Imagine a driver drenched in a cold sweat as she searches for a place to stop to provide the care her child urgently needs to breathe. To serve the very real needs of such families, Toyota is urgently developing a special buggy.
The importance of touch
The development team ran into many hurdles. Project owner Hiroto Suzuki, an assistant manager at the New Business Planning Division, says he was all too aware of the challenges involved.
Hiroto Suzuki, Assistant Manager, New Business Planning Division
For instance, welfare vehicles are designed to carry wheelchairs, so with a buggy, we had to figure things out from scratch on our own.
That makes it very difficult to coordinate and make decisions that factor in all the various requirements, including vehicle regulations, evaluations, certification, and legal matters. We’re currently looking into the safety aspects, with advice from many departments around the company.
On the day we visited, Suzuki was also receiving feedback from Ms. Takahashi, using a modified vehicle and buggy.
Thanks to such steady input, his team has continued to identify issues and make improvements, such as re-positioning the buggy’s brake for greater peace of mind and adding specifications that allow the buggy to be instantly secured to the vehicle floor.
From the driver’s seat, a beaming Ms. Takahashi commented, “This way, I can look at my child’s face while waiting at the lights or reach out and touch him with my left hand. Since my son can’t see, a touch makes all the difference.”
What about the ventilator?
The buggy’s development did not start as a company assignment but rather as a new business proposal initiated by Toyota employees. This means that, until they received final approval, the project members planned everything while carrying on with their existing duties.
This wouldn’t have been possible without support from many supervisors and colleagues.
I was thrilled that the company gave us the green light to tackle this challenge. When we are out there testing and trialing, even the slightest praise brings tears to my eyes.
Another of the starting members, New Business Planning Division Assistant Manager Hideki Niimi, shared his own story.
Hideki Niimi, Assistant Manager, New Business Planning Division
The day after our second son was born, he fell ill and had to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. I couldn’t believe it was happening to us.
The baby was still hooked up to a ventilator when one of the staff told us he would be discharged the following week. I remember hearing my bewildered wife say, “What about the ventilator?” I, too, was shocked.
When we speak with families, many tell us it is painful to see other people’s glittering lives on social media, and there are few things they can even buy. We realized that having children with severe disabilities not only upends your daily life but also severs your connection to society.
Both emotionally and physically, it becomes hard to connect with society.
While out testing the buggy, the team heard a heartfelt comment from one woman who devotes her days to caring for her child: “Just knowing that you are doing something for these children gives me the hope to go on.”
Through my own experience, I’ve seen that various systems and facilities don’t make accommodations for minorities, which makes me feel as though our struggles do not exist in this world.
Solving even a single societal issue takes enormous resources. But given that there are people in need, I feel we must lead the way in developing a solution.
Lastly, Niimi expressed his appreciation for the outside partners who share the team’s commitment to the project.
We cannot serve these unprecedented and diverse needs on our own. It is vital that we combine our strengths with those of pioneering companies that are already doing great work in various fields.
“I want to care for him as a child, not as a patient,” Ms. Takahashi murmured as she gazed at her darling son.
While many obstacles remain, Toyota’s team is continuing their development work, determined to create a world where no one has to abandon the simple pleasures of daily life.
