In the electroplating division, the reliance on individual expertise had long been a challenge. Traditionally, we have focused on producing one-of-a-kind products with specifications tailored to each customer. Our ability to meet individual customer requests has been highly valued. However, within the company, detailed specifications and inspection items for each customer were often known only to the specific operator in charge, and this traditional “craftsman-style” approach persisted until recent years.
It’s reassuring to have team members you can absolutely rely on. However, this also led to drawbacks, such as the time-consuming need to ask the person in charge about unclear points at each stage of the process, or work coming to a standstill when that person was absent. It’s also true that, since many tasks were done manually and information was often shared via paper documents, this contributed to human error.
Although these are aspects that aren’t readily visible to the outside world, if there are steps we need to take to deliver higher-quality products to our customers, we cannot overlook them. Riding the wave of DX, we used the relocation to the Chiba Plant as an opportunity to fully advance DX the electroplating department.

With a focus on going paperless, the electroplating division has introduced variousDX initiatives have been introduced in the electroplating division. One example is the digitization of manufacturing instructions. Information that was previously managed solely by individual staff members has been converted into data and shared via tablet devices. We have established a system that allows any operator to reproduce the specific specifications required by each customer. This not only improves operational efficiency but also contributes to a better understanding of our customers company-wide.
We have also implemented IoT technology for a certain piece of manufacturing equipment. Previously, various parameters required for production had to be read from paper documents and manually entered before the equipment could finally be started. Now, however, operators simply scan a designated barcode, and the values are automatically imported into the equipment. This has greatly contributed to reducing manual effort and minimizing human error.
The benefits DX are endless. Tasks that used to require three people can now be handled by just two, and tasks that used to take 30 minutes have been eliminated entirely. In addition to labor savings, we’ve heard feedback that stress has been reduced because inspection items—which previously required a high level of attention—have been digitized and are no longer necessary. Furthermore, improvements in yield and a reduction in customer complaints are evident, demonstrating that DX electroplating DX have brought benefits not only to the company but also to our customers.

The electroplating division is a small department, butDX was by no means easy. Naturally, no one DX was well-versed DX. While we enlisted the help of a systems vendor, we first had to figure out what needed to be done ourselves, find software capable of implementing those solutions, and then learn how to use it effectively. Partway through, we invited young employees who volunteered to join the project, which gradually helped us accelerate our progress.
To be honest, some of our workers were DX confused DX. This is one of the challenges many organizations face DX.We persistently communicated the benefits to them, explaining that DX “making our own work easier” and “benefiting our customers.” Above all, the fact that the company established a policy to “ DX ” and DX served as a strong tailwind. It was precisely because they had the company’s backing that the project members were able to carry out their work with confidence.

The electrodeposition department is only one department in the factory. Our immediate goal is to share and expand the DX case studies from this department to the entire factory or to other factories. Since increasing the number of human resources is indispensable for further DX promotion, we also need to promote the training of DX personnel within the company at the same time.
Through DX, a variety of information is being accumulated as digital data on a daily basis. We would like to work on analyzing and utilizing this enormous amount of information, or so-called "Big data. Expectations are high because we may be able to focus on areas that have not been noticed by the human eye until now, such as which equipment and under what conditions product quality becomes stable or abnormalities occur frequently. 
If you think about it on a company-wide level, DX has only just begun. Looking back, there is no end in sight to improving operational efficiency and product quality. This project is "super" long-term and continues today, at this very moment.