Q. What kind of work were you involved in up until now?
A. When I joined the company, I spent my first 2 months doing on-the-job training, followed by a year-long assignment at the Yokkaichi Factory of Yachiyo Industry Co., Ltd., our parent company, where I was involved in engine assembly. It was hard getting used to working on the conveyor production line and I have a lot of difficult memories, but it was a very important experience.
When I came back to Goshi, I was assigned to the New Model Block of the Technology Division where for about three years I was in charge of process planning and cost calculation for new model components. I’m now working in our Tokyo office.
Q. What kind of work do you do now?
A. I get to work with the Motorcycle R&D Center of Honda R&D Co., Ltd. as a guest engineer, where I work with engineers from Honda to develop motorcycles.
Specifically, in addition to turning Honda’s blueprints into actual products, I think about what kind of systems we can offer so that we can meet the stable quality, costs, and delivery times desired by the customer. In the new model R&D process, I’m involved in the steps starting with specification analysis up to product development. I work on the front lines of R&D, where I suggest improvements in order to satisfy the demands of our customers.
Q. What do you want to do in the future? What are your goals?
A. I want to be directly involved in Monozukuri, the Japanese philosophy of creation and craftsmanship.
My goal with regards to our customers and product development is to become a sales engineer. I first need to absorb the technical knowledge that I still lack, and then I can use the experience I’ve accumulated to negotiate with customers on cost.
