ISSUE 1 | 2016 RUD Trucks - Goingoads the Extra Mile since 1935
South Africa The hard road to success UD’s Gemba Spirit Specially designed for Dear friends, ISSUE 1 2016 It is my pleasure to welcome 04 UD around the world you to this new issue of Roads, reliability and durability your magazine about trucking and the UD world.
When using UD Genuine Parts you know you get exactly the right performance and fit Many of you will have heard for each truck. They are specially designed and tested to ensure the highest possible level of the Japanese word gemba – but it is more than just a word. of reliability and and durability, allowing you to maximize uptime, keep your delivery 06 The UD Gemba Spirit promises, and not least, cut your costs. It’s a genuine assurance that will keep your In business, it refers to the business running. place where action happens, where value is created. Every day our gemba people go the extra mile to understand what is important for you, your business, your efficiency and your serenity at work. Your feedback contributes to our gemba spirit - our engineering, design, quality, and manufacturing teams rely on your comments to design and produce the most suitable trucks and the most adapted services for you.
When UD was created, our founder Kenzo Adachi put his first diesel truck to a 3,000km-test drive in rural 12 South Africa Japan in 1939. He wanted to verify its dependability The hard road to success and reliability under the toughest conditions. This is the origin of UD’s gemba spirit which is now part of our DNA. Today, as ever - and even more than ever - this gemba spirit is what drives us at UD.
This is also the spirit that flows in you, our readers, whether you are transportation industry professionals, entrepreneurs or drivers, as this issue’s three inspiring customer stories demonstrate. In South Africa, we meet Johan Duvenhage who created and developed PM Transport. Despite some harsh times he kept his spirits up, always learning through his difficulties, 20 Japan and thanks to courage, hard work and sense of KOSOKU Group service to his customers, he has been rewarded with Building tomorrow’s hometown a thriving, successful business. In Japan, KOSOKU Group developed from a one-man company into 26 UD gemba voice a 500-person group by catering to every need of a Kazuhito Hosono country’s infrastructure development era. In Jakarta, Chief Project Manager for trucks Indonesia, Sinar Transindomitra Abadi Logistik is run like a big family, and every employee is part of this extended family, committed to the company’s growth. 28 Indonesia Family trees Each of you has this gemba spirit in yourself, and that’s The root of success why your experience is guiding us in the development of our new trucks. Quester is the latest example of Extra Mile Stories 30 this dedication; robust, offering maximum uptime and Five reasons why ESCOT-V is the top choice minimum running costs, you’ll discover its telematics offering in this issue. Trucker Tips & Tricks Tips for keeping your truck cab tidy Every day, in 60 countries, our mechanics, salesmen and all 34 our gemba people are ready to go the extra mile with you, to help you grow your business, through whatever challenges, however harsh your environment. Roads is published by UD Trucks Corporation
We wish you all the success you deserve, with UD as your loyal www.udtrucks.com and dedicated partner, always there to support your activities. Publisher Keep trucking! Kenneth Hagas [email protected]
Kawanabe Takashi Field Support Director Japan Sales
Going the Extra Mile UD around the world
JAPAN AUSTRALIA Quon-based snowplow The only snowplows clearing roads in Japan are mounted on UD trucks. In February this year, UD Trucks showcased a Quon-based snowplow at its snowplow exhibition and demonstration session in Morioka.
Extra Mile Stories AUSTRALIA Borg Manufacturing, a business specialized in manufacturing and reveal how the new supplying chipboard and laminate products for the kitchen industry, relies on UD Trucks to distribute their products all over Quon supports drivers Australia. It recently took delivery of the first ten 6x2 PD 24 280’s to reach Australian shores. UD Trucks goes the ‘extra mile’, rolling up their sleeves “They’re practically a bullet-proof truck,” says Michael Borg, Managing Director of Borg Manufacturing. “We spec all our for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service UD’s with the Allison automatic, which means I don’t need to worry about drivers wearing out clutches, especially when we run The Australian Red Cross Blood Service recently took named Red25 - unites companies, community groups, with maximum payloads.” delivery of three GK 17 420 prime movers to help universities and schools and encourages them to set up haul their fleet of mobile donor centers throughout a Red25 group to donate blood for their country. PD 24 280 6x2 Condors Queensland and New South Wales. To celebrate the delivery of the prime movers, UD Trucks The Blood Service has been running a nationwide launched its own Red25 campaign. One of the Red campaign that aims to make sure that 25% of Australia’s Cross mobile donor centers visited UD Trucks and staff blood donations are secured. This initiative - aptly rolled up their sleeves to donate blood.
“It’s maneuverable and easy to drive, so drivers are less prone to fatigue, and their work becomes a little easier. In the sense of supporting drivers, the new Quon is a kind of savior for us,” says Mr. Akira Maruyama, director of Yamato Multi-Charter Co Ltd, Running the extra mile which runs a cargo and freight transportation service throughout Around the UD globe – from Australia to South Africa, and in Japan, and Singapore – over 200 UD staff together ran more than 3,000km – the Kansai area in Japan. proudly going the extra mile in their UD colors, and some raising money for good causes.
To hear more customer testimonials, please go to UD Trucks YouTube page or scan the QR code to visit our website.
