance; overall factory strategy, etc.Responses: 97 factories (questionnaires distributed to 163 factories, with 59.5% response rate).Questionnaire B: Survey of workplace leaders. …

How important is geographical agglomeration to factory efficiency in Japan’s manufacturing sector?

In this paper, the productivity spillovers from efficient factories have been investigated using factory-level data of Japan’s Census of Manufactures. The following three steps have been performed by estimating: first, efficiency of each factory using a nonparametric data envelopment analysis model for each industry, second, geographical distances to the most efficient factory in the prefecture and Japan overall are third, determinants of factories’ performance. Results suggest that clustering occurs in each industry and efficient factories concentrate in certain regions. The share of efficient firms in total firms is particularly high in the Chubu and Tohoku regions. For many industries closeness to the most efficient factories plays a statistically significant positive role in the efficiency of manufacturing factories in Japan. However, this is not the case in high-tech industries.

Estimating Power Outage Costs Based on a Survey of Industrial Customers

SummaryThousands of factories in Japan responded to a survey on power outage costs for industrial customers. From across the country, 5139 facilities designated as energy management factories answered questions about their power consumption and the loss of production value due to a hypothetical hour‐long power outage on a summer weekday. Using their responses, we estimated the median unit cost of a power outage across all sectors to be 672 yen/kWh. The service sector of amusement and hobbies and the manufacturing sector that makes electronic information and communication equipment have relatively high unit costs for power outages. The direct cost of damage from a specified power outage across all sectors totaled 77 billion yen. Using input–output analysis, we estimated the indirect damage costs caused by the repercussions of halting production. Indirect damages across all sectors totaled 91 billion yen. The wholesale and retail trade sector had the largest direct damage costs, while the transportation equipment manufacturing sector has the largest indirect damage costs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 185(4): 25–32, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22306

Networking System Employing near Infrared Spectroscopy for Sugarcane Payment in Japan

A cane quality evaluation system using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for determining payments to growers was developed and introduced to raw sugar mills in southern Japan. The evaluation system consists of a cutter grinder for sample preparation, an NIR instrument and a networking system. We investigated a calibration model for the determination of sugar index [Pol in cane, (PIC)] for shredded cane samples using a modified partial least squares regression with and without a repeatability file. The accuracy of the model developed using the repeatability file was adequate [root-mean square error of prediction, ( RMSEP) = 0.30%] and the pooled standard error ( P-SE) between master and eight slave instruments was 0.14%. In contrast, calibration models without a repeat ability file incurred large P-SE and pooled bias ( P-bias) values, although the RMSEP values were very similar to the repeatability file model in cases using the first derivative and standard normal variate (SNV) spectral pre-treatment. The evaluation system was installed in 17 raw sugar mills on 13 islands involved in sugarcane cultivation in southern Japan. The system is presently used to measure the PIC value of cane samples that are supplied by farmers to mills. All data obtained are collected and compiled into a central facility via the Internet. The NIR networking system for sugarcane has been implemented in all raw sugar factories in Japan as an official method for determining cane prices.

Reduction of natural resource consumption in cement production in Japan by waste utilization

According to Japanese government policy, the input of natural resources should be minimized and input resources should be utilized to the greatest extent possible so that, eventually, minimum waste is generated. The cement industry of Japan has worked hard to maximize waste utilization. Focusing on the cumulative amounts of the elements needed for clinker and gross calorific values, this study estimated the extent to which waste utilization has directly or indirectly reduced natural resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with cement production at 32 factories in Japan and clarified the effect of waste utilization in the cement industry on the resource productivity of Japan based on information for fiscal year 2008. Had no wastes been utilized, the cement industry consumption of limestone would have been 18% higher; of clay, 2,899% higher; and of energy, 22% higher. The utilization of wastes in the mixing and burning process of cement production directly reduced greenhouse gas emissions (12% emitted gas reduction) by a larger amount than the indirect reduction achieved by their utilization during the admixing process (10% reduction). Waste utilization for cement production contributed to an increase in resource productivity of about 8,000 Japanese Yen/ton.

Methylobacterium persicinum sp. nov., Methylobacterium komagatae sp. nov., Methylobacterium brachiatum sp. nov., Methylobacterium tardum sp. nov. and Methylobacterium gregans sp. nov., isolated from freshwater

Eight strains, 002-165T, 002-079T, B0021T, Hojyo2, RB603B, RB677T, 002-074T and RB678, isolated from the environment of food-processing factories in Japan, were characterized using a polyphasic approach. The isolates were Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, pink-pigmented, facultatively methylotrophic, non-spore-forming rods. The chemotaxonomic characteristics of these isolates included the presence of C18 : 1omega7c as the major cellular fatty acid and ubiquinone Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone. The DNA G+C content was 67.1-71.1 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and DNA gyrase B subunit (gyrB) nucleotide sequence confirmed that the eight strains belonged to the Methylobacterium clade. Moreover, a DNA-DNA hybridization analysis showed that the eight isolates represented five novel species. On the basis of their phenotypic and phylogenetic distinctiveness, the isolates represent five novel species within the genus Methylobacterium, for which the names Methylobacterium persicinum sp. nov. (type strain 002-165T =DSM 19562T =NBRC 103628T =NCIMB 14378T), Methylobacterium komagatae sp. nov. (type strain 002-079T =DSM 19563T =NBRC 103627T =NCIMB 14377T), Methylobacterium brachiatum sp. nov. (type strain B0021T =DSM 19569T =NBRC 103629T =NCIMB 14379T), Methylobacterium tardum sp. nov. (type strain RB677T =DSM 19566T =NBRC 103632T =NCIMB 14380T) and Methylobacterium gregans sp. nov. (type strain 002-074T =DSM 19564T =NBRC 103626T =NCIMB 14376T) are proposed.

