VOC Case Studies

Each business unit of the Olympus Group conducts voice of customer (VOC) activities that match its characteristics.
The business units hold regular conferences to share case studies and information about their activities. These meetings also provide opportunities for reciprocal benchmarking.

VOC Response Case Study 1:
"We want to be able to identify and analyze airborne asbestos by color in the same way as asbestos in building materials."

Because airborne asbestos fibers are so minute, fiber sizes could only be measured using a phase-contrast microscope, and it was not possible to distinguish them from other fibers. Olympus produced a phase-contrast polarization microscope for use in asbestos detection by developing a new technology to combine the polarizing (dispersion) microscopy technique used to observe asbestos in construction materials with the phase-contrast technology used to observe airborne asbestos.

VOC Response Case Study 2:
"We want displays that are easy to view, regardless of individual variations in color perception."

In response to this customer feedback, Olympus modified the icons and color scheme used in the LCD graphic display of a compact digital camera^*1 launched in February 2008, creating a design that would be clear to most people, regardless of individual variations in color perception. This product became the first digital camera to achieve "Color Universal Design" certification^*2. Olympus obtained Color Universal Design (CUD) for all digital camera products (all models and colors) launched worldwide in the spring of 2010. Certification was also obtained for a new IC Recorder^*3.

• Color Universal Design (CUD) obtained for all new digital camera products (all models and colors) launched in the spring of 2010, including the Olympus PEN Lite (Only in Japanese) 
• Our efforts for Color Universal Design (Only in Japanese)