Recruitment! OTICS, a manufacturing manufacturer with abundant development technology and a Deming Prize-winning corporate culture, is looking for a partner today.

OTICS for mobility-related companies
～We have a solid ability to produce 100 million units per year! ~Market share: 100%!

Please tell us about the business of OTICS.

As a mobility-related company, OTICS manufactures and sells various automotive parts to Toyota Motor Corporation, Subaru Motor Corporation, Isuzu Motors Limited, and other major users.

Among them,The company's main products are engine functional parts, such as roller arms and HLA (lash adjusters), which are used as a pivot point for the roller arms and receive loads.The Company has been working on this project for the past three years.

Roller arm" is the part that opens and closes the valve, the valve. HLA" is a part that follows the wear of each part and temperature change, and has the function of keeping the clearance of the valve at zero.Both produce 100% of Toyota's domestic market share and have a large share of the overseas market as well. Production numbers are approximately 100 million units each per year.

These are precision functional parts that also require high reliability because they have a significant impact on engine performance and control intake and exhaust.

Another major engine component product is the balancer assembly, which suppresses engine vibration and noise to ensure a comfortable ride.

As described above, we are mainly engaged in the development, prototyping, and production of automotive engine parts, but we also design and manufacture the specialized equipment necessary for production, as well as robot parts and rocket parts.

New business with an open workplace and the know-how of a manufacturing company!

Please tell us about the vision that OTICS has.

As I mentioned earlier, we are a "manufacturing manufacturer" that can be entrusted with the entire process from "development and prototyping to production" and "rough materials to machining and assembly.Contributing to the evolution of mobility by leveraging our wealth of development experience and production technology cultivated over our more than 100-year historyThe company is doing so.

In preparation for the 120th anniversary of our founding in 2038, in 2018 we formulated a long-term management plan, VISION 120, which we have incorporated into our medium-term management plan. Mainly,As a mobility-related company, we aim to be a company that can grow sustainably by responding to change and with a sense of speed.

We will also take on the challenge of creating "new businesses" utilizing our wealth of experience and expertise. We hope to build a new management foundation through new businesses.

Furthermore, we aim to contribute to society and local communities, with a focus on preserving the natural environment.

Q: What are the strengths of OTICS in organizing the accelerator program?

Our strengths are our "development and technical capabilities as a manufacturing manufacturer" and our "honest, cheerful and fun corporate culture.
Six departments (Sales Department, Engineering Department, Production Engineering Department, Quality Assurance Department, Procurement Department, and Production Management Department) from development to order receipt and production preparation are concentrated on one floor in the company, creating an environment where employees can immediately consult with other departments. Employees enjoy working together in a friendly and pleasant environment, as they interact not only with each other but also with their families, and even the directors address each other by "san".
Strong connections both vertically and horizontally,Our culture of unity in everything we do is our strength as a resource.I think it is a great place to work. And it is a very open workplace.

The entire company worked together to win the Deming Prize Grand Prize!

You also won the Deming Prize Grand Prize last year in 2021!

We are all committed to TQM, and our efforts to strengthen TQM have borne fruit,Deming Prize* in 2018 and the Deming Prize Grand Prize in 2021.The first time I did it, I was able to do it.

Q: You are pursuing initiatives to improve the "quality of management", what is TQM and how is it used?

TQM is an acronym for "Total Quality Management" and is a type of business management technique known as "total quality management" in Japanese. It is a systematic activity that contributes to the achievement of organizational objectives through effective and efficient management of the entire organization so that goods and services of satisfactory quality can be provided to customers in a timely manner and at an appropriate price.

OTICS has been pursuing effective TQM implementation to realize its long-term management plan, VISION 120.

First, in 2014, we issued the TQM Reinforcement Declaration with the aim of building a corporate foundation capable of sustainable growth. The following year, in 2015, we established the TQM Promotion Office, the predecessor of the TQM Corporate Strategy Office to which we now belong, and have been putting in place a system for strengthening TQM.

In order to obtain an objective evaluation of our TQM, we also utilize TQM diagnosis by the Japan Federation of Science and Technology, while analyzing our strengths and weaknesses,Focus on four key areas: long-term vision and policy management, coordination between new product development and process development, prevention and process control, and evolution of manufacturing and strengthening of production volume management.The company is doing so.

Deming Prize...The Deming Prize is the world's highest-ranked award for TQM, established in 1951 to commemorate the achievements of the late Dr. W.E. Deming, who was instrumental in spreading statistical quality control in postwar Japan and raising the quality of Japanese products to world-class standards.

By effectively utilizing TQM, we will be a company that never stops growing in the future!

Yes, we do. We want to be a company that can continue to grow.

As a member of the mobility industry, I want to achieve "carbon neutrality by 2050.

Q: What are some of the challenges you face in the opposite direction?

As a member of the automotive industry,Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050" is one of the major challenges.The company is Also,Issues that we would like to actively promote initiatives that contribute to society and local communities, with a focus on preservation of the natural environment.The following is a list of the most important factors that must be taken into consideration when making a decision on the purchase of a new company

At this stage, however, the lack of items such as realistically possible carbon dioxide emission reductions and absorption makes it very difficult to achieve the goal.