JAPAN
Japan: The Ageo Australia: The Bridge to South Africa: AfriForum Singapore: City Marathon 2015 Brisbane Day 2015 Springbok Vasbyt Mizuno Ekiden 2015 In Ageo, home to UD For the second year running Some of our very own Twelve Singapore-based UD Trucks headquarters, Australian employees took UD Trucks staff members runners took up the challenge more than 100 UD part in the 5km or 10km recently ran their very first and participated in the Mizuno runners went on the Bridge to Brisbane to raise race in the new UD Trucks Ekiden 2015. For this relay race, road to support the funds for the Leukaemia gear in Pretoria on July the UD headquarters for Asia local community. UD Foundation of Queensland. 11th, 2015. Joe Pretorius Oceania entered with three Customer appreciation events are being held throughout Trucks was one of the The 100-strong Team UD, and Graham Kolm ran teams of four runners each, Japan. In 2016, the UD Japan Sales regions will invite around “The PD is a great example of our engineering departments sponsors of this event consisting of around 60 VGA 25km, while Zithulele Phali jointly completing the 42.4 km 1,500 customers to their customer appreciation events. Each designing a truck to meet the needs of the market,” comments and also distributed employees and their families successfully completed the distance. It was a day of great region finds creative ways to show their appreciation and gratitude Jon McLean, Vice President of UD Trucks Australia (left) standing by 1,600 neck-warmers went the ‘extra mile’ raising 10km race. Well done to teamwork and fun, full of extra - to go the extra mile - for their current and future customers. an impressive line-up of PDs. to children as gifts. nearly $8,000 for the charity. our UD team! miles and extra smiles.
04 05 The UD Gemba Spirit Gemba: more than a word, a philosophy. UD gemba spirit originated over 80 years ago with the creation of UD. “It is important to It has been passed down through listen to customers’ voices directly. Their voice is key to generations since that day, and will keeping us motivated and to helping us improve, so that we continue to guide UD into the future provide them with trucks that are fully satisfactory.” as it strives to be the most valuable Kazuhito Hosono Chief Project Manager for partner of each and every customer. trucks
What is gemba Gemba is a Japanese word that describes where action takes place and value is created, from the factory floor to What is UD gemba spirit dealerships to customer facilities. It is the place UD gemba spirit is the professional, where UD people interact with their customers, so passionate and dependable spirit of the the Japanese will talk about ‘their gemba’ and ‘their UD people. It is the will to roll up sleeves customers’ gemba’. Wherever it is, gemba is a place to listen “I always and provide a solution. It is being close to and understand, to seek out opportunities for improvement. the ground to identify the essentials and prefer face-to-face the driving force communication over that allows us to phone calls or emails. I like excel at them. to pick up as much as I can about both major and minor matters.” Eriko Fuse Technical Support for UD global markets
Kazuhito Hosono has spent his well as the UD gemba people: customer services and UD headquarters are located at the heart of the Ageo entire career at UD Trucks, and is a mechanics teams. factory site. The gemba spirit also drives this strate- Quality chief project manager for trucks. In gic location choice. Communication between the two What our mechanics and customer advisors do every his opinion, the ultimate gemba is Gemba is about listening. It is also about facilities can be quick and efficient. This is one of the day, our executive, engineering and design teams at the customers’ site. “I always tell experiencing something for oneself, to be in unique features of UD Trucks. also do. For example, when UD needed to rethink its my teammates to “go to gemba”, a position to fully understand the issue at offices to allow for expansion, it decided to position its to understand what’s going on. Gemba is the starting hand. Hosono passed his heavy-duty truck driver’s Eriko Fuse, who provides technical What can new headquarters and design studio at the heart of the the UD point, where we solve issues, and also where we receive license. With this skill, he can experience issues support for UD global markets Gemba Spirit Ageo manufacturing plant. This way, everybody working feedback,” Hosono explains. He started with one first hand and provide the most adequate answers works at the headquarters. The do for you? at UD’s headquarters is within walking distance of the customer’s request to visit their site, and then went on to customers. He can also test every new technical UD Experience Center is close by, factory. It makes constant feedback much easier to collect, to visit each and every UD Customer Center in Japan. development as well as measure the progress of where customers and employees and constant improvement easier to implement. Hosono collected feedback from different customers as new solutions. from different departments can test
06 07 drive UD trucks, and keep up to date with all of UD’s latest technology.
Fuse would say that gemba is about how to commu- nicate with customers and peers. “When it comes to discussing and solving a problem, I always prefer face- to-face communication over phone calls or emails. I like to pick up as much as I can about both major and minor “It’s also very matters,” explains Fuse. The best solution comes from important to have constant the joint effort of a team, one that is constantly commu- communication with gemba nicating. “Each team member is an expert for different people, to absorb not only the problems, so cooperation is very important,” Fuse adds. necessary information but also those small details that are Growing up in Ageo, Fuse visited UD on school trips many often difficult to catch.”
times. This cultivated her passion for the automobile and Takahiro Sasaki engineering at a young age. After graduating from univer- Facility and equipment sity in engineering, she returned to her hometown to join maintenance at UD Ageo UD. But a degree and a passion for engineering weren’t factory enough; she wanted to be better at her gemba. Just like Chief Project Manager Hosono, Fuse also obtained her heavy-duty truck driver’s license so she could experience herself the feedback from customers. To Fuse, building trust with customers and then receiving their thanks are what gives her the most satisfaction at work.
Takahiro Sasaki’s gemba is the
manufacturing floor at the What can Ageo factory. He is in charge the UD Gemba Spirit Understanding of equipment maintenance. do for you? Gemba spirit is in every piece of work at UD, every office, The number of certificates and and every service center around the world. Every day, our awards he has won bear witness workers, our engineers, our service advisors, go to gemba, to ob- to his gemba spirit. With his expertise, he is able to serve, understand, and take the most appropriate actions. Every day, complete certain repairs and maintenance jobs internally, each UD gemba person learns from the other and from our clients. rather than outsourcing, which both improves efficiency and guarantees quality.
