Japan advisers share
their expertise

Experienced Japanese advisors will spend a year in South Africa helping local automotive component manufacturers improve their quality, profitability and delivery performance.

Experienced Japanese advisors will spend a year in South Africa helping local automotive component manufacturers improve their quality, profitability and delivery performance while reducing costs for their clients.

Industrial engineers Susumu Sasao and Kiichi Katoh, who are also seasoned continuous improvement advisors, have extensive experience at the Nissan operations in Japan and abroad. They are guests of the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC) and were sent to South Africa by the Japanese Overseas Development Corporation. According to Gerhard Klooster, AIDC Manager for Competitiveness Improvement, they will be available until December 2002 to help local automotive component manufacturers.

Sasao’s field of expertise is work management, production management, quality control and cost management, while Katoh is also an expert in production technology, production control, quality control for automotive manufacturing (body assembly, body trimming, car assembly). He is also specialised in localisation of automotive component parts.

“They will assist some of our current clients first, where our Tirisano program is in different stages of completion,” Klooster said. “Our Tirisano program (Tswana word meaning ‘working together’) enables companies and trains staff to implement a program in their plants which will achieve continuous improvements in quality, cost and delivery performance.

“The impressive track record of the two advisors in improving competitiveness in a number of vehicle-producing countries across the globe, means that South African firms will definitely benefit from their experience,” said Klooster. Sasao has assisted manufacturers in Australia, the United States, Iran and Thailand, while Katoh has worked in India, Australia and Asia.

Companies interested in benefiting from these experts can contact Klooster @ gklooster@csir.co.za or (012) 841-4237.