I want to make Baridi Baridi a top runner to raise the social status of air conditioner fundi in Tanzania.--Hirokawa Mikado 【Baridi Baridi employee interview vol.7】

This time, we interviewed Mikado Hirokawa, the leader of the service team at Baridi Baridi Tanzania.

Baridi Baridi members appearing in this interview

Mikado Hirokawa
After graduating from a technical college, joined Daikin Industries. After building a career in the service department in Japan, participated in practical training at overseas branch of Daikin.. Started being involved in the business conceptualization phase of Baridi Baridi during training, and afterwards joined Baridi Baridi as the leader of the service team.

Shuto Sakai (Interviewer/Editor)
Currently a graduate student at Kobe University. Joined Baridi Baridi as an intern in October 2020. Experienced working as an intern at Baridi Baridi Tanzania from August to October 2021. Belonged to the service team in Tanzania with Mika as direct supervisor.

I knew I wanted to work overseas.

--Let's get right down to business. Thank you for your time today!

Mika: My name is Mika, and I'm in charge of service installation, repair, and maintenance at Baridi Baridi.

--What is your current position?

Mika: Yes. I belong to Daikin, and from this October (2021), I will be transferred to Baridi Baridi Tanzania.

I originally came to Tanzania for the first time in January of 2020. At that time, I was working at an overseas branch of Daikin as a practical trainee. At that time, I heard there was a new business starting in Tanzania, and some air conditioners needed to be installed. 

There were no one to supervise the installation or manage the work, so I was asked to help. When I first came to Tanzania, we were at the stage where WASSHA (Daikin Industries and WASSHA invests in Baridi Baridi), a start-up lantern rental business in Tanzania, have bought Daikin air conditioners and tried experimenting on selling them in subscription model. I was looking at the installations at the time.

--Did you know the details of the business at the time, or was it more of a spur-of-the-moment decision?

Mika: I didn't know what was going on, but I was told to go to Tanzania anyway.

--Do you remember your initial impressions?

Mika: At that time, I had about two to three months of practical training left, and since I had been working in the technology field for a long time, I felt stressed by the country’s lack of commitment to technology and the culture of not caring about customers. 

On the other hand, Tanzanians have a strong sense of craftsmanship, and I felt that they are very particular about their work. It's not just the air-conditioning expert, but also the plasterers, electricians, etc. I noticed that they have a high level of perfection.

To tell you the truth, I had been to Kenya once on a business trip before coming to Tanzania, and I had a vague feeling that people in Tanzania were just as particular about their work as they were in Kenya.

To be honest, the level of air conditioners is low, but still, I felt confident that I could make something that I think is good, though not as good as in Japan.

--I see.

Mika: Tanzania, there is a vocational training school called VETA, which has an air conditioning course, and the graduates make a living out of it, so many of them have a sense of responsibility to make a living out of their work.

--I see. When you came to Tanzania in the beginning of 2020, did you immediately decide to join Baridi Baridi?

Mika: That's right. At that time, I knew that I would have to go back to Japan in a couple of months, and I had a rough idea of the role that would be expected of me when I returned. I imagined that I would be the head of a service office in a certain prefecture.

I was fascinated by the fact that working overseas can support something on a large scale from the ground up and can create something new, and since joining the company I have wanted to work overseas, so I really enjoyed it.

So, while I wanted to work overseas again, I had assumed that I would return to Japan, so when I heard about the project in Tanzania, I felt strongly that I wanted to join this company, and I directly asked my supervisor at the time to let me continue to participate in the project in Tanzania.

--You mentioned earlier that you wanted to have experience in working abroad, but when did you start to have such desire?

Mika: When I was a senior at a technical college, I made friends with an American for various reasons and went to Los Angeles to visit them, which was the first time I went abroad alone. At that time, I felt that there was a big cultural difference between Japan and the U.S., and I wanted to find a job that would allow me to work overseas, so I decided to work for Daikin.

--After joining Daikin, did you have the kind of overseas experience that you thought you would have?

Mika: I happened to participate in the launch of a factory in China in my second year with the company, and even though I was young, I was able to experience work on a large scale there. That made my dream stronger, but then I moved to the service department and worked in Japan for many years, so even though I wanted to go abroad, I had no chance. It was during this time that I finally received an offer to work at an overseas branch as a practical trainee. That’s when my desire was rekindled.

--Were there any gaps in your experience in working abroad?

Mika: That's right. When I had a vague desire to work overseas, I thought that going from a Daikin company in Japan to Daikin's overseas subsidiary, it would mean that my job would be to transfer Daikin's technology and know-how from Japan. Of course, there was one half of that, but surprisingly, there were very few places where I could do that.

Of course, each country and company have a completely different culture, and the same methods that work in Japan often don't work in different countries and societies. So, when I started working overseas, I started to think about the best way to solve local issues by first seeing the local situation and not bringing in the Japanese norm.

