Manufacturers stepping up anti-disaster efforts

April 16, 2018

Tokyo- The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and the Kumamoto quakes two years ago have prompted many manufacturers to draw up plans to ensure their business continuity in the event of natural disasters.

In January this year, 12 semiconductor makers, including Sony Corp. and Renesas Electronics Corp. agreed to mutually supply components of production equipment and other items when a disaster strikes. Sony and Renesas suffered major damage to production from the series of powerful quakes that hit the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto in April 2016.

Automakers are trying to decentralize production bases and set antidisaster measures for their entire supply chains, including subcontractors.

A lot of semiconductor makers and automakers have bases in the Kyushu southwestern region. Many of their plants suffered damage from the Kumamoto tremors.

Semiconductor makers discussed how they can cooperate to continue their business in the event of disasters, because it took months for some plants to resume operations following the quakes. They decided to establish a contact system to facilitate mutual provision of necessary parts at the time of disasters.

Production equipment use many common components, a semiconductor industry official said, explaining the significance of the mutual provision system.

Individual high-technology makers are drawing up their own antidisaster measures as well.

Renesas resumed part of its production in just eight days after the Kumamoto quakes, thanks to work to enhance the quake-resistance of plants launched following the March 2011 disaster.

The company made its earthquake risk estimates for many locations in Japan tougher after the Kumamoto quakes. Sony has also taken a similar measure.

Fujifilm Corp. has started running a system to swiftly predict damage to its facilities from the size of an earthquake at 10 domestic bases by March. It has introduced drones for aerial monitoring in Kyushu.

Toyota Motor Corp. was forced to stop operations at its main auto plants nationwide after door and other auto parts plants of Aishin Seiki Co. , a Toyota group company, were hit by the Kumamoto tremors.

In the light of this experience, Toyota is taking steps to secure supply of parts at the time of disasters and decentralize production bases.

Honda Motor Co.has decided to set up a disaster response task force in its plant in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, if its head office in Tokyo is damaged by a disaster.

According to a survey on automakers and semiconductor-related companies in Kyushu compiled by the industry ministry's Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry by March, some 70 pct of large companies have drawn up plans to continue product supply in the event of disasters, while the share was less than 30 percent for small companies.

The key task is how to encourage small companies, including subcontractors, to create such plans, pundits said. Jiji Press