The KOMATSU Way

Formulating The KOMATSU Way

Komatsu defined the strengths it has built up through the process of growth and development, as well as the convictions, attitudes, and code of conduct that support those strengths, in The KOMATSU Way, which the Group formulated in July 2006.

The KOMATSU Way is a statement of values that the Komatsu Group should pass down in a lasting way wherever it operates, including in its management, to ensure its continuing commitment toenhancing Quality and Reliability in the service of corporate value. By sharing these values, the Group can build global teamwork that transcends nationalities and generations while amassing and fortifying the Komatsu Group's "strength of job capabilities"-the dynamism of all employees and the entire organization plus the ability to improve their own workplaces and worksites-which in turn further enhances Quality and Reliability.


At the Global Management Seminar held in April 2007, top management and managers from Komatsu Group subsidiaries outside Japan gathered to deepen their understanding of The KOMATSU Way.

Enabling The KOMATSU Way to Spread and Be Shared by All

Komatsu has been spreading and cultivating The KOMATSU Way toManagerial Structure enable it to firmly take root in each Group company, guided by The KOMATSU Way Division that was established in July 2006. To facilitate understanding of The KOMATSU Way, as of March 31, 2007 the Group had convened a total of 56 explanatory sessions at Group companies around the globe, with the executive officers in charge visiting locations in person to deliver the explanations.

Each division has compiled collections of more detailed conduct principles for individual workplaces into division-specific versions of The KOMATSU Way, paving the way for sharing values globally. As concrete ways of strengthening employees' ability to improve their own workplaces, the Group also uses education for activating the Total Quality Management (TQM) that has been cultivated in the Group along with various kinds of management education.

Overview of The KOMATSU Way

Priorities in Management

Komatsu has set forth principles for top management at Komatsu Ltd. and Group companies to follow strictly as they grasp up-to-date and authentic information originating at each workplace and carry out the following:

Five Principles for Top Management

  • 1. Vitalize the functions of the board of directors.
  • 2. Take the initiative in communicating with all our stakeholders.
  • 3. Comply with the rules of the business community.
  • 4. Never put off responses to risks.
  • 5. Keep thinking about your successor.

Seven Ways of KOMATSU

In The KOMATSU Way, Komatsu positions the Seven Ways of KOMATSU as shared values that promote Monozukuri, or manufacturing competitiveness.

Seven Ways of KOMATSU

  • 1. Commitment to Quality and Reliability: Quality is our top-priority commitment, and thus we will never make any compromise on quality.
  • 2. Customer Oriented: By valuing the opinions of our customers, we continue to offer the products and services that they are proud to own.
  • 3. Defining the Root Cause: By clearly defining all processes from product planning to machine conditions in the field, we always work to find and fix the root cause of problems in order to prevent the problem from recurring.
  • 4. Workplace Philosophy: Workplaces (Genba in Japanese) offer information which should constitute the foundation of our policies, strategies, improvement plans and other vital initiatives. It's important to emphasize and look at the facts of workplaces, making information "visible."
  • 5. Policy Deployment: As soon as top management policies are announced, employees on all levels understand their respective roles, make their own activity plans, and implement them on their initiative.
  • 6. Collaboration with Business Partners: In all operations from development to sales and after-sales service, we work together with our business partners from around the world to solve problems and improve operations, share know-how and work for our mutual growth as "One Komatsu."
  • 7. Human Resource Development: It is the human resources, i.e., employees, that support sustainable corporate growth. Employees are the most valuable corporate asset and thus human resource development and educational programs for employees are indispensable worldwide.