There are times when the Japanese method happens to be a good fit, and there are times when a customized local method that incorporates their opinions is a good fit, so I think I am now able to tackle problems in a neutral state, wondering what the best method is, without assuming.

Self-producing oneself as professional fundi

--What were some of the difficulties or impressions you had when you first started building Baridi Baridi’s service team?

Mika: To be honest, at first, our level of thinking was low as well as our skills. Even the members who had worked in air conditioning elsewhere and had installed many air conditioners were not at the same level as professional technicians, or some lacked the attitude to do the job more easily and accurately.

But if I were to be too strict from the start, they wouldn't be able to work freely and spontaneously, and they would end up waiting for me to tell them what to do. 

It was clear to me that if we became a team like that, we would have a hard time later on, so I tried not to complain too much about their behavior as much as I could, but at the same time, I tried to build a team while being conscious of how I could make them enjoy making changes in their work.

That's why I would give instructions on drastic and major things, but for minor things, even if I already knew the answer, I didn't dare try to lead them to the answer, and I was careful to let them make mistakes.

--I see. The members of service team were hired in April, and the number increased again in August and September, but at each point in time, what kind of awareness did you have when you created the team?

Mika: That's right. When I first hired, I wanted the initial members to be the ones to lead the new members who would be joining in the future, so I tried to teach them the basic concept of a service team.

Of course, I chose the new members with the same idea. However, I wanted to motivate the initial members and educate them so that they would change their behavior, rather than giving them more instructions and managing them. I was careful to give instructions in such a way that the initial members would start moving rather than me directly instructing the new members.

--So you're looking ahead to the future.

Mika: That's right. I think me coming up with answer is the quickest way to solve things, but it wouldn’t broaden the scope of the team’s work and my answer might not fit in with the local way, so I think it's up to them to change and improve their work. However, they still lack imagination and can't see the future, so they are still learning.

--Do you feel that you have come to understand Tanzanians’ characteristics through trial and error in management?

Mika: Going back to your experience in practical training again, in the country I resided, no matter how much experience and skill the person teaching has, the taught wouldn’t appreciate it or wouldn’t use it as a source of their own growth.

In the country I was staying, there was a strong tendency to do things one's own way, and no matter how much you teach, it didn't make sense. 

In Tanzania, however, fundi are very happy to learn new skills and improve their own work. In that sense, I feel that they are similar to Japanese people in that they listen carefully to others and try to follow what they say.

 So it's very easy for me. It's not so different from dealing with Japanese people, and as a matter of fact, I think they are more honest than Japanese people.

--Sure. Tanzanians are honest in the sense that they adore their bosses and are kind to others.

You mentioned earlier that the ideal form of management is for the initial members to teach the new members as much as possible, but when I see your management close up, I feel that you really value communication with each member. Is there anything that you are conscious of when communicating?

Mika: This was also the case in Japan. I think a cool way to put it is self-production. I'm conscious of how I want to present myself and how I want to be seen.

For example, if I'm dressed in trousers and collared shirts, and I'm sitting at my computer, I don't think it would be persuasive for someone dressed like that to say, "You're holding the wrench differently" or "The flare is at a different height," no matter how knowledgeable I am. I try to be more convincing by showing my words, attitude and appearance as a member of fundi.

Of course, the initial members know that I used to be a professional fundi in Japan, so they listen to me carefully, but I also try to show the new members that I am a “Japanese person with skills.”

For example, I wear work uniforms every day, not because I want to go to the site, but because I want to show that "I'm a fundi.”I used to do this in Japan as well. When I worked as a regional manager in Japan, everyone wore suits, but I didn't dare wear them and instead wore the same Daikin uniform as the workers in the office.

--Because of this awareness, you have been a professional fundi from the beginning and have gained trust from new members.

I simply enjoy the fact that my ideas can improve the work.

--Next, I'd like to ask you about your operations. I noticed that you have made a lot of effort to improve the efficiency of your operations, even down to the smallest details, such as visualizing the layout of the warehouse by taping it to the floor, or putting air conditioner parts bags on shelves colored by size. I'd like to know what you think about raising productivity in this way.

Mika: I don't think it's something you can just come up with on the spot. I also have experience working in a factory, so I like to think about how to increase work productivity. When I came to Daikin, I didn't really work in the service field, but in production engineering, which is the work that stands between design and manufacturing, such as building shelves and putting things in bags, which is what I liked most when I was in Japan.

Now, of course, since I came to the service, I've been focusing only on service, but I have such principle. I simply enjoy the idea of improving my work with my own ideas, so it's not about being in a management position anymore, it's more about simply enjoying myself.

--I see. Are you hoping that the Tanzanian service members will also acquire such awareness?

Mika: I have high expectations, but I think it is difficult to ask for such things because we have different education and have seen different things. Little by little, I have been said things like "Why don't you do this?" from members, and I feel that the team has grown a lot in the past six months.

--Rather than teaching directly with words, I guess they can learn by actually seeing what you are doing now. I guess you could say that they understand the meaning as they go along.

