Initiatives to Improve Customer Satisfaction Levels

The Kawasaki Group provides an extensive base of customers in Japan and around the world with a diverse assortment of products, including transportation systems, such as ships, railway rolling stock and aircraft, and industrial equipment, such as gas turbines, engines, robots and production plants, in addition to leisure products, such as motorcycles. The ability to swiftly reflect customer requests in the products we offer is of paramount importance.
Our seven internal companies have established structures matched to respective operations. They share pertinent information within respective business segments and apply such knowledge to design and after-service activities.

• Aerospace Company
• Plant & Infrastructure Company
• Ship & Offshore Structure Company
• Kawasaki Machine Systems, Ltd.
• Precision Machinery Company
• Rolling Stock Company
• Motorcycle & Engine Company

Aerospace Company

The Aerospace segment handles aircraft—fixed-wing and helicopters—for the Japan Ministry of Defense and for the commercial aircraft industry as well as missiles and space equipment, and undertakes regular maintenance of aircraft. The segment is very particular about product specifications, quality, and delivery times and provides customers with support after delivery to ensure proper operation. This commitment has earned Kawasaki a solid reputation among its aerospace customers.
To maintain market trust and lift it higher, the segment fleshes out its rules and regulations and enriches the content of manuals, promotes standardization of services, and takes a firm approach to training and skill improvement. In recent years, a trend toward umbrella agreements has emerged, where logistics support services for customers are bundled and outsourced for implementation on behalf of the customers, and the Aerospace segment is preparing a system to meet evolving market requirements. To gauge customer satisfaction, the segment collects opinions and requests through on-site interviews at customer offices and through questionnaires, and then implements a quantitative evaluation and analysis of the results. If necessary, improvement plans are drawn up. Reports are forwarded to the management team, and information is shared Company-wide. Through these activities, the segment ensures that the Kawasaki brand enjoys customer loyalty and appreciation over the long service life of the purchased products.

Plant & Infrastructure Company

In the energy and environment sector, the Plant & Infrastructure segment solves customers’ concerns through integrated engineering capabilities that organically interlink separate equipment and control-related technologies. An example of this is the Hofu Municipal Clean Center, Japan’s first integrated waste treatment and biogas generation complex. It is a state-of-the-art waste treatment complex combining sorting, biogas generation, waste incineration, and recycling facilities.
The sorting facility separates out kitchen waste and other organic waste, which are then mixed with sewage sludge and human waste before undergoing a dry thermophilic methane fermentation process in the biogas generation facility. The methane gas generated is used to superheat the steam that is collected when the refuse and methane fermentation residue are burned in the incineration facility for highly efficient power generation. Since the generated electricity is used to run the complex and the surplus sold to the local power grid, it all adds up to reduced maintenance costs and fewer greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in superior environmental and energy-saving performance.

Ship & Offshore Structure Company

Currently, there are 22 fully submerged hydrofoils—Jetfoils— operating in Japan. KHI JPS provides support services, such as technical services, parts supply and gas turbine engine maintenance and repair, to companies operating Jetfoils.
Jetfoils are high-speed waterjet-propelled hydrofoils that hover over the surface of the water as if flying. They were developed by Boeing, which applied technology from airplanes to a hydrofoil format. Kawasaki, which acquired licensing from Boeing to manufacture and sell Jetfoils, is now the only maker of Jetfoils in the world. Boeing has withdrawn from the market, and KHI JPS works with relevant internal companies, including the Ship & Offshore Structure Company, as an access point for Jetfoil support services within the Kawasaki Group to address the needs of Jetfoil-operating companies.
Jetfoils typically operate between a mainland area and outlying islands, providing a vital connection that enables communities to exist and supports local activities, such as sightseeing, businesses and other aspects of an island economy. Today, Jetfoils are an indispensible form of transportation. For this reason, every effort must be made to prevent situations that cause a service interruption, whether due to accident or some other kind of trouble.
Jetfoils are based on airplane technology, so every structural part is special. KHI JPS always keeps a sufficient inventory of parts to deal with customer requests and can respond to sudden calls for parts and shipping, thanks to a structure for getting the necessary parts to where they need to be 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, technicians are dispatched as required to trouble-shoot and offer suggestions on how to deal with the problems.
Ship operators just introducing Jetfoils into their fleets have little familiarity with this style of vessel or obligatory operating know-how, and personnel need classroom training and an opportunity to practice to understand the intricacies of operation and day-to-day maintenance. KHI JPS has prepared a menu of training programs and practice drills, from theory to hands-on practice and on-site maintenance, to help operating personnel acquire the necessary skills and knowledge. Recently, we ran a series of classes and drills for people involved in the operation and upkeep of High-Speed Rainbow Jet, which commenced service without a hitch on March 1, 2014, on a route linking the port of Sakaiminato and the Oki Islands.
These efforts underpin a commitment at KHI JPS to support smooth Jetfoil operations and build a high level of customer satisfaction.

