About 80% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform answered that they "do not have enough time" to check component risks at the design stage!

KUMU Works Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hiromasa Tanaka), which develops and sells data platforms, conducted a survey on the actual status of component risk management in the design and development sites of the manufacturing industry, targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry (men and women in their 20s to 50s). This survey revealed the challenges faced by design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry amidst the progress of work style reform, the actual situation of component risk management, and what they feel is necessary to maintain quality.

Background

While work style reform is promoting improvements in the working environment, in the manufacturing industry, responding to component risks (supply uncertainty, discontinuation, etc.) due to supply chain instability has become an urgent issue. However, in design sites where reduced working hours are required, it is becoming difficult to allocate sufficient time for checking component risks, which are essential. As a result, the risk of rework in later processes and redesigns is increasing, and the dilemma between "work style reform" and "quality maintenance" weighs heavily on the field. In this situation, there is a lack of actual data to clarify the extent to which design and development engineers can actually verify component risks and how insufficient verification affects business. Therefore, KUMU Works Co., Ltd. conducted the "Survey on the Actual Status of Component Risk Management in Manufacturing Design Sites" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry.

Survey Summary

- More than 1 in 4 manufacturing design and development engineers responded that their "working hours have decreased" due to the promotion of work style reform.

- The main issues felt by manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to work style reform are "individualization of skills and know-how" and "chronic shortage of personnel."

- Approximately 80% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform answered that they currently "do not have enough time" or "do not have enough time at all" to check component risks at the design stage.

- More than 60% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform feel anxious or concerned about maintaining product quality due to the reduction in working hours and man-hours caused by work style reform.

- Approximately 40% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform responded that the frequency of rework in later processes and redesigns due to insufficient verification of component risks has "increased" since the reduction in man-hours due to work style reform.

- The top 3 process reviews and support measures felt necessary to maintain quality within limited man-hours are: 1st place "Promotion of internal know-how sharing and work standardization," tied for 2nd place "Introduction and update of design and development support tools" and "Review and optimization of development schedules."

Survey Overview

Survey Period: June 10-16, 2026

Survey Method: Internet survey

Target Audience: Design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry (men and women in their 20s to 50s)

Number of Respondents: 1195

Monitor Provider: RC Research Data

*Design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry in this survey refer to those who have been engaged in the manufacturing industry for 5 years or more.

*Since the sum of response ratios is rounded to the second decimal place, the total may not be 100.0%.

More than 1 in 4 manufacturing design and development engineers responded that their "working hours have decreased" due to the promotion of work style reform.

First, in response to the question "How have your working hours changed due to the promotion of work style reform?", the results were: 1st place "No change" with 52.9%, 2nd place "Slightly decreased" with 21.8%, and 3rd place "Slightly increased" with 13.8%. Although "No change" was the most frequent answer, the sum of the response rates for "Slightly decreased" (21.8%) and "Significantly decreased" (5.5%) is 27.3%. This result revealed that more than 1 in 4 design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry responded that their "working hours have decreased" due to the promotion of work style reform.

The main issues felt by manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to work style reform are "individualization of skills and know-how" and "chronic shortage of personnel."

Next, in response to the question "What kind of problems do you feel in your current design and development work?" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform, the results were: 1st place "Skills and know-how are individualized" with 54.1%, 2nd place "Chronic shortage of personnel" with 52.6%, and 3rd place "Not enough time for the workload" with 33.3%. From these results, it was found that the main problems felt by design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to work style reform are "individualization of skills and know-how" and "chronic shortage of personnel."

Approximately 80% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform answered that they currently "do not have enough time" or "do not have enough time at all" to check component risks at the design stage.

Subsequently, in response to the question "Do you currently have enough time to check component risks (discontinuation, EOL, etc.) at the design stage?" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform, the results were: 1st place "Not enough time" with 68.5%, 2nd place "Enough time" with 22.0%, and 3rd place "No time at all" with 9.5%. The sum of the response rates for 1st and 3rd place is 78.0%. This result revealed that approximately 80% of design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform answered that they currently "do not have enough time" or "do not have enough time at all" to check component risks at the design stage.

More than 60% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform feel anxious or concerned about maintaining product quality due to the reduction in working hours and man-hours caused by work style reform.

Furthermore, in response to the question "Do you feel anxious or concerned about maintaining product quality due to the reduction in working hours and man-hours caused by work style reform?" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform, the results were: 1st place "Somewhat feel" with 53.2%, 2nd place "Not particularly feel" with 30.6%, and 3rd place "Strongly feel" with 11.3%. The sum of the response rates for 1st and 3rd place is 64.5%. From these results, it was found that more than 60% of design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform feel anxious or concerned, to varying degrees, about maintaining product quality due to the reduction in working hours and man-hours caused by work style reform.

Approximately 40% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform responded that the frequency of rework in later processes and redesigns due to insufficient verification of component risks has "increased" since the reduction in man-hours due to work style reform.

