The digital transformation of industrial production is getting underway in earnest in the manufacturing sector alongside rising expectations for reforming society by means of digital technology. The information and control systems that Hitachi has long provided for social infrastructure can be seen as among the earliest examples of digital transformation, being based on the cyber physical system concept of combining physical machinery with control logic in cyberspace to operate those machines in an optimal manner. Hitachi’s Omika Works has been at the center of this work and has attracted attention for its production reforms, being recognized as a “Lighthouse” advanced factory by the World Economic Forum in January 2020. How is Hitachi utilizing information and control systems to contribute to the digital transformation of society and industry? Alongside in-house improvement, what is being done to advance digital transformation across the manufacturing industry as a whole? Hitachi Review put these questions to Hideki Hanami, the person in charge of overall operations at Omika Works.
