News
Renovation of Menicon R&D Center
- Smart Creation that never stops evolving -
Menicon Co., Ltd. (Head office: 21-19 Aoi 3, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, CEO: Hidenari Tanaka) will announce the details about the renovation of the R&D Center (Kasugai, Aichi), an R&D base of the company.
We established the slogan “Smart Creation”*¹ for the work style by which we implement our management philosophy of “creation,” “originality,” and “challenge” and have reviewed the workplaces including sales offices and factories according to their operations and functions such as a free-address office system introduced at the head office in 2017.
It has been about 25 years since our research center was established. The research and development of contact lenses have become increasingly sophisticated and complex in recent years due to technological development and changes in users’ lifestyles.
To achieve sustainable innovation while also responding to these environmental changes, we have changed the organization of R&D since 2018 to a matrix organization which combines a “functional axis” and a “project axis”.
We have renovated each floor so that employees can work flexibly using the characteristics of the matrix organization. The concept of renovation is “Switch - Turn on, and switch flexibly -.” We have created a space where employees can switch their ideas according to the phase of research or operation and have prepared the space so that it is filled with “excitement” in which a new future can be imagined.
We have also substantially renovated the laboratory to improve functionality by introducing the latest laboratory bench and exhaust system in addition to improving basic functions such as safety and efficiency.
Through this renovation, we will prepare a state-of-the-art R&D system from both the intangible aspect of researchers’ work styles and the tangible aspect of laboratories and equipment, as well as improve the creativity of researchers and accelerate development. Thus, we aim to develop products with new value.
The renovation work is being conducted in a stepwise fashion, and the renovation of the entire research center will be completed in August 2021.
< Office area >
(1) Free-address office space
This space is suitable for a flexible work style. With the free-address system, researchers who do not usually have contact with one another may be sitting next to each other. Thus, fortuitous communication or synergistic interactions are expected to occur, which may help researchers come up with new ideas or discover something new.
(2) Hidamari spot
This is the main spot with a motif of wood, the center, and symbol of R&D. It calls up an image of a place with an atmosphere where people gather in a “sunny spot (hidamari in Japanese)” with sunlight filtering through trees. Researchers produce new ideas by engaging in free discussions in an open area called “Hi nadan.”
(3) Brainstorming*² room
Each space is created with a base color of “red” or “blue” as an effective place for brainstorming. In the red-based space, unusual vivid visual stimuli inspire researchers to produce more creative and advanced ideas. The ideas created in the red-based space will be further discussed in the blue-based space, in which efficient decision-making is promoted. Thus, the ideas will be incorporated into more workable and specific plans. In addition to the visual stimulation, the chairs with a unique feeling or purposely unstable chairs will stimulate the five senses and help researchers to produce new ideas.
(4) Claria*³
Based on the concept of renovation, this floor that was previously used only as a “staff canteen” has become the place to turn on the “Switch” of innovation by switching use and ideas. We have set a meeting space “Ippuku” with horigotatsu (table with a heater) and seats at the counter where a panoramic view can be enjoyed.
In Claria, there is a “lab tree” in the counter style meeting space as a symbol of the research center. This place is not just used as a meeting. A thick trunk supports the tree, encompassing the meaning of “having responsibility and pride as an employee who supports the organization.”
In addition to serving as a free space, Claria can be used as a multipurpose hall because it can function as a space for lectures and research presentation meetings.
< Laboratory area >
We have prepared an environment in which researchers can concentrate on research and development by optimizing the workflow and improving safety and efficiency by reviewing the arrangement and zoning of laboratory equipment. We have introduced the latest laboratory bench and exhaust system. This laboratory is designed with the base color of white as well as an advanced and bright atmosphere.
The Research environments tend to have a closed-off atmosphere. To make it more open, in the new design, the entire laboratory can be seen from the office area and the existing layout was improved so that the laboratory could be the place to hand down techniques and know-how to juniors.
*¹ Smart Creation The term refers to the initiatives to shift to a smarter and more creative work style and operations to
implement the management philosophy of the company.
*² Brainstorming One of the meeting methods aimed at producing a unique and new idea through presenting the ideas
of a group of people. There is data that “red” and “blue” are suitable for such an environment.
*³ Claria The name comes from “Central Lab Cafeteria” with our desire to create new value from nothing and to
serve as a central role to deliver that value to everybody.
< Menicon R&D Center >
Address: 5-1-10, Takamoridai, Kasugai, Aichi, Japan
Established in 1995
Total floor area: About 6,200 m²