AM-96-10 AMENITY DESIGNED REFINERY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Description:

The term “amenity” has recently become popular in Japan, and I would like to present the reasons why this term is now attracting much attention. Process plants (including refineries) as well as general factories have to date been constructed with emphasis laid on production functions and efficiency under the Japanese government’s high economic growth policy, with amenity for workers little considered. I would like, therefore, to briefly review the current circumstances in industry. In the 1970s top priority was given to production quantity and functions necessary to comply with requirements for mass production. This, however, has resulted in environmental problems including industrial and noise pollution, requiring much labor to be spent on resolving the attendant problems. In the early 1980s many industries prompted the introduction of automatic systems with a view to reducing workers’ loads and improving production efficiency. Then, with the arrival of the so-called “era of small-quantity production of a variety of products”, further advanced factory automation systems were introduced. Also, the development of advanced production technologies resulted in a change in labor quality - from manual to intellectual skills. In the latter half of the 1980s the aging of the work force, decreasing numbers of young workers, deteriorating working environments and so on posed problems, with the younger generation particularly averse to working in production industries. This has led to the current trend to lay emphasis not on production efficiency-oriented concepts but on staff well-being, when constructing industrial plants, despite great technological progress.