Metal One Isuzu – Isuzu Factory Tour
Isuzu Corporation is an expert trading company which specializes in the steel industry. The Steel Service Division of the company processes and supplies cold rolled steel to various industries. Isuzu has nine regional service centers in the Kanto, Chuo and Tokai regions and one affiliated steel service company based in Kyushu. Isuzu Group also has Logistics, Life Service and Solution Divisions which provide other services related to its core-business.
Corporate Information
- Company: Isuzu Corporation
- Foundation: 1947
- Location: headquartered in Tokyo
- Main Business: cold rolled steel processing and distribution
Isuzu Corporation – Lean Characteristics
Standardization, 5S, Corporate Culture
Isuzu specializes in the processing and sales of cold rolled steel. It is a completely unrelated entity to that of Isuzu Motors. Isuzu has several regional service centers for distribution of steel coil to various industries, including the automotive and electronic industries, that demand reliable and timely service.
The company believes that coil distribution is an old economy and that in order to remain profitable in this maturing industry the company must focus on creating new value for the market and cutting costs by boosting shop floor and office efficiency.
Isuzu strives to make efficient use of space within its service centers, through minimizing stock on hand and utilizing racking with automated picking. Efficient operations are supported by a high level of standardized work and their enterprise resource planning system developed in-house, which not only allows them to achieve a high processing volume, but in conjunction with their internal logistics division, enables them to respond to urgent orders with a lead time of between 2 to 3 hours from receipt of order to dispatch to their customer, without compromising their day’s production schedule.
The company is extremely dedicated to the thorough implementation of 5S and workplace safety. Their shop floor operators carry out a 5S and safety patrol daily, with the responsibility for these audits shared across every member of their factory, office and logistics staff. The confidence that the company has in the management and presentation of its facilities, together with the capability of its staff, enables Isuzu to use its factory as a showroom, in order to build confidence in potential customers and drive sales.
The company also boasts an excellent corporate culture and an engaged, dedicated and vibrant workforce through their “full participation” and “all-in-management” approach.
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Paul and Eri from Shinka Management clearly understood the brief and greatly assisted in transforming our industry tour into an enjoyable and exceptional experience immersed in Japanese culture. Without their support we would not have gained the same level of factory access, learnings and knowledge. Well done!
read more
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The tour was a terrific experience shared with exceptional individuals. I was able to further my knowledge in lean manufacturing and hone my skills. I learned new ways to reduce waste and improve the working environment within industrial projects.
read more
Auckland, New Zealand
First of all I would like to offer an absolute gesture of gratitude to the Shinka Management team – Paul, Ichi, Kaji Sensei, and especially Eri who often went out of her way to make sure everything ran smoothly and we had a great time. In my opinion the organization of the whole tour was…
read more
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
The program was well organised and structured. The whole Shinka team were amazing and very accommodating. To be honest I was not certain that lean was the right fit for our business. But the refresher in Japan has opened up my eyes as to how it can be practically applied. The lean tour has prompted…
read more
Auckland, New Zealand
The fact that you can go past all the books and see the Toyota Production System in action first hand is fantastic. It is not sold in a complicated form by those involved but rather the opposite. The training room was found to be hands on and simple allowing us to touch and feel examples…
read more
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I would highly recommend the tour to anyone who is in the business of improving people. The ideas stimulated through this tour have helped me reform our entire vision of what improvement means for our business.
read more
The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.