Implementation of Measures in Response to RoHS Directives and a Shift in Production
Group Leader,
Technology Group 2,
Okaya Olympus Co., Ltd.
Tsuneo Yanagida
The IPLEX system requires some parts that can be manufactured only by trained technicians. Therefore, the entire production process for the system is done on a single floor. There is a trend in Japan of having sophisticated products designed and manufactured consistently in one place, and the IPLEX system is one such high-value- added product
Group Leader,
Production Group 2,
Okaya Olympus Co., Ltd.
Yasushi Hara
The IPLEX system has many variations that depend on the customer's purposes of use. We are not a build-to-order manufacturer, but we make efforts through dialogues to collect as much information as possible to meet customers' requirements. We believe that we need to manufacture products carefully because for their price, one could buy an expensive car.
People in charge of production and customer services participated in the
product planning of the IPLEX series from the development stage.
Our aim was to create a product that was not only to delight the eye but
also to have a well-designed internal structure so that it would be
easy to assemble and service.
To concentrate the manufacturing of industrial products, production
was shifted from Shirakawa Olympus and Aizu Olympus to Okaya
Olympus in 2003. Yasushi Hara, in Manufacturing Group 2, was
transferred to Shirakawa Olympus one year before the shift in production
to oversee preparations.
The timing coincided exactly with
enactment of EU directive on the restriction of the use of six hazardous
substances in electrical and electronic equipment (the RoHS
Directive). Therefore, in addition to our efforts toward building a
new production system, we continued to implement measures in
response to the RoHS Directive.
"The number of parts suppliers reached 185 to complete the
IPLEX system. In addition to asking all the suppliers to analyze the use
of hazardous substances, we analyzed the use of our own hazardous substances
to collect the necessary data.
The substances and parts at production sites are now under strict control in response to the RoHS," says
Tsuneo Yanagida from Technology Group 2, Okaya Olympus, who is actually in charge of the RoHS Directive.
Yasushi Hara, who is in charge of production, says,
"The use of new
soldering or plating methods leads to an increase in man-hours.
Therefore, we needed to promote changes in the consciousness of
individual workers in order for them to avoid handling errors concerning
parts or making other mistakes."
Sato also looks back on Mission 1,000 Visits as follows:
"The industrial endoscopy system evokes the image of something
discreet, but it surely serves to support the social infrastructure in
terms of quality and safety. It was really significant for our engineers to
actually see this fact with their own eyes and, at the same time, realize
that much of their work is directly connected to social contribution."
After Mission 1,000 Visits, sales persons would often go out to work
in combination with engineers. We hear growing calls for another
Mission 1,000 Visits. Accordingly, the Sales, Engineering, and
Production Departments will continue to make such effort together.
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