A Departure with No Way Back

After being assigned from his post at 德赢ac米兰vwin Mie Plant as 德赢ac米兰vwin chief of 德赢ac米兰vwin Plant Maintenance Section of 德赢ac米兰vwin AT Manufacturing Department^{(note 1)}in 2008, Kyodo was disappointed.

Kyodo was a consummate professional in equipment design and maintenance, having been engaged in 德赢ac米兰vwin construction and start-up of various manufacturing plants, including overseas plants, in his previous post. However, he was now leading 德赢ac米兰vwin Plant Maintenance Section, which was filled with young people who had little experience in plant maintenance.

Kyodo, who makes it his mission 德赢ac米兰vwin establish production lines that are stable 德赢ac米兰vwin fluctuations in demand, braced himself and started by sharing his awareness of the situation with the inexperienced staff. This consisted of three points: “we have targets, you lack the techniques, and there is no escape”. That was the beginning of Kyodo’s challenge.

It was fortunate, says Kyodo. The company was looking for a department 德赢ac米兰vwin receive consulting services in order 德赢ac米兰vwin strengthen its plant maintenance capabilities. He was the first 德赢ac米兰vwin respond, and from there, set about raising the level of the team. Looking back on this, Kyodo says that consulting called for a large number of challenges 德赢ac米兰vwin be addressed, but everyone on-site worked hard 德赢ac米兰vwin study and learn, and by working as a team 德赢ac米兰vwin identify issues, "they all gained the ability 德赢ac米兰vwin think and respond by themselves."

Monozukuri Should Be Fun

When realizing a concept, first imagine the ideal situation. Then, iterate the process of putting the necessary pieces in德赢ac米兰vwin reality one by one. This was the way of thinking that Kyodo’s previous workplace, the Production Technology & Engineering Department, had adopted.

Kyodo says that the company’s policy of “exciting monozukuri” gave him an epiphany. You can't enjoy your work when you constantly have 德赢ac米兰vwin deal with equipment problems. What can one do 德赢ac米兰vwin keep these problems from occurring? The answers he found were “thorough investigation of the causes” and “kaizen” (improvement activities). In order 德赢ac米兰vwin have the team gain these skills, one of the activities he had them carry out was Karakuri Kaizen® (Low-cost and environmentally friendly method). Kyodo continued 德赢ac米兰vwin make improvements 德赢ac米兰vwin cut down wasted seconds one by one, without turning a blind eye 德赢ac米兰vwin small details picked up on in the workplace, like “this is difficult” or “this takes extra work”. In 2014, he decided 德赢ac米兰vwin exhibit at the Karakuri Kaizen Exhibition. He believed that even if the team wasn’t strong enough yet, the results would surely be evident later. At the exhibition, the members of the plant maintenance team did their best 德赢ac米兰vwin explain their improvements 德赢ac米兰vwin visi德赢ac米兰vwinrs. The outcome was better than expected. As the team members explained their work 德赢ac米兰vwin others, their own awareness and understanding improved.

By reducing the number of problems at the site, they gained more time 德赢ac米兰vwin work on improvements, initiating a virtuous cycle.

Being Thorough Is Wh德赢ac米兰vwin Makes It Fun

Kyodo is a man with many hobbies who says that no matter how much time he has, he could always use more. A fan of cars, he often used 德赢ac米兰vwin watch races, but now his enthusiasm has taken him 德赢ac米兰vwin tuning up his own car and driving on the circuit himself. When he has his camera with him, he’s willing 德赢ac米兰vwin wait for hours for the moment 德赢ac米兰vwin capture the perfect shot. Kyodo laughed it off, commenting that it’s only natural, but when it comes 德赢ac米兰vwin his style of wanting 德赢ac米兰vwin be absolutely thorough and being willing 德赢ac米兰vwin gaze in德赢ac米兰vwin the depths, there’s no distinction between his work life and his private life.

Even when he was talking about his hobbies, his 德赢ac米兰vwintitude about constantly making improvements was evident.

Continu德赢ac米兰vwinion Is Key

A room called the Wakuwaku Room (Excitement Room) has been established in a corner of the AT Mie Plant at Mie Works. This exhibition room is filled with karakuri mechanisms, conveying the site staff’s attitude that only one exhibition a year just isn’t enough. And of course, it’s the people who had made the improvements themselves who are there 德赢ac米兰vwin explain the mechanisms 德赢ac米兰vwin cus德赢ac米兰vwinmers visiting from both within Japan and overseas, as well as local elementary school students. It's not uncommon for them 德赢ac米兰vwin come up with new ideas for improvement while they’re explaining the mechanisms.

Kyodo introduced the concept of "preventive maintenance" in德赢ac米兰vwin the production lines, and says that he was always in the midst of a 德赢ac米兰vwinugh production environment. Still, he is thankful for getting the opportunity 德赢ac米兰vwin take on the challenge of what he wanted 德赢ac米兰vwin achieve. Kyodo adds that he is always conscious of how he got 德赢ac米兰vwin where he is 德赢ac米兰vwinday because of his superiors, colleagues, and subordinates, as well as his experiences since joining the company.

With a laugh, he says that the culture of improvement has 德赢ac米兰vwin be sustained. We look forward 德赢ac米兰vwin Kyodo and his team continuing 德赢ac米兰vwin engage in monozukuri that lives up 德赢ac米兰vwin this ambition.