In order to make this drill more effective, we conducted it unannounced, without informing our colleagues of the scheduled date in advance. This made the the drill more meaningful as we were able to identify problems that would arise during an actual disaster.

At 11:00 a.m. on that day, a loud siren suddenly sounded in the factory. You can imagine that for a moment, the people inside the plant did not figure out what had happened. The general manager of the General Affairs Division then announced the evacuation drill and issued instructions to evacuate the premises due to the disaster.

As result, everyone assembled in front of the main gate as instructed, however, probably because the people were not informed of this evacuation drill in advance, it took more than 10 minutes for everyone to assemble, double the time it took in the last year's training.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Response Headquarters used LINE WORKS, a team-communication tool, to confirm the safety of every employee. The response rate was however poor, as some employees did not see the notifications and some did not respond to the notifications - this was brought to light as an issue. We will need to retrain our employees on how to use the tool and take measures so that we can achieve a 100% response rate.

After everyone gathered and the general manager explained about the evacuation, Kyokuyo's President, Katsuhiko Ochi, gave his impression in the speech.

"Due in part of the lack of advance notice, it took longer than last year to complete the mission and some workers were late getting together. On the other hand, we were able to identify new problems that could occur in the event of an actual disaster."

"There was some confusion on the part of the staff in conducting an unannounced drill, too, but I think they will be able to use this experience to respond more quickly to unforeseen situations in the future."

As the next step, we are planning to hold the 3rd evacuation drill, without prior notice, for everyone in our premises, including our staffs, customers and our business partners.

If you happen to be at the drill, we would appreciate your cooperation!

[2022/01/24]