Sasaki, however, doesn’t see his job as simply keeping the machines running; he sees much further down the line: “I want to improve the safety and quality of our work so that we deliver quality products and services to our customers.” This sense of responsibility motivates Gemba Spirit: In UD’s DNA him to go the extra mile in his gemba everyday. He is The gemba spirit at UD has been there since the birth of the com- in constant communication with other gemba people, pany. Our founder, Kenzo Adachi, relied on his gemba spirit and “What we want is a truck processing key information but also picking up all those his vision when he launched the company in 1935. Developing his that can handle any road, no small details and nuances that are often difficult to catch. first truck and first diesel engine, he decided to test it on the actual questions asked. If the truck “This allows me to capture the condition of the facility gemba. A never-before-seen 3,000-km test was organized, through from every angle,” says Takahiro Sasaki. the largely undeveloped roads of the Japan of those days. What was doesn’t clear this test, we can’t a very tough trip for any vehicle was an even bigger challenge for expect our customers to feel a very first prototype. Kenzo Adachi wanted to submit his truck to confident in it.” the toughest conditions possible, to make sure the trucks based on that prototype would resist whatever customers put them through. Kenzo Adachi
He decided to drive the truck himself during this challenging trip, their experience; the will to collaborate closely between managers so he could collect information first hand about the potential weak- and employees, between engineering, manufacturing, sales and af- nesses of this first prototype. Though exhausting, the trip went sur- ter-sales departments; the passion to always go the extra mile. prisingly well, covering over 3,000 kilometers in 13 days, without any breakdowns. The company’s reputation for reliability was also All these define our gemba spirit, at the service of our customers, of born during that road trip, with that very first LD1 truck and its their business efficiency. innovative ND1 engine. For our customers, we continue to provide the trucks and services that The spirit of Kenzo Adachi has continued to live on through the the world needs today by going the extra mile for smart logistics, and company’s history. The will to listen to customers, to learn from with our UD gemba spirit doing the extra effort!
08 09 Upholding the same passion is Customer Center Manager Masashi Inoue, Service Advisor Tomohiro Yamamoto, also based at the UD Customer Center in at Yokohama, listens to his mechan- Fukuyama. “I believe it’s important ics’ needs. To Yamamoto, a part of to understand what customers really his job is to create the time, oppor- need from their first contact. It is tunity and environment for the team “My passion is “I believe it’s important sometimes difficult to get a clear picture so I make sure to continuously learn and improve. to deliver the highest to understand what the I’m attentive to the small details in our initial conversa- quality of service, to satisfy customers really need. It is tion.” As a service advisor, he is the first point of contact Fukuda and his team won second place in last year’s every customer in the sometimes difficult to get a between UD and customers. Besides being an attentive Gemba Challenge, first place being taken by Team BB best possible way.” clear picture so I make sure I’m listener, and designing service and training according to Trucks & Tractor Polokwane from South Africa. As for attentive to the small details in each customer’s needs, Inoue makes sure his message all the UD mechanics teams around the world, Fukuda’s Tomohiro Yamamoto our initial conversation.” to customers is clear and effective. “I prefer to explain goal is “To win the UD Gemba Challenge.” Customer Center Manager at Yokohama UD Customer solutions in my own words, and make it easy for my Masashi Inoue Center Service Advisor customers to understand and visualize all the processes Gemba-spirit-driven localized solutions at UD Customer Center in involved,” Inoue says. Fukuyama In the Australian bush, the heat during the day can be At the core of gemba spirit you’ll overwhelming. “UDs cope very well with the Australian find teamwork. Sharing knowl- heat, they don’t overheat. Some of our trucks are good edge and understanding the issues at nighttime, but in daytime, they have difficulties keep- goes a long way towards bringing ing the engines cool. UD trucks are very well adapted In Namibia, the gravel roads and the many steep and an efficient and quick solution. to our climate,” said Brad Chimes a UD customer from treacherous gradients pose a challenge to the drivers of Shinichiro Fukuda, a mechanic Darwin. VZ Trucking. A truck that could relieve drivers of some at Yokohama UD Customer Center, sees it as the only of the driving pressures will largely help the safety and Peace of Mind What can way to improve a mechanic’s performance. “As new efficiency of driving. UD offers you ultimate dependability for you to max- the UD products and services come out all the time, learning imize uptime and keep your business rolling under Gemba Spirit What can do for you? and acquiring knowledge about these on a daily basis the UD In the highlands of Ecuador, “The trucks have to deal all circumstances. Besides the dedication and hard Gemba Spirit is very important,” says Fukuda. Learning and sharing with extreme temperature changes, from the freezing work of UD people at the customer centers, we keep do for you? with the mechanics teams occurs not only on a daily Flexibility our internal organization flexible and responsive to morning temperatures to the scorching midday heat,” basis, but also in the mechanical skills competition: the From your gemba and your experience, our gem- guarantee we have the spare parts you need, the says Marcelo Cabezas, a driver from Guano County ba people collect information to help us design advice you seek. Gemba Challenge. Held on a global scale within UD, it fleet. offers UD mechanics from around the world a chance to the best trucks and offer the most adapted ser- vices. Moreover, our trucks can be customized excel at their individual skills and collaborate as a team. Every customer around the UD globe has a specific use to your spec, for your needs. for their trucks - and with UD present in 60 countries - trucks experience a large variety of roads, driving conditions, climate, and load levels. This means that potential issues can arise for a wide variety of reasons. It is the everyday culture of the gemba spirit that ensures the relay of customer voices to the people who hold the keys to a solution at UD. It also ensures that customers’ “As new products and needs are answered quickly, and with the right products services come out all the and services. time, learning on a daily basis is important.” By constantly collecting feedback from customers around the world, the gemba spirit enables teams to proactively Shinichiro Fukuda forestall all kinds of potential issues, and is one of the Mechanic at Yokohama UD main reasons UD is renown for its dependable trucks at Customer Center home and internationally. Responsiveness Proximity with you, under- standing of your business A large company acting with the agility of a small structure, and close cooperation What can that is another way to describe the gemba spirit at UD. the UD between our after Gemba Spirit sales, manufacturing, do for you? A vivid example of this comes from Hosono’s gemba engineering, and design practice: “Once I received a demand from one of our departments allow us to customers. Although our truck conformed to the norm answer your needs and requests of the time, we realized that his request could be met by in a quick manner, and take the exceeding the required level of legislation. So we devel- most appropriate action when an oped forward and built our own control equipment to unplanned situation arises. evaluate the quality of the solution.” An example among others of the gemba philosophy: always remain close to customers to deliver the truck they really want.
10 11 Customer story South Africa
On South Africa’s east coast, Johan Duvenhage has built a niche business out of mending the rugged road network that crisscrosses this hilly southern province. Despite working in harsh, dusty conditions, this is one fleet of UDs that gleams before it starts another day’s haulage.
