InterviewNo.1
Think on Your Own and Act on Your Own.
Enjoying a Corporate Culture of Trust and Autonomy.
Atsuhiro Yoneda, Production Control Section
Job Overview
Managing the Entire Process, from Order through Delivery
My main job is to manage production processes to make sure that we meet delivery deadlines. We manufacture items to order, so we provide a delivery date for each order. My job is to check the availability of production equipment and arrange the people to operate it for each order, and to figure out how to organize everything for efficient production.
I keep in close touch with clients about things like expected delivery dates, including phone calls for urgent cases. I do my best to provide fast, accurate responses.
What Makes the Work Satisfying
Being Trusted and Relied On
Makes for Satisfying Work
One thing that makes working at Tosoh Ceramics so compelling is the sense of trust and autonomy. The company trusts the employees, and leaves many decisions to our best discretion. For me, it’s the perfect balance of feeling relied on without feeling tied down.
It’s really satisfying to have the responsibility at work to be able to think and act on your own.
Future Goals
“I Want to Be the Guy
People Ask for Help at Work”
Production control involves a lot of communication with both work sites and our clients’ sales staff. I place a high priority on feedback from work sites, and I always make sure to get their opinions when putting together production schedules. I find it very informative to talk to people from the work sites, because there are always a lot of processes that I wasn’t aware of.
I take an interest in even the smallest things and try to make them my own, in a way — my goal for the next three or four years is to develop a solid grasp of what the whole plant does.
Today’s Schedule
| 8:30 | Check emails and prepare documents for shipping |
|---|---|
| 9:00 | Enter current work-in-progress steps into the system |
| 10:00 | Management of delivery date availability and manufacturing process |
| 12:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00 | Attend shipment (away from usual post) |
| 15:00 | Enter outsourced processed item orders into the system |
| 16:30 | Handle paperwork, etc. |
| 17:05 | Go home |
On Days Off
I'm a member of a citizens’ orchestra in Toyama City, and I’ve played the contrabass since I was in college. We practice every Saturday, and I go to every practice. There are about a hundred people in the orchestra, and we hold two performances each year. We also do joint performances with college students, which are always a lot of fun.
After work on weekdays, I like to go running. Twice a week or so, I’ll run about 8 km at Fugan Canal Kansui Park or somewhere else.
MessageA Message to Students
While doing your job-hunting for after graduation, you’re likely to meet people who do all sorts of different work. I think that talking to people from many different companies is an important and valuable way to get a better idea of what exactly you’d like to do in the future.