Refining Yamaha's quality across departmental boundaries —From the French horn manufacturing site, returning to a customer-centric approach

The initiative was sparked by candid feedback from the production site.
"It's hard to really grasp the purpose of the work standards." For wind instruments and pianos, quality is only achieved when many parts are correctly manufactured and assembled. However, those involved in the initial stages of product manufacturing, such as parts processing and material molding, had limited opportunities to feel a connection to the finished instruments and to the musicians who would ultimately play them.
Aware of this issue, Yamaha has been conducting Customer Perspective Awareness Workshops since 2022, providing an opportunity for each employee to return to a customer-centric perspective and reexamine the relationship between their work and quality.

This initiative first began with piano manufacturing.
During the workshop, participants have the opportunity to touch a completed piano and experience its sound firsthand, confirming step by step which processes and which work stages contribute to producing its sound.
For those working on earlier processes, it has been an opportunity to experience the finished product and performance situations, which they don't usually encounter, and they've been able to concretely imagine what kind of sound and expression their work ultimately leads to.

"Why do these standards exist?" "Who is this work intended for?"
By sharing these questions through experience and dialogue, a foundation was fostered within the workplace to redefine quality as something that we all continuously consider and refine.

The idea of "returning to the customer's perspective," which originated at the piano manufacturing site, later spread to other musical instruments including trumpets and saxophones.
In 2025, it was implemented in conjunction with a project aimed at both improving the production system and increasing production for French horns. The daily production target far exceeded the production volume at the time. That's why it was essential to cultivate a sense of tackling the challenge together, with everyone involved in French horn production.
The workshop consisted of two parts: lectures to deepen knowledge, and exchange through ongoing dialogue.

In the first half of the study session, a French horn designer explained with demonstrations how the French horn's sound is produced and what parts are used. How does each individual part affect the instrument's tone and playing feel? By working backward from the finished product, the significance of your work becomes clearer.
Customer feedback and market conditions were also presented from the perspective of sales and service, including comments like, "I would like to choose a Yamaha French horn even if it means waiting for it." Whose and what expectations does the work of making musical instruments fulfill? It was a chance for the production team to learn the answer to this question.

The study session prompted requests to learn about the approaches used by those involved in handling similar parts for other brass instruments. This led to roundtable discussions focusing on specific processes and elements.
Members from production, development, and quality assurance gathered to openly share their concerns, innovations, and difficulties. Quality assurance staff also explained the company's internal standards for judging the external quality of a musical instrument, from the perspective of asking where quality comes from. It was a chance for everyone to deepen their understanding by interacting with actual instruments.

In the second half, the participants visited various stages of the manufacturing process, from individual component manufacturing to joining, surface treatment, and final assembly and adjustment.
By seeing processes that are not normally accessible, everyone was able to deepen their understanding of the preceding and succeeding work stages, and share expectations and points of consideration with ease.
This dialogue across processes made the connection between work, quality, and customers more concrete. Participants offered comments like, "I realized that my work is connected to someone's musical experience somewhere out there in the world," and "Learning about the thoughts and struggles other processes face changed my perspective on my work."

Through these learning experiences and conversations, we were able to rebuild the French horn production system without compromising on quality and achieve tangible results, including meeting the ambitious daily production target.

The leader of the initiative offered these reflections:
"Through multiple opportunities for dialogue, a culture has developed where our staff are willing to actively participate in learning experiences. For those offering the explanations, putting the work into words helps train the next generation as well."

The team member in charge of operations said,
"We will continue to spread this kind of learning across our departments and products. I believe that dialogue among those in the field is what builds quality into the product."

Yamaha has consistently explored the meaning of "quality" in the field through dialogue that transcends both product and departmental boundaries.
We cherish the feeling that each individual's work contributes to performers' musical experience, and will continue to meet our customers' expectations.