Text: Lesley Stones / Photos: Bram Lammers
12 13 Customer story South Africa
he road to South Africa’s Eastern Cape is various constructions sites. He employs 63 drivers, each rough and rugged, but the views make up for fiercely loyal to his own vehicle. road conditions. Under wheel is the N10 road, A lasting trust in UD being raised for better drainage, widened to A UD truck with a crane fitted on its flatbed loads the Johan Duvenhage buys all his buy the first without even testing makeT it safer and re-laid entirely because its surface had tipper trucks with crushed granite and they drive off in vehicles from Billson Trucks, the it - says a lot for him and for deteriorated so badly. The job is keeping Johan Duvenhage quick succession to the road a few kilometers away. On UD Dealer in Port Elizabeth. “They UD Trucks,” says Patrick Billson, the return trip they carry the mangled surface of the old busy, with 25 of his UD tipper trucks transporting the gravel don’t break down. That’s why I Managing Director of Billson and ballast being used to relay the road. discarded road. have stuck with them. I started with Trucks. “What’s great about the a Nissan and then explored other UD range is that it covers the entire At the quarry the sun is rising and as the shadows lift, 25 With the ups and downs of South Africa’s construction brands, but I wasn’t satisfied so spectrum right from the butcher trucks parked in perfect symmetry come into view. The industry, Duvenhage learned that you cannot grow too every time I came back to UD.” He and baker through to the heavy- drivers are already washing their windscreens, wiping quickly and you have to follow the work, such as his time was the first South African to buy a duty construction industry. It’s dust off the grilles and polishing the doors, ready to start in Swaziland and Lesotho. Quon and last year he became the successful because it’s a simple, another day for PM Transport. first to buy new Questers. reliable, robust product really “The ability to adapt to the current working conditions “The faith that Johan has in the suitable to South Africa’s operating product - that he was prepared to conditions.” Duvenhage’s 63 trucks are all UDs and are split over is crucial. And don’t buy something you can’t afford.
“I explored other brands, but I wasn’t satisfied so every time I came back to UD.”
Johan Duvenhage, Founder of PM Transport 14 15 Customer story South Africa
Securing good drivers
PM Transport Base: Jeffrey’s Bay, south coast of South Africa
Working sites: Scattered far and wide – wherever a road needs repairing
Driving to work: The mobile nature of the job makes it difficult to find and retain good drivers, because when a job ends the whole operation moves on, and the men don’t always want to leave their homes.
Temporary homes: The company sets up semi-permanent homes for its crew by renting some land and erecting temporary houses. A job usually lasts from six to 36 months, then the homes are dismantled and moved to the next location. “You can’t be married to one town, you must go where the work is,” Duvenhage says.
Driver retention: With such a solution, Duvenhage manages to keep 40% of the drivers with him during these location changes, including one man who has been on board for 28 years.
Driver recruitment: Finding reliable drivers in any area is a challenge. They need a truck driving license and experience before he’ll even give them a 14-day trial. Then he pairs them with an experienced driver to assess their capabilities. “We do battle to get good drivers. It’s very difficult,” he says. 16 Customer story South Africa
“Quester, a Taking pride in the drive Alfred Rasmeni stands proudly in front of his truck, one of the 12 new Questers the company bought last year. He sees this as a confirmation of his ‘winning model’ self-confidence at work. “The new truck is more comfortable and powerful,” he says. “UDs are the best trucks because they’re powerful and you can do anything and they don’t in the fleet.” give you problems.” Rasmeni has been driving for a decade and keeps his truck continually clean despite the dusty quarry. “I like this truck – it’s my everyday bread. If I leave - Johan Duvenhage it dirty it says I don’t like the truck, I don’t like the job. But I like the job so I keep it clean.” He also likes the Quester’s Fuel Coaching System. “It tells you when to “Everything. The power, the fuel consumption and the load throttle and when to take it easy.” capacity, so they can carry more and do more trips,” is what Duvenhage likes about Quester. The new model of UD adapts perfectly to the hot, rough and tough markets like Africa, and Duvenhage now owns 12 of the 11-liter models.
Coaching the best out of drivers Johan is also impressed by the Fuel Coaching System, which helps drivers to operate more efficiently by displaying icons indicating how much throttle to apply and when to change gear to keep the engine in its most efficient RPM range.
Keeping efficiency on track Billson says the symbols are accompanied by a hooter if the revs are too high, they’re driving too fast or braking too harshly. “The drivers are so embarrassed if they don’t drive well,” he says. “This monitoring system has further improved fuel consumption and makes their performance better.”
Puncturing the budget Duvenhage has had some of his UDs for 15 years and they clock an average of 80,000km a year. Even for the old vehicles maintenance is still inexpensive. The biggest expense is punctures from continually driving over sharp stones in the quarries.
Growing the family with Questers Now the family is planning to buy 25 to 30 more Questers in the next two years. “We’re so impressed by their fuel consumption and power that we plan to upgrade the fleet completely. I want I’d rather buy one truck with cash than six on credit and to grow the business by 40-50%, but we’ll sell maybe 12 of the pay interest.” That means if the work dries up, crippling older trucks,” he says. monthly repayment bills for his fleet do not bring him down.
It’s also crucial to stick to your niche, so he never diverts into long-distance haulage. “Driving long distances isn’t for me. I love my trucks so much they must sleep where I sleep,” he jokes.
Although in his business Duvenhage focuses on one market segment, he expects his team to be multi- skilled. “If you work for me you must be a driver, a mechanic, a painter – everything. You have to be able to fix everything from a wheelbarrow to a truck,” says Duvenhage senior.
He has learned a few hard lessons but together with the support of his family and Billson Trucks, he has survived half a century in this tough business.
