TESCO CO., LTD.
At TESCO, they dug into the potential issues on the way to digitalization of inspection work. Mr. Ouchi said “We initiated consultations in three phases. 1. Using data digitalization and visualization to improve the issues of errors in inspection record keeping and equipment faults being overlooked. 2. Using accumulated data to lead to advanced facilities management. 3. Expanding the scope of management until predictive diagnostics becomes possible. We are now at the stage of implementing phase 1 while looking ahead to phase 2.”
One of the features of SiteRemix is that instruments can be photographed with the camera of the tablet, and values can be digitalized as data from the image and reflected in the inspection checklist. There were some very satisfying points that encouraged adoption of the system. Mr. Iijima said “Waste treatment facilities are covered in thick concrete, so there are many places out of the reach of Wi-Fi signals. Hitachi Power Solutions customized the system for our needs by placing all necessary functions into the tablet, to allow offline inspection. Of course, automatic meter reading of instruments with the camera is also doable offline. I was impressed by the way they got familiar with our situation and offered a customized proposal.”
At the Otsuki Tsuru waste treatment facility, which introduced SiteRemix as a pilot plant, operators formed teams of four or five people to work on operation management with tablet inspection in shifts covering 24 hours every day. When the system was introduced, Mr. Iijima told the operators “At first this might take longer than filling out an inspection checklist on paper, but you're all digitalization pioneers. Let's work together to build a new corporate culture for TESCO.” There are notebooks on-site that people can use freely to write down anything they notice. TESCO and Hitachi Power Solutions share the notebooks' content on a regular basis, and they continue to make improvements, including customization for usability.
Operation management with SiteRemix is getting on track, and the company is considering rolling it out to other waste treatment facilities in the future. Mr. Ouchi said “We are accumulating and comparing data across multiple facilities to make it useful for improvements. When we announced our digitalization efforts in the division managers' meeting, the Total Building Management Division and other divisions of the company expressed their interest in benefits such as avoiding entry errors in inspection records. In future we will be looking to company-wide lateral extension, to advance full-scale usage.”
Mr. Iijima looks ahead to the future. “For us, having built a background in data accumulation is very significant. We have many young staff with digital skills, and we want to make this an opportunity for them to utilize their skills to the fullest. We think that this system will become more effective by taking action early and running through PDCA* cycles to lead to improvement, rather trying to jump ahead aiming for a perfect score. Beyond making improvements, we're looking ahead to using Big Data on operation management, for preventive maintenance using predictive diagnostics. I'm certain that operation management using the tablet-based inspection system delivers many advantages for us and for our clients, while also giving us a powerful competitive edge for gaining new clients.”
Hitachi Power Solutions applies its technology-backed proposal capabilities to provide what operators want, so they can move forward powerfully with the next step in the maintenance business.
TESCO CO., LTD.
