Sumiden Trading partners with A-SAFE to make one of Japan’s safest logistics facilities

Sumiden Trading: world-leading automotive and electronics distribution

Sumiden Trading is part of the Sumitomo Electric Group, one of Japan’s foremost automotive and electronics providers with over 400 subsidiaries and 280,000 employees across 30 countries. Sumiden Trading provides the Sumitomo manufacturing giant with a suite of distribution services, operating a state-of-the-art logistics facility. 

Sumiden Trading employs 1,600 people worldwide, with a team of 450 in Japan. Ensuring the safe transit of personnel and goods is paramount for the business. Indeed, Sumiden Trading places a huge focus on promoting workplace safety, investing in a suite of solutions designed to make its Shiga Logistics Center, Kansai, Japan, among the safest facilities within the group. After further expanding the distribution center, Sumiden Trading considered how it could bolster safety throughout its operations. 

Separating people and vehicles 

Pedestrian safety was one of the key areas the company wanted to further improve within its facility operations. As a busy distribution center with significant employee footfall and forklift trucks in operation, ensuring the safety of employees on foot was paramount, as was safeguarding facility technology and machinery from collision-related damage.  

According to Tetsuya Fukunishi - General Manager at Sumiden Trading “ The Sumitomo Electric Group regards safety as one of the most important management goals, and the entire company is aiming for a comfortable workplace where employees can work safely and with peace of mind under the banner of "Safety takes precedence over everything.” 

A-SAFE barriers maximise safety and prevent downtime 

One of the key benefits of the A-SAFE pedestrian barrier is that it flexes on impact, providing ultimate protection for the pedestrians behind it. For Sumiden Trading, specifying a polymer barrier over a steel counterpart was key to maximize safety. Not only does the protective performance of A-SAFE’s polymer pedestrian barrier outstrip steel, but it also requires less maintenance – with no rust or paintwork that requires repair. For a facility environment as busy and fast-paced as Sumiden Trading’s, where any downtime can have significant cost implications, a solution requiring minimal maintenance delivers a host of benefits. 

Correspondingly, protecting facilities and buildings was also one of the purposes for adopting A-SAFE barriers. If conveyor or door shutter equipment is damaged at facilities such as the Shiga Distribution Center, there is a risk of major hindrance to operational efficiency.  

Facility-wide pedestrian segregation and risk reduction 

A-SAFE barriers have been specified in both the facility’s interior and outdoor areas; ultimately helping Sumiden Trading create safe pedestrian walkways that ensure human/vehicle separation throughout the whole facility. Other A-SAFE innovations that have been implemented across the Sumiden Trading facility include bollards and column guards designed to further reduce risk and prevent collisions; traffic barriers throughout storage and shipping areas; topple barriers to protect pedestrians from falls and swing gates – creating controlled pedestrian access points, allowing personnel to cross dedicated vehicle routes with confidence

Safer conditions mean happier and more productive employees 

The roll-out of A-SAFE solutions throughout the facility has had a measurable positive impact on Sumiden Trading. Tetsuya Fukunishi continues: “After the installation of A-SAFE barriers, our staff also said that they can concentrate on work with peace of mind. I feel that by providing a safer workplace for our company, it will also lead to improved employee satisfaction.”