- Interviews/Specific Examples
Experimental training" to broaden the perspective beyond your own company ＜National Conference of Knowledge Manufacturers
2025.09.29
YDM Corporation
General Manager, Saitama Business Div.Takashi Haraguchi he
Assistant General Manager, Planning and Development Dept.Keiichi Uchino he
YDM Corporation, with its own factory in Saitama Prefecture, is engaged in medical device manufacturing and sales, utilizing its core technologies in precision machining, design, and quality assurance, as well as its strengths in "high-precision machining technology and safety and security" developed in medical devices. Through exhibitions, pitches, and dialogues with companies in different fields, what insights did they gain and what did they take away from their lives in the manufacturing field? We will explore the possibility of human resource development starting from the expansion of their vision.
Intrinsic Motivation Born on the Manufacturing Floor
The impetus for participation came from a sense that upper management was facing a problem: "The field of vision tends to be inward-looking. Mr. Haraguchi of YDM said, "I wanted them to learn more about the world around them. However, when he finally sent his employees to the National Knowledge Manufacturing Conference, he received an unexpected response.
The participants were eager to learn more about the event, and they were eager to absorb the experience in a positive manner. What started as a top-down initiative gradually became a "personal matter.
Difficulty in verbalizing "what we take for granted
During the preparation phase, a workshop was held to verbalize the company's strengths. Different departments such as planning and development, design, production engineering, quality control, and manufacturing came together to discuss "What is our value? The question that confronted them was, "What are our strengths?" The question was, "What is our strength? The company's strength had always been its ability to meet the needs of customers with high quality, but with overseas manufacturers' quality improving, the question arose as to whether this was still a real strength. In a limited industry where there were few comparisons with other companies, there were few opportunities to compare the value of their unique technologies, and even within the company they did not have a clear understanding of their strengths. However, when they stood side by side with other companies through exhibitions and pitches, they realized that the technologies they took for granted were actually things that other companies could not do. It was the moment when they began to realize their "unacknowledged technological assets" that had been buried in their daily operations.
About once a year is "just right as a stimulus."
The greatest result of their participation was the broadening of their perspectives. Through encounters with companies in different fields, the employees were exposed to a diversity of information and values, and gained training to remove the "filters" they had unconsciously put on themselves. However, it does not mean that the organization's structure and thinking will change overnight. If left alone, the perspective will revert to its original state. That is why we need to stimulate them regularly," says Mr. Haraguchi. Rather than year-round training, the best rhythm is to provide an opportunity to experience an unusual world at a pace of about once a year, "without changing too much, but still leading to future orientation.
(Text: Kazuhiro Hasegawa)
