Initially, a feasibility study team was formed to examine what would be
necessary to actualize an MC. This team would form the core of the entire
project and had an average age of 28. The 14-member team consisted of eight
people from R&D, three from production, two from marketing, and one from
product design. The fundamental contradiction the team faced was managing
the inverse relationship between reliability and cost. That is, when reliability was
improved the costs of production increased, but when costs were reduced
service requirements increased. Managing Director Mitarai named this objective
“Cost-Reliability Improvement”. To resolve this contradiction the development
staff would have to create a new concept of how a copier operated. This
objective was so challenging that internally it was referred to as aiming a
“Canon Revolution”. To achieve this objective, joint efforts by Design and
Production Engineering were indispensable.