[  Japanese  ]

ARC's Eleventh Annual Forum in Asia

July 15, 2009 - Tokyo, Japan

Executives Discuss Challenges for Sustainable Manufacturing and Asset Lifecycle Management in Tokyo

ARC’s 11th Japan Forum brought together nearly 200 executives from a wide range of manufacturers, systems integrators, and suppliers to discuss the most pressing issues in manufacturing today. This was no small achievement in these serious economic times.

The Forum began with ARC presentations on global business trends in general, plus trends in the  hot India and China markets that are expected to lead the recovery of the global economy.  Then, ten different speakers — including speakers from a quasi-governmental research institution and major manufacturers and suppliers in Japan — discussed their challenges and practices for both sustainable manufacturing and asset lifecycle management (ALM).  The audience found these discussions to be highly informative.  The various presentations made it very clear that the combination of government plans to encourage sustainable manufacturing using various technology approaches and the current economic crisis represents a unprecedented challenge for Japanese manufacturers.

World Trends
ARC President Andy Chatha set the tone through a video message that discussed the current state of the global business environment and forecasted that economic recovery is on the horizon.  He explained that "sustainable manufacturing" involves a combination of products, supply chain, and manufacturing that are all environment- and resource-friendly, and pointed out that ALM has become a top priority for asset-intensive process industries.  Rajabahadur Arcot, General Manager of ARC India, provided a macro view of the Indian and Southeast Asian economy.  According to Arcot, despite the current world economic slow-down, the Indian economic growth remains very strong.  Jared Malarsky, General Manager of ARC China, reported on developments in China as well as challenges and opportunities in China for manufacturers.  Even in today's gloomy global economic climate, manufacturing industries in China are still growing amid many challenges and backed by an economic stimulus package.  Energy is one of the key issues for growth in domestic manufacturing; the need to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices is another. 

Sustainable Manufacturing
Dr. Masaru Nakaiwa, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), explained about the Institute's development and challenges for "Green Sustainable Chemistry", a development project backed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI). Along with this development project, AIST now has many projects aimed at establishing the "low-carbon" society. 

Ryuichi Kuwahara, Asahi Kasei EIC Solutions, shared his view of "Mieru-ka" (Visualization),  an approach that many manufacturers are aggressively exploring.  He presented an actual case study on a "Mieru-ka" project in a chemical factory that focused on applying a soft sensor in combination  with a NIR-based hard sensor.  He also introduced the challenge to improve the performance, maintainability, and visualization of APC (advanced process control) models.

Yoshikazu Itoh, SHI Engineering & Services, reported his effort to develop a fuel-saving gantry crane.  The company developed a hybrid system for rubber tired gantry cranes (RTGC) used in container terminals at ports in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.  This new system not only reduces environmental impact, but also reduces operating and maintenance costs.

Yuji Watanabe, Mitsubishi Electric, and Ryuki Isobe, Cognex Japan, presented synergy of integrating vision sensors into manufacturing systems.  Minimizing energy consumption, resource consumption, and environmental impacts are important elements for realizing sustainable manufacturing.

HCL Japan President, Harikrishna Bhatwill, presented HCL’s Green Design Workbench.  This creates cultural discipline in driving sustainability from the top down.  The workbench concept spans engineering, enterprise, manufacturing, and supply chain functions. 

Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) 
Susumu Ikenoue, Senior Director ARC Japan, introduced ARC's ALM model.  ALM addresses many of the issues now being identified as sustainability goals.  Effective ALM strategies are based upon a proper understanding of manufacturing assets (physical,  human, and virtual), asset lifecycles, ALM processes, and ALM stakeholders. 

Osamu Usui of Mitsui Chemicals explained best practices of document management passed to the production phase.  It is important to consolidate relevant materials gained in the plant design and construction phases into final documents for use in operations and maintenance and to keep base documents up-to-date through change management. 

Hidetaka Yamashita, Nippon Steel, and Kazuyoshi Inoue, NS Solutions, presented: "Challenges to Safety Operation by Ubiquitous Operation Support System."  The objective of a ubiquitous operation support system is to address the lowering of operator skills in fields where a large number of veteran operators are retiring.  One practical solution is to introduce mobile IT, speech recognition, and wireless measurement technologies. 

In a Q&A session, many Forum participants expressed the need for and  expectation of further discussions of ALM strategies from both the conceptual and practical perspectives.  This showed that excellent ALM is a challenging target and it will take much time to think through and to discuss with all parties that have responsibility for various ALM processes.

Who Should Attend This Forum is designed specifically for senior executives at manufacturing companies and their partners. Titles of executives attending previous ARC Forums include: CEOs, COOs, and Presidents CIOs and CTOs VPs and Directors of IT VPs, Directors, and Managers of Operations VPs, Directors, and Managers of Supply Chain VPs, Directors, and Managers of Manufacturing VPs, Directors, and Managers of Engineering Plant Managers and Supervisors Production Managers and Supervisors Directors, Managers and Architects of Enterprise Integration No other event offers you such a high level of personal interaction with so many top industry executives. In past Forums, over 50% of the attendees have titles like Chairman, CXO, President, Vice President, Director, Publisher or Partner.

Agenda

Following is the agenda for the forum. 

Executive Speakers

The following executives are among those who presented at the forum.

Travel Information

The Forum is held at KFC Hall.

KFC Hall
6-1, Yokoami-1,
Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0015
Japan
Phone: +81-3-5610-5801
www.tokyo-kfc.co.jp/h&r.html

Format of the Forum Sessions
Though presentations and discussions will mainly be done in Japanese, supplementary material printed in English will be provided as hand-outs.

Attire

Normal business attire is suggested.

Get the Most Out of Your Trip to Japan

Japan is rich in culture. While you are here why not visit a few of the many regions. Visit www.jnto.go.jp for more information on Japan and assistance with your travel plans.

To Register

Forum Fee

The forum fee is US$595. If registered by July 3, 2009, a 50% discount is applied. If registered on or after July 4, 2009, the full fee is applied. The fee includes a luncheon and a 'Getting Acquainted' Dinner Party plus all program materials.

Cancellations and Substitutions

Substitutions may be made at any time at no additional charge. The registration fee is fully refundable up to three weeks prior to the Forum date. A 50% cancellation fee will be assessed after that date. All cancellations must be received in writing.

Registration Methods

Please use one of the following methods to register for the Forum:

	Call +81 42 991 1685 or +1-781-471-1000, e-mail sabe@arcweb.com or info@arcweb.com.
	Fax Brochure and Registration Form to +81-42-991-1686 or +1-781-471-1100.

Speaking Opportunities

For information on nominating a speaker for the forum, please visit our Speaking Opportunities page or contact Shuji Abe, sabe@arcweb.com, +81 42 991 1685.

Sponsorship Opportunities

For information on opportunities for sponsoring the forum, please contact Shuji Abe, sabe@arcweb.com, +81 42 991 1685.