Leader of the Operations Team. She handles general affairs, ordering of raw materials and outsourced work, repair arrangements, and coordination between the various teams — one of the key supporters of the workshop since the Fourth Generation took over.
The place of the Operations Team Leader
As leader of the Operations Team I mainly handle the workshop’s general affairs, the ordering of raw materials and outsourced work, repair arrangements, and the coordination between teams. It is not the most visible position, but it is the one that can least be missing — once coordination slips, the whole production chain jams.
Care even in where the tape goes
Although I mostly do administration, I sometimes help with shipping preparation. When packing I pay particular attention — to where the taping goes, to how easily the box opens (ease of opening), and to a loading method with no load shifting. These are the first things a customer sees when opening the package; they shape the impression the workshop leaves in that one second.
Learning as a 5S instructor
Since this April I have been taking the Ashikaga 5S instructor training. “Arranging an environment that is easy to work in, and a standard for judging what is truly needed” — this methodology of order and judgement is helping me redesign the workshop’s workflow. I am also preparing for the Certified Sleep & Bedding Advisor qualification; “pursuing a slightly better futon, little by little” is a direction shared across the workshop.
The “mother figure” of the workshop
Our representative says I am the workshop’s “mother figure.” I do not see it that way myself, but when something comes up colleagues do tend to come to me first. That trust has built up little by little over the four years since the representative took over. A stable family workshop needs a person like this — someone trusted in the everyday. That is how I understand my own work.