Quality Toys for All Children: - TOMY Company Ltd.

ISO/COPOLCO
Quality Toys for All Children:
How Standards on Safety Measures
and Accessible Design
Contribute to Confidence
TOMY Company,Ltd.
Common-use Products Promotion Dept.
Senior Project Manager
Reiko Takahashi
- TOMY Company Ltd.
aFounded in 1924.
aManufacturing a variety of quality toys for
80 years.
1
- TOMY Group (1)
a17 subsidiary companies-`11 within Japan and 6 Overseas.
aMost of our toys are:
`designed at the TOMY Development Center
in Tokyo,
`manufactured mainly in Shenzhen
Engineering Center in China
`and our private worksite in Thailand.
- TOMY Group (2)
aPLAY KINGDOM
`An all-around playing facility for children.
2
- TOMY Group (3)
aTOMY distribution and manufacturing
Companies are located in:
UK
Japan
Hong Kong
France
Thailand
The United States
- TOMY Products (1)
Long selling quality toys are invaluable assets
for TOMY.
aPLA-RAIL (the TOMY Train Series)
`Loved by children from all over the world for
more than 40 years.
3
- TOMY Products (2)
aTOMICA WORLD
`Miniature cars and their accessories present an
exciting miniature world of infinite imagination.
`Loved by children from all over the world for
more than 30 years.
- TOMY Products (3)
aZOIDS
`The authentic actions present great
excitement.
`Loved by children from all over the world
for more than 20 years.
4
- Safety Measures (1)
aThe 9 Stages of Product Testing
`From research and development to
manufacturing and shipping, all toys from
TOMY must pass the 9-step product
inspection.
- The 9 Stages of Product Testing
1.
2.
3.
4.
Safety confirmation at the planning stage.
Product Quality Standard at the mockup stage.
Quality Evaluation Test of the sample.
Outer Inspection Institution Test (for Toxic substance on
the heavy metal, vinyl chloride plasticizer, Electric Wave
Law, and etc.)
5. Reliability Test prior to manufacturing
6. First lot check (Sampling Inspection right after the
manufacturing)
7. Quality Control on the manufacturing procedure.
8. Shipping Inspection.
9. In-House Inspection
5
- Safety Measures (2)
aOur safety measures and quality standards are
approximately 20 percent more strict than the
world standards.
`TOMY‘s long selling toys are passed on from parents
to children and loved and enjoyed over generations.
In 1959
In 2003
- Social Responsibility (1)
aThe Code of Conduct
`Putting effort to improve the working conditions and
the situation concerning juvenile labor.
aEnvironmental Issues
`Putting effort to reduce the use of suspected toxic
substances by establishing the company's unique
standards which are more demanding than the
general law regulations.
`Carrying out the resource saving in the
manufacturing process and the reduction of waste at
the offices.
6
- Social Responsibility (2)
aAccessible Toys
`The toys enjoyable for visually/hearing impaired
children and non-disabled children alike.
`Distributed in the regular market.
`TOMY is the pioneer developer of “accessible toys”.
`About 50 items within the year 2003.
Talking Alphabets
- Social Responsibility (3)
aThe History of Accessible Toys
`How did it begin 20 years ago?
`How did the movement spread and standardized
among the toy industry?
`What has become of it now?
`More than 150 items from 23 manufacturers.
Standardized marking
on the packages
Enjoyable Toys for children
with visual disability
Enjoyable Toys for children
with hearing disability
7
- Social Responsibility (4)
aThe Kyoyo-hin (accessible design)
Foundation
`TOMY supports the Kyoyo-hin (accessible
design) Foundation which promotes all kinds
of accessible products, services and
environments.
`A leading force in Japan to help realize
accessible and comfortable lives for a wider
variety of people than ever before.
- Social Responsibility (5)
a These accessible products are distributed in the regular
market by major manufacturers.
Canned alcoholic beverage
with Braille indication
'Alcohol' on the top
Shampoo and hair conditioner
containers tactually
distinguishable from each other
by the raised markings
The little notch
on the top of the carton
helps its easy distinction
from non-milk cartons
8
- Our Aim for the Future
aQuality Toys for All Children
`We will keep our faith in doing what we
ought to do for the better and brighter future
for all.
Thank You
9
ISO/COPOLCO Workshop
Quality Toys for All Children: How Standards on Safety Measures and Accessible Design
Contribute to Confidence
TOMY Company,Ltd.
Common-use Products Promotion Dept.
Senior Project Manager
(Ms D) Reiko Takahashi
Introduction
TOMY Company was founded in 1924 - manufacturing a variety of quality toys for 80 years.
TOMY Group consists of 17 subsidiary companies of which 11 within Japan and 6 overseas.
Currently, most of our toys are designed at the TOMY Development Center in Tokyo, and
manufactured mainly in Shenzhen Engineering Center in China and our private factory in Thailand.
However, our mission is not just limited to Toy manufacturing. We run an all-around playing facility
for children--'Play Kingdom'.
TOMY's wish is to deliver our quality toys to children all over the world. TOMY distribution and
manufacturing Companies are located in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, UK, France, and the United
States.
TOMY Products
Long selling quality toys are invaluable assets for us. PLA-RAIL (the TOMY Train Series) is
TOMY's longest selling toy which is loved by children from all over the world for more than 40
years. It is the first plastic rail toy in Japan whose distinctive designs and innovative ideas,
adoption of up-to-date technologies to upgrade the products are receiving wide recognition.
TOMICA WORLD is also a worldwide long selling item for us for more than 30 years. The
miniature cars and their accessories present an exciting miniature world of infinite imagination.