18 19 Customer story Japan
Ever onwards Text: Junko Yagi / Photos: Nicolas Datiche liked trucks and I liked mechanics. It was just natural for me to make a living from trucking,” says Nishimura about his Kenichi Nishimura is a man of infinite vitality. From the day he bought a entrepreneurial beginnings. “The lumber "Seeing a rough road business“I had traditionally been active here in Hyuga, but single truck and started his own lumber transportation business in 1967 fortunately, the competition in the transportation part only as a tough road at the age of 20, this self-made man has been going non-stop. Now wasn’t that tough at that time.” Driven by the desire to become the top man of the industry in Hyuga, he watched will take you nowhere." 69, Nishimura has grown his company, KOSOKU, into a sizeable local and learned from seasoned professionals who had already made their names in the region. “I figured out everything conglomerate under which seven subsidiaries operate in a wide range of by myself, by the gemba (hands-on) approach,” he recalls. Kenichi Nishimura President of KOSOKU Group sectors in the south-western tip of mainland Japan. “In the end, one business led into the next and things
20 21 Customer story Japan
grew in an organic way,” says Nishimura. “When you carry lumber to various sites, you naturally get your foot into the construction business. And the timing was just right for me. The construction industry started to boom in Hyuga in the early seventies.” In 1972, then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka introduced a new plan to remodel the country, resulting in a dramatic increase in spending on public construction; the demand for building and maintaining roads and highways boomed. “I just rode on the crest of that wave,” recalls Nishimura.
The way Nishimura recounts this tale plays down the astute business sense and entrepreneurial spirit of the man. “Since then, it’s been a natural ride. The construction business involves moving soils so I opened up a gravel and crushed stone factory in 1979. This led me to build an asphalt concrete plant and a ready-mixed concrete company, which now operates in five different locations within Miyazaki prefecture,” he explains. “I figured out Nishimura has expanded his business through a series of buyouts and by employing most of the engineering everything by teams to ensure the smooth incorporation of new know-how and technologies into his company’s existing workflow. His most remarkable business strategy, myself, by the however, comes from nothing but his gut feeling. “Especially in terms of equipment investment, once you start thinking about the feasibility of the plan, you’ll for gemba (hands-on) sure end up aborting it. The more days go by and the more you mull over the idea, the more you move towards a place where backing down is the only option. Seeing a approach.” rough road only as a tough road will take you nowhere. I’ve always kept this in mind: ‘don’t regret in three to five Kenichi Nishimura years’ time not having tried, just because the plan didn’t President of KOSOKU Group look realistic back then.’”
Thirty years behind the wheel Managing the fleet
Name: Kishio Kudo / Position: Truck driver / Truck: 2008 Quon 6x4 Name: Kazumi Nakao / Position: Operation Controller
Q: You’ve been in this business a long time. How do you feel about the way Q: What’s your regular day like? vehicles have changed? “My morning starts at around 6:40am. For about 20 minutes, I’ll have a meeting “Yes, I’ve been driving trucks for 30 years. The first truck I drove was Nissan’s with drivers to exchange feedback and give them instructions for the day. Then I 8-ton cab over with a two-cylinder engine. That was a noisy truck! You could tell dispatch them and make sure that every single driver returns safely in the evening. it was climbing up the Hakone mountain pass just by the noise. The first thing Our drivers must have a high standard of safety awareness as they have to drive we noticed in 6TW series was the reduced noise. Nowadays, trucks drive like through various construction sites and unmade-up roads. My mission is to educate cars. I don’t feel tired from driving trucks anymore.” them on safety issues and this is the most important and hardest part of my job.”
Q: You drive the 2008 Quon 6x4 now. How would you assess this model and Q: What motivates you in your job? how does UD trucks compare to other brands? “A sense of pride and achievement that we’re participating in building new roads. “UD trucks, especially this model, always have great brakes. I’ve driven other big Knowing that our trucks carried soil and dirt to pave this road or that highway and brands but felt that I couldn’t rely on their brakes 100 percent. Brakes are critical that we built these roadways together as a team is exhilarating.” because once running, a truck must stop somewhere! Poor brakes and handling instability cause stress and fatigue but I’ve never worried about UD trucks when Q: Are you also responsible for hiring new drivers? it comes to brakes.” “Yes, but since a new category of license was introduced by the Japanese government in 2007, which covers medium duty vehicles, less and less people, Q: What would be your dream truck? especially among the younger generation, are obtaining their heavy duty license. “My dream truck would be one that can take me to my destination while I’m Meanwhile, the current heavy duty license holders are getting older and we’re sleeping - but then I’d be out of job (chuckle). No, seriously now, it would be nice having problems recruiting new drivers. For this reason, as long as the potential to have a vehicle that comes with a rear view camera system and signal device candidate has a driver’s license for large vehicles; we hire them without any built in as a standard feature.” experience and train them on the job.”
22 23 Customer story Japan
Hyuga City, Miyazaki With a population of around 62,000, Hyuga City has developed as a gateway port and one of the foremost industrial districts in Miyazaki Prefecture, on Kyushu island, at the southwestern edge of Japan. The city is also Making it in a man’s world well known as the birthplace of “Hyottoko”, an imaginary male character with a comically Name: Madoka Naono / Truck: Big Thumb distorted face and pursed lips. KOSOKU is proud of its hometown and is dedicated to build its future. To promote the region, pictures of Hyottoko and sightseeing spots are painted on KOSOKU’s trucks. “I see a big As the business grew, the number of trucks multiplied. Still, Nishimura clearly remembers the first UD truck he improvement in bought. “It was 1973 and I bought one bonnet-type UD dump truck. Those were powerful trucks and really easy Quon’s fuel economy to drive,” he recalls. His fleet now comprises over 200 vehicles and more than 90% are UD Trucks.
