Tanseisha and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo City, Tokyo; President and Chief Executive Of cer: Hashimoto Osamu; hereinafter "Mitsui Chemicals") are collaborating to provide richer spatial experiences by combining Tanseisha's spatial creation know-how with Mitsui Chemicals' cutting-edge technology. As part of this collaboration, they have recently developed a dust-resistant bottom sliding rail (hereinafter "dust-resistant sliding rail") that is durable and easy to maintain, and will begin demonstration experiments (hereinafter "demonstration experiments") in stores, together with Sakushin Kogyo Co., Ltd. (President and Chief Executive Of cer and CEO: Kawachi Hidefumi; hereinafter "Sakushin Kogyo"), a pioneer in the Mitsui Chemicals Group's ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene molding and processing manufacturer, as an effort to reduce maintenance costs in retail stores and create sustainable stores.
News Release
Background of the initiative
Tanseisha provides facility life support to support stores throughout their life with the concept of "eliminating unnecessary maintenance of stores and facilities." When we analyzed the accumulated maintenance response data, we found that about 30% of the maintenance requests for furniture and fixtures were for drawer repairs, and an investigation into the individual breakdowns revealed that the main cause was clogging of the bearings of the slide rails due to dust and food particles. Therefore, we started developing a replacement product that is less likely to break as an effort to create sustainable stores that will reduce the number of maintenances and reduce the costs and waste associated with arranging and replacing parts.
Demonstration experiment efforts
In this demonstration, we developed a durable rail for fixtures that can replace existing slide rails by utilizing Saxin New Light® from Sakushin Kogyo, which has good sliding properties as well as wear resistance and resistance to dust and powder adhesion. In the durability test for the product (JIS S1200), we also conducted an experiment in which dust was intentionally added, and after confirming its durability, we carried out a six-month pre-experiment and improved the rail. We then installed dust-resistant slide rails in 10 locations on each of the fixture drawers in two retail stores in Tokyo, and investigated the number of times the product was pulled out, and conducted questionnaires and interviews on the feeling of use at the target stores to verify the durability and practicality of the product.
<Comparison with conventional products>
Characteristics of Saxin New Light®
The Saxin New Light® we have adopted has very good sliding properties despite being made of resin, and in practice can be operated with the same force as conventional bearing-type slide rails. It also has properties that make it resistant to wear and dust, and is not easily attracted by static electricity, making it a material with excellent durability when used for long periods of time.
Roles of each company
| TANSEISHA Co., Ltd. | ・Identifying issues through analysis of maintenance data ・ Basic Layout of dust-resistant slide rails using BIM (three-dimensional model) ・Planning, designing and implementing demonstration experiments using brick-and-mortar stores |
|---|---|
| Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. | ・Planning and designing demonstration experiments, examining the contents ・Various types of support regarding materials used in demonstration experiments |
| Sakushin Industry Co., Ltd. | ・Provided by Saxin New Light® ・Design and manufacture of dust-resistant slide rails ・Durability testing |
Future developments
Based on the results of this demonstration project, Tanseisha, Mitsui Chemicals, and Sakushin Kogyo will work with hardware component manufacturers to promote the development of products that can help solve customer problems, with the aim of commercializing the dust-resistant slide rails in retail stores and other locations across the country.
Tanseisha will continue to strive to create sustainable stores and contribute to maintenance-free store operations.
Please note that this may be subject to change without prior notice.