Today's changes are so intense that one has to change policy continuously. This is particularly so in electronics-related technologies due to their rapid speed of advancement.
  Due to advances in information technology, market fluidity and diversification, terms such as "speedy administration" and "fast economics" are often heard. Kato Spring is not an exception. Moreover, we are confronting these changes under conditions where nearly 100% of our production is implemented after orders are received.
  Although we pursued automation from early on, we were pursuing computerization not the forming of computer systems. This is because each division decided upon and used equipment and input methods on their own with the goal of improving convenience for division customers and improving the efficiency of divisional work. Although this happens all the time, until this time, information flow within the entire company was cut off at interdivisional walls. Now, matters have proceeded to where even company advisors far separated from daily routine work are exchanging e-mail and have attained a level of computer skills to where they are making programs using software such as Excel.
  There are two things that must not be forgotten when forming such systems. The first is the ideal form of a company organization, and the second is the ideal attitude of company members. This is because if these two maintain their previous format, the effects expected from investment in information via computerization will be difficult to generate.

  In my pursuit of the associates system, I have aimed to create a flat organization that is in direct contrast to traditional vertical organizations.
  In the early 1990s, Kato Spring implemented an in-house activity called "Time-based Challenge" parallel to creating our total system. This campaign sought to speed up work and use time effectively. Among the steps implemented at the beginning of the 1990s was a decision to use rubber stamps with the name and date entered for documents related to in-house decision-making rather than the personal stamps of each Katoite. This enables us to determine where documents are stagnating and how much time is being wasted in the process.
  Until then, even emergency documents ordinarily required stamps by at least ten individuals before I saw them. This is a clear symptom of large corporation sickness. Since switching to the rubber stamps, the number of stamps has been reduced to four people and the time to roughly one-tenth the previous level. Just introducing information equipment does not reveal the scope of inefficiency of a vertical organization. A flat organization is absolutely essential for speed.

  But the most important point is to create the "organization" prior to dealing with speed. The servicing of product and service claims reveals the cause of the defect or nonconformity more effectively the faster it is conducted. In addition, this enables countermeasures to also be implemented fast. As time passes, whether it be one hour or one day, the time and cost incurred by people who must handle the trouble only increases. Although this is only natural, the aim is to reconfirm this awareness throughout the company.
  As we continued "Time-based Challenge," I made the following statement to Katoites: "Hypothetically speaking, if one Katoite improves his efficiency by five minutes a day, this will extend the time of life that is effectively used by 1.27 days a year."
  If this calculation was focused only on work, and hypothetically, all Katoites increased their efficiency by five minutes a day, the same productivity can be attained even if annual leaves of absences are increased by 2.47 days a year. It is not that difficult to increase the number of days off. By adding various adjustments to the way time is used, we can increase the number of vacation days on our own. This is basically the gist of what I said.

  Eventually, a corporate culture was created in which meetings began on time regularly. Even if it is known that the president (myself) is coming but will be a few minutes late, the meetings start on time. Additionally, the minutes of a meeting are prepared within 24 hours and sent to all members that were in attendance. Another aspect is that salesmen quickly send information from the offices of their clients. Even if each of these changes is small in and of itself, I understand it as the firm rooting of the attitude that time has an important value that is shared by all Katoites on an equal footing.

  The second key is "attitude" prior to speed. Competition is based on speed and activities in which time is of the essence, and this is basic to corporate operations especially with the intense changes occurring today. However, just seeking to win the immediate competition by minutes and seconds will not create a new corporate culture.
  The creation of a flat organization saves an enormous amount of time that was previously invisible due to barriers that had been built. Likewise, the "five minutes" generated through the introduction of various new measures creates new value. Such concepts are key points that will heighten the power of corporations from now on. "Time is money" is an old, well-known phrase. For myself, as I pursue the associates system, "time is life."