Kawasaki Machine Systems, Ltd.

Kawasaki Machine Systems, Ltd. (KMS) is a company that carries out sales and after-service for gas turbine emergency generator sets, mobile gas turbine generator sets, and gas turbine pump driven units; and servicing for gas turbine co-generation systems. All of the above are manufactured and/or engineered by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI).
Especially in the market for emergency gas turbine generators, KMS and KHI have kept the top share of the domestic market for the 34 years since market studies began in 1979, delivering high satisfaction to customers. The achievement of the top share is due not only to advantages in product performance and quality, but also to sales service and attentive after-sales performance.
The KMS Service Coordination Division operates a unique licensing system to cover its maintenance operations. KMS has created its own licensing system under which the company gives licenses to both its own technical staff as well as to the staff of its 32 service dealers following training and education. Currently, around 400 service experts are active in providing maintenance services.
The KMS Service Coordination Division provides practical training and a lecture and examination program leading to issue of the maintenance expert certificate in four levels from first grade to fourth grade. For each grade, trainees undertake a fixed period of practical exercise combined with regular classroom lectures and examinations, allowing them to progress to the next certificate grade. KMS puts great effort into this program to produce staff with more advanced work skills and responsibilities. In this way, KMS and all service dealers are concentrating on education and human resources development.
At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the operating rate of KMS gas turbine emergency generator facilities located in the main disaster area reached a value of 99.9%, which indicates the very high degree of reliability of our product. We believe this high performance was achieved thanks to the underpinning of high-quality service provided by our well-trained technicians and staff.
The goal of KMS is to achieve the No. 1 level of customer satisfaction in the market by maintaining close relationships with customers through speedy, reliable, and honest sales and service activities.

Precision Machinery Company

The Precision Machinery segment markets hydraulic components and systems as well as industrial robots in countries around the world and has earned a stellar reputation from customers in all sectors. We have captured particularly large segments of the market for hydraulic components used in construction machinery, including hydraulic excavators, as well as robots for the automotive industry and the semiconductor industry, and customers in these industries are overwhelmingly loyal to the Kawasaki brand.
This is undoubtedly a reflection of technological capabilities that facilitate development and provision of products fine-tuned to the diverse needs of customers’ right from the design stage.
In after-sales service, as well, we respond quickly to customers’ requests through a global network with points in Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, China, and South Korea, and strive to enhance our activities to ensure customer satisfaction.
Comments from customer questionnaires are categorized into themes: product quality, after-sales services, performance and delivery, and the information is shared among all divisions and with management. We take the results seriously and everyone strives daily to address issues that customers have noted so as to raise the level of customer satisfaction.

Rolling Stock Company

Motorcycle & Engine Company

The Motorcycle & Engine Company is the only Kawasaki business segment that deals directly with general consumers. Back in 1953, we began making motorcycle engines, marking our entry in the motorcycle business. Since then, we have developed products geared to customer needs, establishing a high priority on the Kawasaki brand, exemplified by several historically renowned motorcycles, including the "MACH", "Z" and "Ninja".
Not only motorcycle but also all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), recreation utility vehicles, utility vehicles, JET SKI personal watercraft, general-purpose gasoline engines and so on, we provide a wide variety of products to people around the world and have been received a high evaluation.
To ascertain an accurate picture of customer needs, in addition to the questionnaire survey of customers, we collect the information from our website and SNS. Furthermore we analyze combined sources, mainly the comments from motorcycle magazine readers and motor show visitors, and opinions from the dealers, and rapidly reflect them to design new products.