3106 モジュール構造化による多品種少量生産対応検査プラットフォームの開発(OS3-1 生産システムの管理)

While manufacturing factories in Japan strengthen high-variety low-volume manufacturing more and more, there is a great demand of higher measures for it from manufacturing sites. The real bottleneck has been an inspection process at the final assembly line which decides manufacturing model and ability. We developed a platform which solves this bottleneck and inspects high-variety of products with cross-model and cross-group. Furthermore, the platform also has a capability to shorten the inspection time and control the quality of manufacturing line.

Model analysis of an inter-industrial and inter-regional waste recycling system in Japan

Abstract In this study, we investigate an inter-industrial and inter-regional recycling system for industrial waste by the cement industry in Japan. We develop a linear programming model that represents cement production processes and waste transportation of all cement factories in Japan. We simulate cost and CO 2 -minimizing systems. The result implies that making waste transportation more efficient in cost is an effective means for CO 2 reduction.

Establishment of a Japanese-owned Automobile Company in India and Construction of Its Production System

India, as well as other Asian countries, especially China and Thailand, has experienced a rapid growth in its automobile industry since the 1990s. One of the main reasons for this growth was the implementation of an economic liberalization policy that accelerated a huge amount of direct investment in India on the part multinational motor companies. These companies established 100%owned assembly plants or joint ventures that collaborated with local business groups. In 2002, 12 motor companies, including three Japanese ones, competed for the market shares of passenger cars and multi-utility vehicles. While the total number of vehicles produced in India has gradually increased, the scale of production per company has remained small because of severe market competition. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), a joint venture created by Toyota Motor Company, Japan, with the Kirloskar Group, India, was investigated in an attempt to explain the small-scale vehicle production system of an overseas Japanese automobile plant. TKM was founded on the Bidadi Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Bangalore in 1997 and started commercial production of multi-utility vehicles in 1999. Its annual vehicle production is approximately 30, 000 units, which is far fewer than those of Toyota-owned overseas plants in North America and Europe. Therefore, TKM is a suitable example for considering the above topic. TKM constructed an efficient factory to achieve cost reduction. Compared with Toyota's factory buildings in Japan, that of TKM is lower in total height and narrower in terms of aisle space. Instead of costly steel-collar robots, it utilizes manual workers in production processes like welding, painting, and body assembling. These processes are mostly automated in Japan. Some of the machinery and equipment were shifted from Toyota-owned factories in Japan or Southeast Asia to maintain a low initial investment. TKM employed an improved, “just-in-time” (JIT) system to adapt to small-scale production and the local economic environment. TKM's parts suppliers are located in agglomerations of the automobile industry in Delhi, Pune, and Chennai, as well as Bangalore. TKM purchases 70% of its parts in monetary terms from Indian branches of Toyota group companies located in Bangalore. These group companies play an important role as core suppliers to TKM. TKM employs the milk run logistics system for parts delivery to perform JIT production. The milk run system has made it possible to minimize transportation costs. TKM established a transportation company responsible for transporting its auto parts. The company travels from supplier to supplier to collect parts along its routes. After arranging the parts in a long deck truck at consolidating stations in Delhi, Pune, and Chennai, the truck is driven to TKM every day. The suppliers surveyed in Bangalore are divided into the following two types. Members of the first type are Japanese owned and established as dedicated suppliers to TKM. Members of the second type are locally owned and their business with TKM comprises a small percentage of their sales. The local suppliers have many customers that vary from vehicle manufacturers to other industrial customers. In India, the business per customer is so small that suppliers need to have many business partners and networks to make a profit. Some of the Japanese suppliers tried to expand their business relations with other customers to meet the small-scale production of TKM.

New developments in the occupational safety and health management system

The occupational safety and health management system(OSHMS)has been introduced into many companies and factories in Japan. However, there are certain factories that are considering the introduction of OSHMS, while other factories are not interested in it. In the factories which have introduced OSHMS, occupational health activities are still insufficient. Passage by which OSHMS was introduced into Japan and a basic way to advance OSHMS is described in this paper. In addition, for OSHMS to spread to many companies in the future, and to achieve good results, the themes and prospects which should be examined are described. The themes shown in this paper are as follows: risk assessment, revision of the law and regulation, system auditing, individual management of safety and health rules, evaluation of the low concentration exposure influence, appropriate job suitability system, training of the expert, the support organization, supporting small and medium-sized scale factories.