The Okayama Factory (head office) is located in the downtown area of Okayama City, where we always keep in mind consideration for the environment and so that safe operations can be performed in residential areas. Our concept established under such circumstances is "triple or quadruple environmental safety countermeasures."
For example, assuming a liquid spillage from a plating line, a "receiving pan" is installed under all treatment tanks of the plating line. Even in the event of liquid spillage, the "receiving pan" receives the leakage spill and prevents the leakage from spreading. If the leakage exceeds the capacity of the "receiving pan," "banks" of 10cm in height surrounding the plating line prevent the leakage from spreading. Even in the event of a leakage spill over these "banks," the sunken floor prevents the leakage from spreading outside the factory from stairs or service doors, etc. Further, even in the event of a leakage spill outward as it cannot be prevented due to a large-scale earthquake, etc., "ditches" and "banks" provided at the boundaries between the factory premises and roads will prevent the leakage from spreading.
In other words, even in the event of an accident in the factory, there is a mechanism where "triple or quadruple environmental safety countermeasures" prevent the leakage from spreading outside the factory by enforcement of three or four check points.
Currently, triple or quadruple environmental safety measures are always secured by making full use of digital technologies such as automatic measurements.
Appearance of the Okayama Factory
The Okayama Factory's wastewater treatment facilities feature 100% aboveground installation of all treatment tanks. Previously, we adopted an underground pit system, but there was a concern about underground seepage with this system and required emptying out the underground tanks and inspecting the tanks for cracks and checking the linings several times a year as periodic inspection. On enforcement of the "Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act," we ceased use of underground tanks and installed aboveground tanks in order to continuously monitor the tanks visually.
Although it was a significant investment on our part while cost reductions were being strongly demanded by our customers, we spent three years from 2003 to remodel the wastewater treatment site for complete "visualization."
Consideration for the local community
Sound sleep even for 24-hour operations has been ensured for the local community with the installation of sound-proof windows, sound-proof walls, and light-blocking roll-up curtains.
Consideration for employees
A comfortable working environment has been ensured with the installation of air intake ducts and exhaust air ducts to create air flow.
Consideration for the environment
Floor:
With a 5-layer coating floor including water-proof asphalt, underground seepage has been thoroughly prevented, and the floor itself serves as a "receiving pan." Our facilities are designed to be supported by their own weight alone based on our unique designs. Consideration is given so that cracks do not occur by fixing anchor bolts, etc.
Wastewater treatment:
Plating wastewater is recovered and treated by separating into seven channels. An effort to reduce environmental load is made through various activities such as recycling some of the wastewater.
Wastewater treatment by channels
The environmentally all-in-one factory is based on the concept of consolidating all necessary functions from a wastewater treatment site, chemical chambers, scrap yards, through to truck yards, in the factory.
This requires no piping outside the factory for which measures would be difficult to take against leakage, and no leakage flows outside the factory even in the event of an accidental rollover during chemical transport.
In addition, the Tochigi Factory has introduced the IC card security system to control all entry and exiting of the factory including access of each area inside the factory as well as take-out of chemicals.
In addition, as a matter of course, our accumulated know-how and countermeasures having been fully incorporated at the Okayama Factory.
As the first floor, which is the primary location of our factory, is occupied by wastewater treatment facilities, productivity is somewhat sacrificed, but we designed this factory based on the concept that we who will continue living as one with the earth and community should give top priority to environmental safety measures.
Appearance of the Tochigi Factory
Tochigi wastewater treatment facilities
