Santoku Corporation was established in 1953, and since then, it has been aiming to be a global company by stimulating innovation in its business processes with a never-ending strong will for seeking the new frontier. As the material processing business is a mature market and rapid change cannot be expected, the organization’s management focused on virtual reality, which enabled them to visualize things and start a business in 2001. Since 2004, the organization has been working in collaboration with national research institutes, primarily research institutes, to visualize accident reconstruction to eliminate fatal disasters for vulnerable people (e.g., children and older adults).
In 2007, Santoku Corporation developed a simulator for railway accident response training, and in 2013 it developed a simulator for training disaster prevention personnel to deal with tsunami disasters and a simulator for nuclear power plant countermeasures against terrorism. The organization continued to develop a decommissioning work simulator and simulator and proceeded to respond to the demand for safety and security. The business’s current state is the result of its continuing challenge to meet the market’s demands.
An organization must be structured to be competitive in business and receive one of the best companies’ statuses. One of the primary areas to focus on for a growing company is to complete tasks on time and be ahead in terms of things to be done. “What we are today is the fact that we viewed virtual reality as a means of sensory reproduction. We have focused on the establishment of safety methods to achieve our goals. To achieve our goal, we have concentrated on developing tactile technology beyond virtual reality. We have created an environment where we can immediately verify the developed product in the field, add feedback, and re-release it. This is what we call the Cyclone Philosophy,” said Mr. Susumu Matsuda, Division Director of Information and Technology Division, Santoku Corporation.
But to become one of the 50 best companies, there are also other points to take care of. Keeping a comprehensive record offers a simple update on the business, and taking calculated risks helps the company grow and produce tremendous rewards. Another important criterion is to stay focused and, last but not least, never compromise and be consistent with your service, no matter what it is. After months of research and evaluating over hundreds of fastest-growing technology companies, Santoku Corporation has been recognized as one of the 50 Best Companies based on its services and business plans.
Japanese industry has a culture focused on a variety of manufacturing know-how and disaster experience to ensure safety. In safety training, rules and regulations for ensuring safety and prohibitions on behavior are thoroughly taught and implemented to maintain safety. But at the same time, Santoku has faced the problem that the effects of training will not be significant unless awareness is raised. To overcome these problems, the organization has been working together with people to achieve a change in consciousness by safely experiencing dangerous events.
The coronavirus pandemic has put the world into a standstill. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on safety training. Safety education has prioritized efficiency, with students gathered in one place and instructors, with their enthusiasm, executing lectures in close quarters in an enclosed space, to significant effect. The management at the organization thought VR could solve the problem because they wanted to give each student a personalized experience. After all, VR can individually educate each person. At the same time, it can explain effectively how to increase safety and give input to people on the method and effectiveness of the method. Furthermore, the quality of education depends not on the individual’s skills but rather on the individual’s ability, due to automatic narration, educational questions, and stimulus adjustments. Besides, to maintain hygiene during installation, the parts installed have been improved, and an operation manual has been prepared for safe use.
“The organization continued to develop a decommissioning work simulator and simulator and proceeded to respond to the demand for safety and security. ”
In terms of technological advancements, Virtual Reality has made progress mainly in the area of visual reproduction. When communicating through the five senses; the organization is faced with a new challenge. Therefore, such a system requires more specialized knowledge of the sensory system, the nervous system, brain chemistry, and psychological effects. To solve the organization’s challenges, they have various specialized knowledge, and Santoku will contribute to society by conducting integrated research and development in cooperation with research institutions.
Santoku Corporation has worked with several industries of different sizes. In terms of response to natural disasters, Japan needed to decommission the Fukushima nuclear power plants after the 2011 earthquake. Santoku has developed and continues to provide a simulator to determine the work process and improvements to support this work. In the Japanese environment, safety enhancement techniques are an integral part of the culture. Although many businesses are seriously working on this subject, few businesses specialize in safety. The safety method using VR, which was born in this severe Japanese environment, is one of Santoku’s answers for 20 years. This technology was born in Japan and can be applied in other countries as well. Santoku will continue to expand this safety technology to the world.