Utilize heat and energy used in factories to produce environmentally friendly goods (by generating electricity, using as a heat source, etc.) to promote reduction of carbon dioxide and improvement of the local environment, etc.I hope to be able to do so. We hope that they can be used in many areas, not only in the industrial sector, but also in the agricultural sector.

OTICS, which until now has only had experience in the automotive industry, is still searching for ways to develop its business and how to solve social issues.

Why is OTICS hosting the Accelerator Program?

Q: What is the background behind your promotion of open innovation?

Yes, we are. Although in some respects we are seeking new businesses in anticipation of the downsizing of existing businesses, our goal is to become an indispensable company loved by our customers, employees, and the community under the slogan "Increase the number of OTICS fans! our goal is to become an indispensable company loved by our customers, employees, and the community, and to contribute to society and the region.

On the other hand, to do so, we would like to utilize our own technology and products, but we cannot find the answer within the company alone.

So there,Solving this issue through open innovation with startups that have strengths in different areasWe hope to be able to do so.

Q. What do you consider important when implementing open innovation?

Discuss and expand ideas for problem-solving with each other to create something better, and then implement them quickly and efficiently.I hope to be able to do that. It would be great if the end result is something fun and interesting.

Since the president and board members are working together on this accelerator program, there is no divergence from upper management and decision-making is quicker.

This is a very attractive climate for startups. How will you decide who the brush-up members will be in the future?

We will select candidates from within the company according to the content of the application, but we will also be looking for self-recommendations and recommendations.

ーIf the program is well known to be held, we can choose members across all departments. This would be a valuable point of reference as the program progresses.

We are actually soliciting ideas for new businesses from within the company as well, although there are still some uncertainties since we are not yet at the stage where we have concrete plans for the talks.

If you read our company name "OTICS" from the opposite side, it becomes "SCITO". SCITO" means "to know" in Latin, so we asked our employees to write their ideas on an entry sheet (SCITO), with the meaning of "a reversal of ideas not found in OTICS. The result was a total of 155 business proposals from within the company.

For business ideas that cannot be implemented in-house, we have been communicating internally that we would like to collaborate with startups in the future, and I believe that internal awareness of the need for open innovation is growing.

What OTICS is looking for in a startup

What are your expectations for the collaboration with Startup?

Something of our resources combined with the ideas that you startups have in different business areas,We want to co-create things that we could not create on our own.I believe that this is a good idea.

We would also be happy if, by having people from different industries look at our work, they would realize that what we did not consider to be a resource was in fact something that people were looking for! We would be very happy if we could make people in different industries aware that something they did not consider to be a resource is in fact something they are looking for!

Please tell us again what social issues you would like to solve with startups.

As I mentioned earlier, our main products are engine functional parts, and we are working on the transition to electrification, etc.As the mobility industry undergoes a period of major change, we are seeking to develop new products that will compensate for this change and to enter fields other than the automobile business.I am in the process of doing so.

However, as efforts to address environmental issues, such as the SDGs, are rapidly expanding throughout the world, at any cost,First, we want to "achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.I am thinking of you.

We are looking forward to receiving ideas from startups that will provide hints and inspiration for contributing to society and local communities.

Q: Do you have an idea of what kind of startups you would like to collaborate with?

That's right. "We have this idea, but we don't have the technology or facilities to make it into a product." Or, "We want to work together to create something that will improve the quality of life. or startups that have strengths in the environment or agriculture.

Q. What has been the response to the Accelerator Program from within the company?

Very good. We once worked on a new business within our company and conducted a demonstration experiment of a plant factory. We managed to grow lettuce, etc., but the project faded out due to setbacks in sales channels, costs, etc.
This time, everyone is excited about the "resumption of new business activities" through open innovation.

I feel that the base is in place for the entire company to work together as we did in the days of the Deming and Deming Grand Prizes!

What future will OTICS create?

ーTell us about your goals and the future you would like to achieve.

Anyway, first of all, the atmosphere should be cheerful and fun,Provide good products and servicesI would like to do so.

On top of that, we have only had experience in developing mobility-related businesses in the past, so we will be working with accelerator programs like this one in the future.We want to utilize new services to create products, people, and communication with the community from a different perspective.I feel that this is a good thing.

If possible, I hope that this accelerator program will lead to the development of a collaboration proposal that will become one of the pillars of our business.

interviewee

Mr. Mamoru Okumura　Section Chief, TQM Management Strategy Office, Business Administration Division, OTICS Corporation
After graduating from Shizuoka University, joined OTICS Corporation. In the Production Engineering Department, he was engaged in the development of engine parts such as valve lifters and roller arms, and the start-up of mass production. In 2022, he moved to the TQM Management Strategy Office, where he aims to realize a decarbonized society through the creation of new businesses.
Special ability: I can taste everything and eat a lot of food.