“Mass Customization and the Technical Engineer”
Ishikawa National College of Technology
Sakura Minami
Asami Chikae
Soichiro Kato
1. Introduction
Hello. We are from Ishikawa National College of Technology.
I’m Asami Chikae, majoring in Electronics and Information Technology.
I’m Soichiro Kato. I’m also studying Electronics and Information Technology.
I’m Sakura Minami, majoring in Architecture.
And now we're going to talk about "Mass Customization". First of all, have you ever
heard of Mass Customization? It is probably not a familiar word for most of you. So Ms.
Minami will give you an idea of what it is, introducing an emerging process of car
production as an example.
When you buy a car, you can choose not only the model but also aspects such as thecolors of the body and upholstery, the navigation system, the car stereo components, andeven the engine. You can customize the car with many different options. Nowadays
there are not only those conventional production systems that produce cars of highquality in large quantities but also new systems that provide personalized cars withcustomized design, which are targeted at individuals. This system is what we call Mass
Customization and we have noticed that the number of these new production supply
systems is increasing. At the same time, we wondered why such a change has appeared.
In this presentation, we're first going to explain why the change's appeared, then whatkind of results from the change we can see in today's society and finally in the futurewhat we will have to do about the change. Now, Mr. Kato is going to talk about thebackground of Mass Customization.
2. BackgroundTake a look at this slide. This is the change of times from a manufacturing systemstandpoint. Since the Industrial Revolution had expanded to Japan, people had
produced and consumed mass quantities of merchandise as a result of rapid

development of manufacturing technology. However, while the economy’s size rapidly
expanded, this system caused environmental issues as a result of a large amount ofconsumption of energy, overproduction and what we call a “throwaway custom,” which
we will explain shortly. Mass production means mass consumption of resources. Andvarious environmental issues such as a large quantity of chemical waste and polluted
water resulted from this process. Moreover, the availability to purchase in bulk resulted
in this “throwaway custom” in which items could be easily replaced regardless of theneed to do so. In the end it became clear that we had to have a new supply system.
3. Mass Customization
To solve the aforementioned problems, a new system is beginning to replace the old one,and the new system is what we call “Mass Customization.”
In modern society, the new system is beginning to attract attention as a viable
production supply system. Mass Customization is a system in which the production
prices for objects are roughly as low as in the case of mass-manufacturing despite their
being tailored to fit the needs of the customer.
Maybe the word “Mass Customization” sounds a bit abstract and technological to you
but we can see various examples of Mass Customization in today's society. We're goingto give you 3 examples of Mass Customization that the three of us have actually foundin our daily lives.
4. Example 1 : Google NewsFirst, Google News. Like I said, I'm a student studying technology. Using computers, I
always read news online. Google News is a certain kind of newspaper available over theInternet, filled with the latest news from all over the world. On the Google News web
site, you can customize the page to fit your needs by changing it to display news about
which you are interested in first. Entertainment, Computers and Sports are what makeup my own Google newspaper.
Today we can see more and more influences of Mass Customization on the Internet suchas the advertisements on Amazon which are targeted at individuals and the offering ofwords associated with what you’re searching for on Internet search engines like Yahooand Google.
5. Example 2 : Houses
I’m majoring in architecture at my college, and as I learn about today’s construction ofhouses in Japan, I have noticed that many houses are built by mass customizing
systems. These 4 houses have all different styles and proportions but they are all madewith standardized materials. When you buy a house, you can select the size, exterior,interior, and other amenities in the kitchen or bathrooms. Like that, you can create yourown house within a rather inexpensive budget. Perhaps you are living in one of them.
6．Example 3 : iPodMoreover, Mass Customization can be seen in electronic devices. I’m studying
Electronics and Information Technology, and I love electronic devices. I noticed that
iPod, a popular music device, is one example of Mass Customization. Although thenumber of the iPods’ cosmetic designs is limited, you can customize one by installingyour favorite music after purchasing it, thus making it unique. This is my iPod. I always
bring this wherever I go, not only to listen to my favorite music but also to learn English
for example.
Cellphones and electronic dictionaries are also examples of highly customizable
electronic devices. By observing your daily life carefully, you can find Mass
Customization products all around you.
7. (DELL’s) Business tactics
Mass Customization is not only a system that gives you a more convenient life but it’salso a new effective business tactic. We are going to show a computer company, DELL,
which became No.1 in the U.S and No.2 in the world in only 15 years. How did they doit?
They attempted to satisfy their customer, not depending on only high-technology likeother companies but by simply anticipating the change of customers’ needs. They hadintermediate stocks as parts and assembled them immediately after accepting orders
over the Internet. This manufacturing style made it possible to provide customized PCs
for individuals at a surprisingly low cost.
What they adopted in response to customers’ needs is exactly what we call masscustomization. And now it is becoming the key to success in not only the computerindustry, but many other industries as well.
8. Summary
We have talked about Mass Customization showing several examples. Here we aregoing to summarize our presentation.

We must put an end to the system of mass production and mass consumption because
they have caused a lot of problems. Now, we need the idea of Mass Customization for thefuture of industry. As we can see from the examples mentioned, Mass Customization isan effective system not only as a business tactic, but also as a measure to prevent theenvironment from being harmed.
To adopt effective systems is very important for us, since we are going to be involved inindustry’s future. In the days ahead, the engineers who are aware of the possibilities ofMass Customization will be required. And we must become such engineers.
9. ObservationWe, students at Ishikawa National College of Technology, are working very hard every
day to become engineers of the future. Ms. Chikae is working on her graduation thesis
entitled “Improvement of Interatomic Potential Function.” Mr. Kato is still in the thirdyear but planning to study ways of improving the web application system. And I’mworking on restructuring plans for a local museum as a graduation thesis.
I’m sure most of you who are here today are, just like us, trying to become engineers aswell. As students, we are supposed to gain a lot of specialized knowledge at college. But
having done the research on Mass Customization, we believe we have also come to theplace where we have to think about what good technology is in our age and what isneeded to be a good engineer for the modern society, no matter what field you are in.
Finally, we hope we can participate in creating a better future of industry as engineers
with all of you. Thank you.