Sumiden Trading & A-SAFE

Sumiden Trading trusts A-SAFE with efficient pedestrian and vehicle segregation 

You can find more in the video.

Separating people and vehicles 

One of the key areas which the company wanted to further strengthen within its facility was pedestrian safety. As a busy distribution centre with significant employee footfall and forklift trucks in operation, ensuring the safety of employees on foot was paramount, as was safeguarding facility technology and machinery from collision-related damage.  

According to Tetsuya Fukunishi - General Manager at Sumiden Trading “The Sumitomo Electric Group regards "safety" as one of the most important management goals, and the entire company is aiming for a comfortable workplace where employees can work safely and with peace of mind under the banner of "Safety takes precedence over everything!".” 

A-SAFE barriers maximise safety and prevent downtime 

One of the key benefits of the A-SAFE pedestrian barrier is that it flexes on impact, providing ultimate protection for the pedestrians behind it. For Sumiden Trading, specifying a polymer barrier over a steel counterpart was key for maximising safety. Not only does the protective performance of A-SAFE’s polymer pedestrian barrier outstrip steel, but it also requires less maintenance – with no rust or paintwork that requires repair. For a facility environment as busy and fast-paced as Sumiden Trading’s, where any downtime can have significant cost implications, a solution requiring minimal maintenance delivers a host of benefits. 

Correspondingly, protecting facilities and buildings was also one of the purposes for adopting A-SAFE barriers. If conveyor or door shutter equipment is damaged at facilities such as the Shiga Distribution Center, there is a risk of major hindrance to operational efficiency.  

• Part of the Sumitomo Electric Group
• 1,600 people worldwide
• Team of 450 in Japan alone

Facility-wide pedestrian segregation and risk reduction 

A-SAFE barriers have been specified in both the facility’s interior and outdoor areas; ultimately helping Sumiden Trading create safe pedestrian walkways that ensure human/vehicle separation throughout the whole facility. Other A-SAFE innovations that have been implemented across the Sumiden Trading facility include bollards and column guards designed to further reduce risk and prevent collisions; traffic barriers throughout storage and shipping areas; topple barriers to protect pedestrians from falls and swing gates – creating controlled pedestrian access points, allowing personnel to cross dedicated vehicle routes with confidence

Safer conditions mean happier and more productive employees 

The roll-out of A-SAFE solutions throughout the facility has had a measurable positive impact on Sumiden Trading. Tetsuya Fukunishi continues: “After the installation of A-SAFE barriers, our staff also said that they can concentrate on work with peace of mind. I feel that by providing a safer workplace for our company, it will also lead to improved employee satisfaction.” 

Choosing the most experienced safety partner  

The provider in question was A-SAFE. A world-leading supplier of workplace safety solutions, A-SAFE has almost forty years of experience in delivering bespoke safety products for facilities across a range of sectors such as manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, logistics, airports, automotive, health and hygiene, food and drink, packaging and chemical and power. As the inventor and manufacturer of the world’s first industrial strength polymer safety barrier system and smart safety technology, A-SAFE has gone on to pioneer a vast array of state-of-the-art solutions for clients and facilities all around the world. It was this expertise that made A-SAFE such an ideal partner for Sumiden Trading. 

As Yukihiro Maede - Senior Staff, Logistics Department stated: “The biggest reason for using A-SAFE is its protective performance far exceeds that of conventional steel barriers and it also absorbs shock and does not break.”