Without her, some innovations would have never happened.
Without her, some projects would have never been possible.

"Without Her" is a project (a series) featuring Mitsubishi Electric's very own women engineers, and their commitment to making the world a better place.

Second in our "#WithoutHer" series, featuring the engineers and their colleagues, is from our China branch. We interviewed Chengjin Ji, who led the successful development of contactless elevator buttons, and her team.

Making Communication within 4 Teams "Tangible."

In 2020, Mitsubishi Electric Shanghai Electric Elevator Co.,Ltd (MESE), prioritized developing contactless buttons for elevators. As a global pandemic spread throughout the world and concern about every point of contact became a part of our everyday lives, Chengjin’s team was assigned a project that clarified how Mitsubishi Electric could contribute to public safety. While her background is in hardware development, Chengjin unified and led four teams as project manager.

The four teams were "Exterior Design," "Structural Design," "Software," and "Hardware." With at least four engineers and designers simultaneously working on and updating the project, Chengjin put emphasis on "smooth intra-team communication." She says, "I saw that transparency between the four teams, and making communication within each team as tangible as possible was key to this project’s success."

She says ideas and feedback were abundantly shared throughout the process. For example, the structural element was one of the more challenging parts of the project. To balance design and practicality, many prototypes were built and tested. "For external design, one of the main designers, Bingyan Ling, proposed a lot of designs. Everyone shared their feedback until we landed on our final idea."

Chengin also believes each of her team members' ability to take initiative created a strong foundation for their teamwork. "Each member was always thinking about how to create an even better product. Each person doing what they do best created a solid team dynamic."

A Leader Who Was Always Smiling, Always Learning.

Members of Chengjin’s team reflect on her strengths as a manager. Bingyang says "She always had a smile on, and made sure all communication was going smoothly. We always knew we could count on her." Her supervisor, Bin Shen says "she is a diligent and responsible leader. I’m grateful that her efforts helped maintain Mitsubishi Electric’s quality of products." Technical engineer, Chao Qiu, brought up Chengjin’s attitude towards continued learning. "During development, she never stopped learning. Her appetite for new knowledge was truly impressive."

Enjoy this video featuring a strong unified team and their fearless leader.

Mitsubishi Electric champions women making waves in STEM fields.

(This article was originally published on May 25, 2022)

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