and overall, I’m KOSOKU and UD have a long history of doing business together – more than 40 years. When Nishimura finds A truck driver for 12 years at KOSOKU, Madoka Naono is one of seven a brand that he likes, he becomes a loyal customer. As satisfied with the female drivers in the company, and the only one on the Hyuga site. it happens, the two companies are almost neighbors, Though working in a male dominated environment, she doesn’t want a bonus when it comes to repairs or picking up spare to be treated any differently than her fellow coworkers. parts. But physical proximity aside, Nishimura says UD quality of UD has always had a good understanding of his business and Q: Why have you chosen truck driving as a career? has supported the company’s growth with its reliable I love driving. My father used to drive cement trucks and I guess that product quality. vehicles. They easily got me interested. My first job was to deliver concrete to construction sites, just like my father. Nishimura is celebrating half a century in business next year. The company’s motto “Building tomorrow’s last 15 to 20 years!” Q: Are there any advantages or disadvantages to being a female truck driver? hometown” now takes this tireless man into the next As a female driver, I don’t particularly notice any inconveniences except stage. Having undoubtedly achieved his goal of being Kenichi Nishimura that certain tasks, such as changing oil and tires, require physical “number one” in Hyuga, he’s now giving back to the President of KOSOKU Group strength and I need to ask other male drivers to help me with that. community that helped him to succeed. KOSOKU is I usually ask for help through my manager, Nakao-san, because he’s contributing building materials and providing labor for always taking care of us by arranging things like that. construction and demolition work for city offices and housing.
With his instinctively keen eye on future market trends, he will keep moving forwards, at least for the next few years. “The Kyushu Expressway will be open in three or four years and I’d like to expand the operation to Miyazaki City before I hand the business over to my sons,” he announces brightly. Until that handover day comes, this dynamic doer will continue to arrive at his office at 6 am every morning to make sure everything is running smoothly. “This is no longer my work, it’s my hobby. And I’ll never lose my good, old gemba spirit as long as I’m here!” says a smiling Nishimura.
24 25 UD gemba voice
DrivenPhoto: Manuel Rambaud by passion Kazuhito Hosono has spent his whole career at UD, starting as a mechanic and climbing to the position of Chief Project Manager responsible for trucks. The result of years of passion and dedication, he also is a strong advocate of the gemba spirit at UD.
is career path is a great illustration of the Age: 52 Nationality: Japanese gemba spirit at UD. Building upon his What does gemba spirit mean to you? practical knowledge as a mechanic, Kazuhito Location: Ageo UD headquarters, Japan Hosono gained expertise in various fields Work experience: 33 years at UD Trucks "I am a strong believer in gemba! I always tell my teammates to “go Education: Mechanic over the years. During his 23-year stint in to gemba”, to understand what’s going on. Gemba is the starting Hobbies: Computing, aircrafts, animated movies theH experiment department, he developed specialist skills point, where we solve issues, and also where we receive feedback. Favorite truck: Quon by working in different areas such as testing and analysis, program developments, and so on. Hosono also became It is important to listen to customers’ voices The happiest moment in his job an expert in the reduction of NVH (noise, vibrations, directly. The voice of our customers is key to harshness). As he was passionate about programming and “One of my great pleasures is when I keeping us motivated and to helping us Can you give us an example? no software gave him satisfaction, he went ahead and Specialties: climb inside the prototype of a new improve our trucks, so that we provide “Twenty years ago, we had a problem with a developed software internally to analyze vibrations. He NVH, truck and it starts at the first turn of customers with trucks that fully customer whose truck engine vibrated at idle. The also worked five years in the Vehicle Architect Department the key!” Programming, satisfy them. driver could not rest well when parked. We went to the before becoming a project manager. customer’s site and determined that the fluctuation of the Experimentation, His motto at work It is also about tackling the engine rotation was caused by a problem with the injection His passion for trucks and UD started when in high school. Test Driving “To try to enjoy every aspect of my problem, getting your system. We then developed and tested a solution on a prototype A keen interest in mechanics led Hosono to join his work, and turn even the negative things vehicle, until we were satisfied with the result. hands dirty to get the We fixed the customer’s engine, but later the engine started to industrial high school’s vehicle club where he disassembled into something positive.” cars into parts and improved them. problem solved." vibrate again. We returned once more and this time established the actual issue was the torque applied when bolting the His dream truck! injection system. We modified it, as well as our manufacturing Although he already knew of UD through its excellent “A self-driving UD truck! It would drive itself and be capable of process, and solved this problem. engine reputation, he only truly discovered the company detecting and reacting to any danger. The driver could relax and This story taught me two things: First, we should go during a tour of the Ageo factory with his school. He and would only be involved in loading and unloading, with more time to gemba to identify the cause of a problem, and his classmates were given the chance to test-drive the to focus on the commercial side of the business. Technically, this second, it is in the gemba with the customer trucks inside the facility and from that moment onwards he is almost possible today, but certain situations are still tricky to that we can validate the solution.” was hooked! manage, and the legislation would have to evolve substantially.“
Why did you pass your truck driving license? “Gemba also means collecting NVH, a crucial element for the comfort of your truck information first hand, and Noise Vibration Harshness: The general public doesn’t ever hear much about NVH, although its sometimes there is no control plays a crucial role in the comfort, driving pleasure and reliability of a truck. better way to understand Minimizing NVH is critical for driver comfort, and also in the long run, for the longevity of the something than feeling it for mechanical parts. To achieve perfect regulation of NVH, UD technicians and engineers spend countless hours breaking yourself. That’s why I passed down and analyzing each component as a possible source of noise or vibration: engine, axle, the Heavy Duty and Haulage driveline, cabin, air system and so on. Development teams have to be very thorough and leave no driving licenses to be able to aspect unexplored to obtain a satisfying result - a quiet and relaxing truck for the driver. test-drive the trucks and to test Trucks that had clocked more than one million kilometers were bought back from customers to allow engineers to study how the trucks had aged. That’s what it takes to really understand which each new solution myself. It is solutions work well when new, but more importantly, keep working efficiently after many tough also helpful to drive customers’ years on the road. trucks and analyze the possible reason of a problem first hand. “
26 27 Customer story Indonesia
Jakarta Indonesia’s capital city is Jakarta, on the Island of Java
Safety and efficiency Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy With Quester, PT. STAL wants to ensure it keeps its drivers safe on Largest island country in the Family trees the roads as well as reaping the bottom-line benefits from the Fuel Coaching System installed in its newly delivered trucks. world by number of islands “We have high expectations from Quester to support our business, that 14,000islands is why we are relying not only on the quality and design of the trucks, 6,000 islands are uninhabited but also the built-in support that will help our drivers do their job well,” The root of success explains Bapak Gunawan. Population 255 million people
53% of the population “Family is at the root of everything; it opens the way to many live in urban areas paths. It is both the beginning and the final destination.” 54,716 Sea transport is extremely important for economic integration. These are the words of Bapak Lie Gunawan Suteja, founder km of coastline Each of the major islands has at least one significant port city. Freight is transported 90% by and president of Sinar Transindomitra Abadi Logistik (STAL), a 496,607 road, <1% by rail, 9% by sea km of roadways and <0.1% by air. business with an extended ‘family’ behind it.
