Safe and comfortable product lines created by “Nebraska work ethic”

I entered KMM as a manufacturing engineer in 1989. At present, I am supervising the “rail car division,” in which we manufacture subway cars and commuter rail cars for public transportation systems. The manufacturing of rail cars at KMM began in 2001, and in 2017, we passed the milestone of a cumulative manufacturing total of 2,000 rail cars.

Nebraskans possess high ethical values towards their work, are good with their hands, and have a knack for seeing the important points of technology. They also have earnestness in facing the challenges as a team. This kind of character is perfect for the manufacturing of products like rail cars, which provide safety and comfort to the passengers for a long time.

There are some areas around the plant where I would like to be able to hire more high skilled workers directly, though in the U.S. at present, there is an unprecedented labor shortage, and Nebraska is no exception to that. In an era of quickly advancing technology, a highly skilled workforce is necessary, so we must work to improve the skills of our employees at KMM.

What’s important is to put more effort than others into improving your own skill level, and to have the management to promote that effort, make it fun and draw from it the confidence that you can achieve your goals.

In that sense, for KMM, the Kawasaki Production System (KPS), which is based on the idea of thoroughly eliminating waste, has become the foundational force, and is enforced across the four manufacturing divisions of KMM, not only among KMM employees, but temporary workers as well. Even in cases where temporary workers aim to become regular employees, they have momentum to improve their skills as they already have a good foundation.

My top priority is to appropriately position experienced workers and support those who are aiming to improve their skills, and to ensure there continue to be opportunities for learning and employee development though our many KMM internal KPS and skill based training programs and that we continually assess and enhance our training capabilities for the future.

It’s all about “Good People, Working Hard, Willing to Learn, Following KPS”; I believe this is the foundation that creates our bright future.