ZOIDS also are the popular items on the market for more than 20 years. Their authentic actions
present great excitement.
TOMY's Safety Measures
As a matter of course, product safety is the entity which we consider to be most important. From
research and development to manufacturing and shipping, all toys from TOMY must pass the
following 9-step product inspection.
1. Safety confirmation at the planning stage.
2. Documenting an exclusive Product Quality Standard List for that particular item at the mockup
stage.
3. Quality Evaluation Test of the full-scale model.
4. Outer Inspection Institution Test (for Toxic substance on the heavy metal, vinyl chloride
plasticizer, Electric Wave Law, etc.)
5. Reliability Test prior to mass manufacturing.
6. First lot check (Sampling Inspection right after the manufacturing)
7. Quality Control on the manufacturing procedure.
8. Shipping Inspection.
9. In-House Inspection.
Our safety measures and quality standards are approximately 20 percent more strict than the
world standards, and that makes it possible for our toys to be passed on from parents to children
and enjoyed over generations.
Social Responsibilities
We take our social responsibilities seriously.
As the Code of Conduct, TOMY puts its effort to improve the working conditions especially in its
manufacturing sites and the situation concerning juvenile labor.
For the environmental Issues, we put our effort to reduce the use of suspected toxic substances
by establishing the company's unique standards which are more demanding than the general law
regulations. We are also carrying out the resource saving in the manufacturing process and the
reduction of waste at the offices.
Making our toys accessible for children with disabilities is another mission we are undertaking
for more than 20 years.
'Accessible toys' are the toys enjoyable for visually/hearing impaired children and non-disabled
children alike which we distribute in the regular market. TOMY is the pioneer developer of
'accessible toys', and now, its concept is widely spread throughout the world by the name of
'Inclusive Design' or 'Accessible Design'.
There are about 50 items from TOMY authorized as 'accessible' by the Japan Toy Association
within the year 2003. We make our toys accessible by tactually marking the buttons and dials,
putting a tactual guide on the lid of the battery case, adding sounds to the visual cues, and
distributing Braille labels or audio instructions where they are needed, etc.
The guidelines for developing 'accessible toys' are the following:
For children with visual disability:
1. For the toys equipped with batteries, the cap position of the battery container and the way to
open it should be tactually confirmed. The direction of the battery insertion should also be
tactually marked.
2. For the toys with switches, the status of the switches should be Confirmed tactually or audibly. A
raised dot should be attached on the 'ON' position of the slide/see-saw switches.
3. When the parts are required to be distinguished by colors, they should also be tactually/audibly
distinguishable.
4. For the moving toys, the position of the toys should be confirmed by sounds, whenever the toys
move out of reach so that they can be located.
5. The miniature toys should resemble real objects as much as possible in their shapes and
texture. The process and results of the play should be grasped without requiring the ability to
see. The toys should not be easily broken or made faulty by touching. The toys should be
equipped with Braille stickers, if necessary.
For children with hearing disability:
1. The sounds produced by the toys should be accompanied by the lights, vibrations, movements,
letters, pictures, etc.
2. The loudness and pitch of the sounds produced by the toys should be adjustable to a certain
extent.
3. The toys should be equipped with an earphone terminal.
4. The toys should be made to facilitate nonverbal communication.
One particular toy does not need to satisfy 'all' of these guidelines to be accessible.
The History of Accessible Toys
'Accessible Toys' began as the toys especially designed and distributed only for those with
disabilities in specialized shops.
The first accessible toy we had developed was a ball with a melody-playing IC chip inside with an
impact detector (instead of a traditional bell) so that the ball starts playing a tune whenever it is
thrown, and blind children could locate the ball even when it stops rolling. However, due to the
smallness of this market, the business had never been a success even when the toys became
tremendously popular among those with disabilities. In the year 1986, the toy industry in Japan
experienced a great economic depression due to a sudden rise of the value of the yen, and TOMY
could no longer keep its work on 'accessible Toys' in its conventional way.
There, a new idea came up--why not make the toys for the regular market accessible. A ball
playing tunes when it is thrown would be loved by all children, and the tactual markings on buttons
and dials could be made with no extra cost if they are planned from the beginning. However, the
tactual markings might cause confusion if their symbolic meanings would not be standardized. For
example, if one manufacturer attached a raised dot on the 'ON' side of a switch, and another
manufacturer put it on the 'OFF' side, the raised dot itself would completely lose its meaning as a
guidance. TOMY brought its ideas of standardizing 'accessible toys for the regular market' to the
Japan Toy Association, and the proposal was approved by its member manufacturers.
Currently, the toys authorized by the Japan Toy Association as 'accessible' are indicated by either
'a guidedog mark' for those with visual disability, or a 'rabbit mark' for those with hearing disability,
or when the toys are good for both types of children, the two marks together on the same package.
We also produce an annual catalog in regular print and in braille. In the year 2003, there are more
than 150 accessible toys from 23 manufacturers.
TOMY's Social Contributions
TOMY supports the Kyoyo-hin (accessible design) Foundation which promotes all kinds of
accessible products, services and environments. It is the leading force in Japan to help realize
accessible and comfortable lives for a wider variety of people than ever before.
The major shampoo and hair conditioner containers in Japan are now tactually distinguishable
from each other by the raised markings.
Most of the canned alcoholic beverages in Japan are indicated 'Alcohol' also in Braille.
The milk cartons are indicated with a tactile indentation on the top to differentiate them from nonmilk cartons.
These accessible products are now distributed in the regular market in Japan by major
manufacturers.
TOMY's Mission
TOMY's utmost priority is to develop quality toys for all children. We will keep our faith in doing
what we ought to do for the better and brighter future for all.