Source: The World Factbook & Wikipedia Trusted partnerships
apak Gunawan grew up in this business, One of PT. STAL’s first customers to benefit from the newly acquired initially launched by his father in Mojokerto, Questers in 2016 was the Japanese company Asahimas Chemical. This East Java in 1960. What started as a Japanese company recently invested 885 million USD in Indonesia, transportation operation ferrying agricultural investment welcomed by the country’s transport industry. goodsB from his hometown, has grown into one of the largest logistic transportation companies in Indonesia. When Bapak Gunawan joined his father’s business in 1973, he set out to grow the business by first expanding the routes to the country’s capital, Jakarta, and then moving the company’s headquarters there in 1975.
As with many family firms, Bapak Gunawan’s business acumen was nurtured from a young age. “With the support of my father, I was exposed to all aspects of the industry. I experienced journeys that can never be learned from text books,” explains this family-oriented leader.
Five years after moving to Jakarta, and with the support of his family, he set up his own company PT. STAL.
A local good luck ceremony is held at the delivery of 15 Questers More than a quarter of a century later, PT. STAL now has around 500 trucks. As he grew his fleet, Bapak Gunawan worked in partnership with UD Trucks starting with its In a family firm, history has a way of repeating itself heritage truck – the CDA Tronton 12 HHT Nissan Diesel. and his three children have followed in their father’s Extended family footsteps by joining the company. Eric is the Operations PT. STAL prides itself on the quality of its service Director, Fenny the Finance and Accounting Manager, built around three key factors: driving safety, on-time As well as setting up trusted partnerships with external providers, and Fransisca the Purchasing Manager – offspring who delivery, and security (24h GPS monitoring). The Bapak Gunawan has built his transport empire by mirroring the support needed some persuading to return to the logistics network that exists in an extended family. “Our efforts and those of company operates to international standards and has industry in Indonesia after graduating from university our drivers are not enough to improve our business as we are today. built a reputable, reliable name in the market. In such a in Australia. But the pull of the family is strong, and That is why every member of staff must be involved in creating a great competitive environment, working with trusted partners working environment, and family is how we do that,” points out Bapak their father’s vision and belief that family is at the root is essential – and UD is one such. In August 2015, PT. Gunawan . Keeping his ‘family’ close and motivated involves regular of all success won them over. This tight-knit family unit, STAL placed an order for 15 new Questers GWE 330 family gatherings with his staff, including talks on risks and safety, and surrounded by its ‘extended family’, still has many paths HT, dependable trucks for a growing fleet. visits to his drivers’ homes and families. to explore together.
28 29 Extra Mile Stories ESCOT-V
Improved overall “ESCOT-V supports fuel- driving quality efficient, comfortable, “During my daily drives, what I find fantastic about ESCOT-V is and safe driving.” its automatic shifting. It does it instantly just at the moment I want. Before, it was said that it would take ten years for a driver to become proficient with heavy trucks. With Quon, a driver can easily obtain that level of truck-driving1 skill. It heartens me Five reasons that new drivers quickly grow into our workforce even while veterans - thoroughly skilled in shifting - can drive a Quon with- Name: Hisataka Wakuda Postion: Leader out discomfort. Minimal fatigue even after extended driving is why ESCOT-V is Company: Yamato Multi Charter Co., Ltd. Group also beneficial.” the top choice Name: Satoshi Sekine Postition: Driver “It automatically shifts Company: Safety Oil Transport Co., Ltd. ESCOT-V makes fuel- exactly when you want.” efficient driving both safe and comfortable.
This automated manual Made for fuel-efficient driving in all situations. ESCOT-V’s biggest feature is its automatic transmission with electric transmission was Name: Sachiko Hagiwara instantaneous auto-shifting to the optimal gear ratio. Position: Driver It means anyone can minimize fuel usage like a veteran driver. Company: Safety Oil Transport Co., Ltd. The adoption of other innovations to heighten combustion developed to address what efficiency also leads to better fuel savings.
customers need today. Economy E-D Mode for fuel-saving performance by anyone. Delivering smoother driving ESCOT-V’s Economy E-D Mode activates an acceleration lim- iter to bring about both superior fuel efficiency and smooth driving. To maximize fuel efficiency, acceleration is kept than ever before, it assures below a certain level even if the accelerator is floored.
enhanced fuel efficiency. Soft cruise control for relaxed driving. While using ESCOT-V’s auto cruise system, the Economy E-D It also features clutchfree Mode can be turned on with the press of a button to achieve both comfortable driving and reduced fuel usage. ESCOT-V will automatically regulate gear-change timing and uphill operation that allows drivers acceleration for optimum fuel efficiency.
