Solving Problems through Factory Exchange Meetings

There are many ways to make improvements (hereinafter called Kaizen) at manufacturing sites.
In our Group, a culture of working on Kaizen from multiple perspectives is deeply rooted.
I myself visit the factories in domestic and overseas affiliated companies and also make rounds of each factory in Komaki Plant as much as I can spare time.
This is because there are many things that can only be understood by directly confirming them onsite.

Full-Scale Launch of “Factory Exchange Meetings

The “Unit Leaders' Exchange Meetings” were started several years ago as a spontaneous initiative by unit leaders to present their own Kaizen activities to each other, transcending the boundaries of business divisions.
The rule is that neither the plant managers nor the general managers intervene in these unit leaders’ exchange meetings.
I once had gone to listen to them without interrupting.
At that time, I only gave encouraging comments for the facts that the Kaizen contents were well thought out and they were able to continuously operate this kind of forum.
Later, in an effort to make it more organized, the MONOZUKURI Support Office took the initiative to start “Factory Exchange Meetings” in the Komaki Head Office and Plants in August 2024, with full-scale development beginning in the second half of the year.
The purpose of this event is to invigorate Kaizen activities, as our Group's business is wide-ranging and many employees do not have the opportunity to directly observe the work sites of other departments.
These factory exchange meetings are not limited to factory tours but also provide an opportunity to share ideas and information on on-site Kaizens, and to freely exchange opinions on issues and concerns.
In the beginning, there were sometimes few conversations because the participating members were different each time, but recently, opinions are being exchanged more actively.

Sharing and Development of Kaizen Case Studies

In accordance with the 2029V policy of “Developing people and peers who pioneer the future,” networking through factory exchange meetings is expanding and information sharing on Kaizen is progressing.
By looking at other workplaces, new perspectives are gained, providing an opportunity to promote Kaizens without being bound by conventional ways of thinking.
Let's promote “co-creation” together with our peers by taking advantage of “horizontal deployment,” which is one of the strengths of our Group.