2012
(Posted Oct. 2012)
Reconstruction Activities and Countermeasures Against Future Natural Disasters
Based on the lessons learned from the flooding, the Minebea Group is striving to reinforce its countermeasures and prepare for the possibility of future floods.
The restoration of the damaged Rojana and Navanakorn Plants is scheduled to be completed in September 2012 following the total replacement of machinery, maintenance to the facilities, and the cleaning of the inside and outside of the buildings. Both the plants are located in industrial parks which are strengthening their own flooding countermeasures (construction of embankments). The plants are taking independent initiatives, however, which include the reinforcement of buildings with steel plates to prevent water from entering. The Bang Pa-in and Ayutthaya Plants, meanwhile, used water level data from the 2011 floods to construct new embankments which can withstand floods three-to-four times the previous size (construction completed in July 2012).
In addition to the direct impact of the floods, the inability of employees to commute to work and unstable power supplies also contributed to periods of lower operational capacity at the plants. The Group will use this experience to bolster future countermeasures, including the establishment of backup structures at other plants to fulfill the Group's responsibility of supplying customers, as well as the reformulation of the inventory strategy.
One of the most valuable experiences from the disaster was the strengthening of the Group's unity through the demonstration of employees' strong desire to protect their company and collaborate to overcome the disaster. This new sense of unity will be leveraged to bolster countermeasures against future disasters.
To accelerate the restart of operations, employees carry out maintenance activities despite pools of water remaining on the plant floor; Without power, employees labor amid hot and humid conditions.
The newly constructed embankment at the Bang Pa-in Plant.
