When Nippon Shokubai, a leading manufacturing company, sought to revolutionize their data handling and operational efficiency, they turned to Cognite for a comprehensive solution. Over the course of a year, Cognite facilitated the collection, processing, and integration of vast amounts of data, enabling real-time access and utilization across various departments.
Key Metrics
- Cost Savings: Significant reduction in operational costs due to streamlined processes.
- Increased Uptime: Enhanced equipment uptime through better data-driven maintenance strategies.
- Time Saved: Approximately 9,000 hours saved annually in information retrieval across the Himeji manufacturing plant.
- Speed of Execution: Faster decision-making and execution enabled by real-time data access.
Ownership and Relentlessness
Nippon Shokubai wanted to democratize in-house data to ensure that necessary information is readily available to users at the required times. Over the course of one year, two Nippon Shokubai engineers work with Cognite’s Customer Success team to ingest approximately 130,000 tags of CMMS data, 80,000 tags of time-series data, and 4,000 pages of drawings into Cognite Data Fusion. The resulting industrial knowledge graph reduced the time needed for searching, retrieval, organization, and visualization of data, allowing for more in-depth analysis and consideration.
“The support we received from Cognite, including their domain expertise, dedication, thoughtfulness, and speed of delivery, was outstanding,” said Hiroki Nakagawa, Director of the DX Promotion Division at Nippon Shokubai.
Uploading approximately 18 years' worth of time-series data was a major technical challenge for the project, due to the extensive and time-consuming nature of the task. Inconsistencies in naming conventions and data silos had to be addressed and standardized. Cognite's proficiency in Python programming was crucial for customizing the programs required for data ingestion.
“The upload of our historical data was daunting, but Cognite's expertise and support made it possible,” said Hiroki Nakagawa, Director of the DX Promotion Division at Nippon Shokubai.
Cognite provided robust support throughout the project, including:
- Building custom applications
- Python program customization
- Rapid follow-up and issue resolution
Cognite's attentiveness to user feedback and guidance towards achieving ideal outcomes was unparalleled. The support for administrator development and the ease of collaboration ensured a smooth and efficient project delivery.
“Cognite's team was incredibly responsive and supportive, helping us achieve our implementation goals seamlessly,” said Hiroki Nakagawa, Director of the DX Promotion Division at Nippon Shokubai.
Impact
The successful delivery of this project has had a profound impact on the Nippon Shokubai’s operations:
- Seamless information gathering and utilization by the manufacturing, quality, and technical departments.
- Adoption of computational tags for trend monitoring.
- Enhanced understanding and collaboration across departments, including those not well-versed with the equipment.
Looking ahead, the company plans to:
- Activate information utilization in the field through Infield.
- Implement trial usage of Plant 3D drawings.
- Strengthen analytical tasks through integration with data analysis solutions.
- Deploy Cognite Data Fusion to other domestic facilities and overseas subsidiaries to promote information sharing and enhance productivity.
“Cognite Data Fusion is vital for our transformation towards more efficient and productive operations,” said Hiroki Nakagawa, Director of the DX Promotion Division at Nippon Shokubai.
By leveraging Cognite’s expertise and solutions, Nippon Shokubai has successfully navigated complex data challenges, resulting in significant operational improvements and setting a strong foundation for future growth and innovation.