Mika: That's right. Even if I had said, "Let's paint those shelves," they would probably have been puzzledlike,
"why do we have to paint the shelves with those colors?”
"why do we have to make shelves for things that have been piled up flat?"

However, by actually doing it, they could realize that
"If I put them on the shelf, I'll know how many I have.”
"If there's one space available, I have to make one part.”
So I guess it's possible to understand the meaning after seeing it with they own eyes.

--That's true. I hope this will be passed on to the new members as well.
Regarding the point of increasing productivity, you are particular about gadgets and other things, and I feel that using good ones is the core of your consciousness.

Mika: That's right. Even for a single air conditioning tool, there is a difference in productivity between a bad tool and a good tool. Japan is a country of technology, so there is a tendency to focus on skill, but even in Japan, productivity is greatly improved by using good tools, not just skill.

However, in such a developing country, even if you want to use good tools, you can't. Bad tools have become the norm, which reduces productivity, but they don't even realize that. The reason for this is that they have never seen good tools, and there are many things they don't know about them, so I try to incorporate my experience and Japanese sensibilities.

In the end, gadgets are an extension of that, and I think it's interesting if my behavior changes by having gadgets, so I don't mind spending money on gadgets, and I think it's fine as long as I’m satisfied.

--By the way, is there any gadget you bought recently that you think is a good buy?

Mika: I built a computer before coming to Tanzania. I hadn't built a computer in more than ten years, but the specifications of the computer industry have changed a lot in a decade, so I built it while studying and thinking about my budget. That is my most recent self-satisfied product (laughs). It's now on its way to Tanzania by ship.

I want to make Baridi Baridi a top runner to raise the social status of air conditioner fundi in Tanzania.

--Finally, going back to the topic of quality again, I'm sure there are still points to be improved in the future, but have you set any specific goals for the services team?

Mika: Currently, in the current fiscal year, we have achieved a 2% installation failure rate in PoC2 (proof of concept from April to September 2021), and we are trying to reduce it to 1%. In terms of productivity, we have set a target of three hours for each air conditioner, but we have yet to reach that line, so we would like to challenge again.

The reason why we need to increase the productivity of our installations is that even if a small increase in productivity does not result in three installations per day instead of the current two, if we can reduce the time it takes to install one unit by, say, 10 or 15 minutes, we will have more time to talk to our customers.

In this way, we can spend more time interacting with customers, for example, by conducting customer surveys and providing more extensive customer instruction, and thereby improve the satisfaction level and the value of our services.

As long as the installation of the air conditioner itself is not defective, the shorter the installation time, the happier the customer will be, but the final issue is how to use the extra time that is saved. Well, at the moment, we are focusing on the installation itself, but in the future, the service team would like to have a greater awareness of improving customer satisfaction and continuously providing value to customers. In Japan, people have a particularly strong awareness of this, so I hope to make this department a part of that in this company as well.

--Your expectations for the growth of your team members are getting bigger.

Mika: That's right. Since the first members joined the company in April, I have always told them to make a difference from the air conditioner business on the street and show them the difference. I want them to gain confidence while keeping the motivation that we are going to be the number one air conditioner company in Africa.

Of course, Baridi Baridi fundi should excel, but if the market of air conditioner fundi in Tanzania is pulled by us and eventually increase their income, make their work easier, and improve their social status, that will bring me closer to my goal.

--That's nice. Have you seen any growth or change in the initial members who joined in April?

Mika: Originally, the new and existing members of Baridi Baridi came from the position of street fundi, as I mentioned, so they had never worked in a corporate organization before. They just did what the boss told them to do, and that was their job until now.

But I think some of them probably had their own frustrations, not their relationships, but their frustrations with their work, their difficulty with it, their hard work, their inability to make money, their desire to do this job, and their inability to do it.

I think that working in a company now, the members are feeling the joy of being able to change their own work by taking the initiative and voicing their opinions. I would like to keep our members motivated in this matter in the future.

-- I see. Do you have any specific episodes?

Mika: There are little joys every day, so I can't narrow it down to just one, but for example, today I called a customer first thing in the morning and then decided to go to the place (to install the air conditioner). 

However, it seemed that none of the members had made the call this morning, so I asked one of the members and was told that they had already done so. Furthermore, the member reported to me that the customer did not have an Android smartphone.

What I asked the member was to tell the customer that they were about to visit. So when I asked the member 

 “How did you notice (that they don’t have an Android) when you called the customer?", the member replied that our air conditioner installation cannot be done without a smart phone at the site, so I called the customer to confirm.

When I heard that, I was very surprised and happy to see that they were learning from their mistakes and becoming able to read the future. But I thought it was a big difference in behavior that they guessed and confirmed with the customers themselves before going.

--Thank you for today!

The Baridi Baridi Times will be posting interviews with Baridi Baridi employees on note.
Baridi Baridi HP 
Baridi Baridi Service Site
CEO Asada's note