to concentrate on the road. ESCOT Roll suppresses fuel consumption when coasting. It provides greater safety ESCOT-V is equipped with ESCOT Roll which disengages the engine brake when coasting. Rather than burning fuel, the while significantly reducing Superb operability truck’s own mass is used to prevent speed loss and suppress fuel consumption for re-acceleration. “From here in Osaka, our drivers cover long distances na- ESCOT-V banished my fear of driving a heavy tank truck and driver fatigue in all driving tionwide, to Tokyo and beyond. Fatigue is our worst enemy. gave me confidence. Since there is no clutch to work, I don’t That’s why a driving environment that prevents physical and tire as easily. And, because it lets me concentrate on the road, situations. mental stress is very important. Quon’s ESCOT-V features it leads to safe driving, too. It also lets me be even more aware clutch-free operation for easy up- and down-shifting while of pedestrians. I think ESCOT-V’s ease of driving will change the concentrating on the road. It constantly auto-selects the op- image that trucking is just for men. I expect there will be more women driving professionally. Extra Mile Stories are real stories about UD timal gear ratio to provide powerful and stable performance 2 customers. They explain how transport companies, with sure engine braking. The engine is consistently kept at business managers and drivers are making extra low RPMs to enable fuel-saving driving in a natural manner. efforts to deal with their challenges, and how UD ESCOT-V helps me feel relaxed, allowing me to pay even “Clutch-free operation Trucks’ products, services and gemba experts go more attention and care to my surroundings. As a group the extra mile to support them. leader, I thoroughly encourage junior drivers to embrace makes it easy to drive.” more ecological and safe driving.” ESCOT-V is offered as an option for UD Quon trucks. 30 31 “Fuel costs are easy to manage and even improve.”
Fuel-efficient driving by anyone
ESCOT-V’s automatic lets rookie drivers attain the same fuel efficiency as veterans. It’s quite significant in terms of busi- ness. Because our trucks drive between distribution centers, Name: Akira Maruyama Position: Director they end up traveling over 1,000 km per trip. So, even a tiny Company: Yamato Multi Charter Co., Ltd. Clinton gap in fuel consumption can show up as a significant differ- Sheppard, ence. Since we track fuel-usage data on an everyday3 basis, driver on the ESCOT-V has improved our per-truck cost-efficiency perfor- team DGL from mance and prompted our drivers to be more conscientious. Australia, the winning team of the Extra Mile Challenge 2015. “Consistently user- friendly performance leads to safe driving.”
What if a driving competition reproduced the rules of Enhanced safety success of a transportation company? What if it focused on To always uphold the customers’ trust, the business of the key factors that matter in daily operations? trucking transportation starts and ends with safety. Because ESCOT-V minimizes complex operations, drivers can concen- trate on safe driving. Keep both eyes on the road, be calm, be steady, and be willing to even stop when taking an un- Getting ready obstructed corner - we are seeing more drivers developing Name: Masaya Kawaura 4 Position: Comprehensive Safety Manager that kind of conscientious approach. I believe we can thank Company: Safety Oil Transport Co., Ltd. ESCOT-V’s superior operability for that. for the Extra Mile Challenge! A revolutionary automatic Focusing on driving skills, economic strategy, maintenance, safety, fuel consumption, cargo transmission integrity, timely delivery and profitability, Extra Mile Challenge is a unique competition based on the kind of real-life challenges you have to deal with in the transport business. ESCOT-V was developed through test driving under all conceivable usage The selections wil take place in UD markets, and country winners will be invited in Tokyo for the conditions. We did away with the clutch pedal to free drivers from having to finals. Stay tuned! operate it 1,000 to 1,500 times a day, reducing driver fatigue. It also quickly accelerates to cruising speed at lower revs to conserve fuel. Furthermore, it shifts precisely and automatically according to the driver’s will, making it easy to drive for anyone. Twenty years of being a leader in automatic transmission technology for trucks makes us first in customer satisfaction.5
Quon was the truck of choice for the 2015 challenge; this year Quester will be the official truck of “Pleasing operability and fuel the 2016 competition. Name: Kunihiro Kaneko efficiency for everyone easily.” Position: Control Systems Designer Powertrain Engineering The UD Extra Mile Challenge will be conducted in selected UD markets. Please consult your UD market Company: UD Trucks Co., Ltd. representative for more information about the competition, or write at [email protected].
32 Trucker Tips & Tricks
A tidy cab, a clear mind! Working in a clutter-free Tips for keeping zone brings more focus and calm as you have less visual distractions. Here are seven tips to help you your truck cab tidy keep your cab tidy.
6 2 Vacuum it up Sponge it off It’s only normal that upholstery and carpets Every cab needs—a vacuum. end up with a few stains. Warm soapy water It’s the fastest way to suck up or upholstery cleaner will usually do the anything and everything and is 5 Wipe it away trick. It’s a good idea to do a spot test on great at lifting dust out of tight an unseen corner of your seat upholstery corners and seat cushions. Having a pack of handy wipes – baby or common disinfectant to make sure the cleaner won’t damage or – is the secret to keeping your discolor your fabric. Apply the cleaner evenly across the stain and then sponge the area 1 cab’s surfaces sparkling. A Keep it out quick wipe will remove dust clean with warm soapy water or according to the instructions on the product. Airing your Fresh air through the cab or soak up a spill in a few seconds. cab after cleaning with water avoids any is refreshing, but you’d be musty, damp smells building up. surprised how much dust 3 gets blown in. Keeping Filter it out your windows rolled up Replacing your air filters regularly will cut down on dirt, means you’re breathing in clean dust, and other particles air. Enjoy a cab free of musty air blowing in from the road. and unhealthy smells.
4 Leave dirt outside 7 Seek out spaces Some truck drivers like to travel with two pairs of shoes: one for driving and one for outdoor Keeping your cab free of unnecessary elements means you’re wear. Keeping an extra pair of shoes handy not continually distracted by visual clutter. Seek out your cab’s can avoid bringing dirt into the cab. spaces to tuck away your belongings. A cab organizer can be a great investment to help you keep on top of your interior.
34 35 Quality service by passionate people Long-term cost-cutting is dependent on having proper service right from the start. UD Genuine Service is performed by authorized UD Trucks workshops that have access to the most up-to-date UD Trucks tools, diagnostic equipment and the quality and availability of UD Genuine Parts. All to ensure you get exactly the service and maintenance you need for your truck, as convenient and cost efficient as possible for your operation.
Going the Extra Mile