This is the third series of our internal interviews, and this time it is about Mr. Ohmura, General Manager of the Development Division. We were able to hear him speak frankly about his job as a developer.

Alright, enjoy the third interview below!

This time let us interview you, Mr. Ohmura.

Thank you. Let’s get it started.

— So, first, tell us about the news/trends in technology and development that you are interested in right now.

Ohmura: I am concerned about whether Kioxia will go public. If it goes public, I wonder if it will be acquired by Western Digital Corporation and the Japan-origin memory company will disappear… This may be more of personal interest, but I am keeping a close eye on the future of the semiconductor industry.

–I think that semiconductors are very important for manufacturers like us, and we hear a lot of news about semiconductors these days. Is there any other news that you are interested in?

Ohmura: I’m also interested in smart cities. I am curious about the developments in TOYOTA’s experimental city, Woven City. How is the supply of electricity? Will we see more and more mobility electric vehicles and automated driving? I am curious about them and whether our lives will be changed by them in the coming decades.

I believe that there are some technologies that can be applied to our products.

—What kind of technology, for example, can be converted?

Ohmura: Sensor technology that detects people is used in automated driving, and I think it could be used in our company as well.

–I see. So, it is possible to convert technology from a completely different industry.

Ohmura: It is very difficult to create something from scratch. Some people may be good at it, but the basic pattern has always been to convert technology. Of course, we take patent-related issues into consideration.

My boss once told me, “Thoroughly imitate what you can imitate.” By doing things without making your own arrangements, you can see the good and bad of the way you do things. There are some problems that can only be noticed there.

–Thank you very much. Let’s move to the next question.

I think it is necessary to understand customer needs in the development process, but can you tell us about an episode in the past where you worked with a customer or salesperson to create a product?

Ohmura: Speaking of my previous job, in terms of product areas, I did not work together with customers to create products. However, in terms of relations with customers, there were times when I would check how customers were using a product by testing it at a product testing site.

Reports would show that the product was prone to errors, or that it would be better to correct such and such, and based on these reports, we would make modifications.

We also conducted field tests overseas, sending machines overseas to be used by monitors.

From this point of view, I guess you could say that we created the machine together with the customer.

–I understand that you did not decide on the specifications together.

For example, if you were to decide on specifications together, how would you proceed?

Ohmura: In the past, I think there was strong seed-oriented thinking (* a way of thinking to come up with ideas from the producer’s point of view). Rather than thinking about what customers wanted, we would start by asking, “What should we use this technology for? I started from the point of view of what the customer wanted, so I was able to come up with ideas in my own way.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is also recommending the use of design thinking to identify potential needs, and I think this may become mainstream in the future.

— I see. You mentioned earlier that you consider what should you use technology for, what do you need to do in order to keep coming up with ideas?

Ohmura: I think it’s having an interest in lots of different things. I was often thinking about what I was doing 24 hours a day, even when I was sleeping. So I was always thinking “This could be used here!” I think we can get some hints from things in our daily lives.

 –You work even when they are sleeping! (laughs)

So, if we were to put it in the context of our company, how should the development department develop products by considering the needs of our customers?

Ohmura: The development department also needs to get out and learn how customers use machines.

I believe that new products can be created by combining the technology that our engineers possess with the needs that the sales department receives from customers.

Therefore, in the future, I would like to have the Development team accompany the Sales Department to visit the field.

To be continued next month…