The blog of a "former" Japanese automotive engineer.

I went to Tokyo on business for the first time in a while. I had some time to kill, so I stopped by Yodobashi ( electronics store ) in Akihabara for the first time in about 10 years. Here is my report. Are there fewer people in Tokyo? I was wandering around Tokyo, Awajicho, and Ochanomizu area, and I felt that the number of people was somehow decreasing, so I checked the population trend for the last 10 years or so. Looking at the transition from 2010 to 2020, we see a slight decrease. Tokyo's population is probably not decreasing that much either. It seems reasonable to assume that this is due to the impact of telework. That's a bit of a relief. However, I also felt that the number of advertisements on trains has decreased considerably. Have the hanging advertisements been replaced by electronic advertisements? If so, that's good, but it's kind of sad. Yodobashi Akiba is... Even though it was a weekday evening, the place was as busy as ever. I was relieved. I went to t

Sorting, which is to pick and choose things, is a word that scares manufacturers as much as it does. It's a word that can scare the heck out of manufacturers, especially those in manufacturing and quality assurance. In this article, we will talk about such sorting work. What is sorting? Sorting is the process of separating good products from the rest. If there are products that do not meet the specifications, it is necessary to separate the good ones from the bad ones and ship only the good ones. This is the sorting process. In most cases, defects are reported by the customer or discovered during the internal inspection process. If it is found internally, it is still a problem, but if the customer contacts us, it is a big problem. This is because a large number of products that are not originally intended for shipment have been produced and distributed. Generally, manufactured products are stored in a warehouse called a depot, where they are opened and sorted one by one. Where will

There are special terms that are used only in each industry and company. Among these so-called industry terms, there are some terms that are essential to know if you are in the automotive industry. This time, we will talk about one of the most famous industry terms, TP standard. What is TP Standard? This is a standard box for Toyota made by Toyota and Sanko, a major plastic box manufacturer. Also known as Toyota Boxes, these boxes are usually used to deliver parts to the Toyota Group. The number after the TP, such as TP362, indicates the size of the box. TP ①, ②, and ③ are shown in the following figure. For example, in the case of TP362, the first number 3 indicates the size of (1), the second number 6 indicates the size of (2), and the third number 2 indicates the size of (3), so that the size of the box can be determined by the model number. Why do we need standards? The superiority of TP boxes is that they do not reduce transportation efficiency, since boxes of different sizes can b

Among the many types of engineers, packaging engineers are somewhat less well-known. What does a packaging engineer, who is also called a packing or packaging manager depending on the company, do? Here I introduce the hard work of packaging engineers, who may not be well known. Packaging engineers are those who create packaging specifications. A manufacturer, as the name implies, is a company that makes some product. Whether BtoB or BtoC, products have packaging specifications, such as being in a box or on a pallet. Packaging engineers are responsible for creating the packaging specifications. For each part number, the work is endless: how many boxes to use, how many products to pack in each box, how to pack them in this way, and for the cushioning material, two sheets of paper folded like this, and plastic like that. Then we negotiate with other departments on the completed packing specifications. The quality department is asked if there is no problem with this packaging specification

Honda has developed a wide range of businesses, including motorcycles, automobiles, marine (outboard motors), and jets, with overwhelming technological prowess. In this second story of our behind-the-scenes look at the auto parts industry, I'll talk about Honda. No telework! Thoroughly on-site-oriented Starting after the Golden Week holidays in 2022, Honda has abolished telework and stipulated that employees will, in principle, come to work five days a week. This was controversial because it is backwards from the times and will make it difficult to secure a diverse workforce, but the manager felt that it is typical of Honda. Like Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda, many Honda employees are craftsmen who focus on the field. It depends on the department, but I guess the intention is to make it easy to go to the site even for a short time at the factory. Or perhaps they emphasized face to face work. However, the automotive industry tends to dislike teleworking, as seen in the case of

 Fuji, a World Heritage Site that is popular not only among Japanese but also overseas　(I thought). Fuji. When crossing Shizuoka Prefecture on the Shinkansen bullet train, foreign tourists often take a lot of pictures when the conductor makes an announcement introducing Mt. When I actually climbed Mt. Here are some of the goods that I was glad to have with me when I actually climbed Mt. mountain-climbing boots First of all, you need shoes. Fuji has a kind of stairway made of wood, but each step is large, and the path is sandy and bare rocks, so it is not a paved path by any means. It is best to wear sturdy, non-slip, mid-cut or higher ankle-protective hiking shoes. It is also important to get used to the shoes by wearing them for a week or so. Money (coins) In my case , I started the climb from the 5th station, but took a private car up to the 2nd station and a cab from the 2nd to the 5th station. In addition, you will be asked to make a donation at the beginning of the fifth station,