Contemporary economic thinking is based on the principle that if everyone efficiently pursues his or her own economic interests, he or she automatically also pursues the interests of society. And since enterprises are organizations set up to pursue their own economic interests, it would follow that what is good for the enterprise is good for society. Today, everything around us tells us that a rapacious economy busy incessantly raiding human resources, mining, agriculture, etc., for the purposes of its own interests is no longer sustainable. And here is someone trying to flip the paradigm.
Among the most interesting stops on the Lean Japan Study Tour organized by Bonfiglioli Consulting, is a factory in Kyoto where high-tech production is combined with a work environment that encourages everyone to express their unique potential. Established in 1986, Omron Kyoto Taiyo (Omron Corporation) currently employs more than 150 people with disabilities, including severe disabilities, under the banner “Not charity, but a chance.” The cornerstone is technological, computer and automation aids and devices tailored to each person's needs and abilities in order to enhance their abilities. If the worker has a limited ability to move, a machine comes to his aid by bringing components closer to him so that he can then easily grasp them. Or again, take the bagging stage. During this process, resealable plastic bags are automatically brought closer to the machine operator's hand and opened. In case the operator has difficulty grasping the components because they are too small, the machine takes over. Otherwise, if the components are large enough, the operator handles them independently. The whole process is carried out in full synergy according to each person's capabilities, thus creating the best match between man and machine. Choosing the wrong component is a common mistake that everyone can make regardless of disabilities, so sensors installed on the shelves detect which shelf the component was taken from, and an alarm is issued if a component is chosen incorrectly or forgotten. And if the type of product to be produced or the components to be used are changed and the operator is replaced by a new person, the workbench will be replaced by a new workbench adapted to the new operator. The concept is to allow machines to adapt to human operators, rather than the other way around to bring out all the skills of each operator. The presence of engineers supports struggling workers by focusing on the unique potential of each worker. Improvement must start at the factory and expand: top-down management does not work.
The basic philosophy of the organization is to enhance the underlying potential of disability and to maximize the capabilities of differently abled people by offering mechanical aids, including supporting means and tools as well as kaizen in their work environment.
Corrado Di Perna, Business Development Manager Bonfiglioli Consulting
Omron'sis a people-centered management philosophy that allows each person's skills and abilities to be put to good use, something that many companies, even nonproductive ones, can learn from.
"Omron Kyoto Taiyo has achieved ISO 9001 certification with a quality management system that meets global standards. Today, this beautiful and profitable enterprise testifies to how by knowingly per-following the good for society also does the good, that is, the true interest, of enterprises.