Next, in response to the question "How has the frequency of rework in later processes and redesigns due to insufficient verification of component risks changed since the reduction in man-hours due to work style reform?" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform, the results were: 1st place "No change" with 45.9%, 2nd place "Slightly increased" with 33.0%, 3rd place "Slightly decreased" with 12.5%, and 4th place "Significantly increased" with 5.2%. While "No change" was the most frequent answer, the sum of the response rates for 2nd and 4th place is 38.2%. This result revealed that approximately 40% of design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform responded that the frequency of rework in later processes and redesigns due to insufficient verification of component risks has "increased" since the reduction in man-hours due to work style reform.

The top 3 process reviews and support measures felt necessary to maintain quality within limited man-hours are: 1st place "Promotion of internal know-how sharing and work standardization," tied for 2nd place "Introduction and update of design and development support tools" and "Review and optimization of development schedules."

Finally, in response to the question "What kind of process reviews and support do you feel are necessary to maintain quality within limited man-hours?" targeting design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform, the results were: 1st place "Promotion of internal know-how sharing and work standardization" with 46.5%, and tied for 2nd place "Introduction and update of design and development support tools" and "Review and optimization of development schedules" with 42.8%. From these results, it was found that the most common process review and support measure felt necessary to maintain quality within limited man-hours is "Promotion of internal know-how sharing and work standardization."

Summary

While work style reform is promoting improvements in the working environment, in the manufacturing industry, responding to component risks (supply uncertainty, discontinuation, etc.) due to supply chain instability has become an urgent issue. However, in design sites where reduced working hours are required, it is becoming difficult to allocate sufficient time for checking component risks, which are essential. As a result, the risk of rework in later processes and redesigns is increasing, and the dilemma between "work style reform" and "quality maintenance" weighs heavily on the field.

This survey revealed that more than 1 in 4 design and development engineers in the manufacturing industry responded that their "working hours have decreased" due to the promotion of work style reform, and the main problems felt by these individuals in their current design and development work are "individualization of skills and know-how" and "chronic shortage of personnel." Furthermore, approximately 80% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform answered that they currently "do not have enough time" or "do not have enough time at all" to check component risks at the design stage, and it was also found that more than 60% of these engineers feel anxious or concerned about maintaining product quality due to the reduction in working hours and man-hours caused by work style reform. Additionally, it was revealed that approximately 40% of manufacturing design and development engineers whose working hours have decreased due to the promotion of work style reform responded that the frequency of rework in later processes and redesigns due to insufficient verification of component risks has "increased" since the reduction in man-hours due to work style reform. It was also found that the top 3 process reviews and support measures felt necessary to maintain quality within limited man-hours are: 1st place "Promotion of internal know-how sharing and work standardization," tied for 2nd place "Introduction and update of design and development support tools" and "Review and optimization of development schedules."

In response to the challenges in the manufacturing industry, such as "anxiety about maintaining quality due to reduced man-hours" and "individualization of skills" in design and development work, which have become apparent in this survey due to work style reform, KUMU Works Co., Ltd.'s "Z2Data" provides an environment that reduces component risks associated with design changes, etc., and ensures product quality and mass production stability while improving operational efficiency. This service is a platform that supports work style reform and "supply chain risk management" in the manufacturing industry, and utilizes a database of over 1 billion electronic components to automate component risk verification in the early stages of design. This data-driven visualization and risk management of the supply chain enables reliable component selection within limited time, contributing to the stabilization of manufacturing from design to mass production and the elimination of individualization.

Supervisor

KUMU Works Co., Ltd.

Hiromasa Tanaka, Representative Director

Engaged in the EC/distribution of semiconductors and electronic components for approximately 10 years, handling sales and marketing at Chip One Stop and Arrow Electronics Japan. Currently, at KUMU Works Co., Ltd., he is involved in sales and marketing support specialized for the electronic component and semiconductor industry, the introduction of overseas solutions into Japan, and procurement DX/data utilization support. By addressing the complex business flows and procurement challenges unique to the industry and supporting market development and operational improvements for manufacturing companies and overseas technology companies, he aims to optimize the supply chain and strengthen the competitiveness of Japan's manufacturing industry.

Survey Conducting Company

KUMU Works Co., Ltd.

Location: Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15F, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-6415 Representative Director: Hiromasa Tanaka Business Activities: Data platform sales, digital marketing, consulting URL: https://z2data.kumu-works.com/

Z2Data

Z2Data is a data platform that manages supply chain risks for semiconductors and electronic components. It supports companies from product design to procurement and management decisions through component lifecycle forecasting and supply chain visualization. Based on a database including over 1 billion component data points, 1 million suppliers worldwide, and 200,000 manufacturing sites, it enables monitoring of EOL/PCN information and market inventory, as well as risk alert notifications. For more details, please see below.

Z2Data: https://z2data.kumu-works.com/