Digital Transformation (DX)
Accelerating the reinforcement of our business foundation through internal DX and creating new product DX by combining the azbil Group’s unique measurement and control technologies with digital technology.
Kazuhiko Yasuda
Executive Officer
azbil Group Digital Transformation Promotion
Digital technology, which evidences continual and even accelerating progress, together with further advances in automation, will provide customers with value never seen before.
The azbil Group is implementing internal DX, which will greatly increase productivity in our business activities. The resulting transformation will lead to new ways of working. In addition, there is product DX: services to advance the sustainability of our customers’ manufacturing and building operations, and to contribute to the creation of new added value. We recognize that, driven by digitalization, the roles and opportunities for automation are expanding as a result of emerging societal issues, a changing business environment, evolving technologies, and the new needs of society. Advances in digital technology continue to accelerate, and to ensure that we keep pace with this trend, we will increase our DX investment by approximately ¥5 billion, representing a 25% increase from the previous medium-term plan, over the three years of the new medium-term plan (FY2025–FY2027). This will produce further improvements in internal operational efficiency and profitability (internal DX). It will also result in accelerated development of DX-related products and services for customers (product DX) that accurately meet market needs thanks to the experience we gain from internal DX.
Internal DX to promote Fit to Standard and hasten group-wide adoption of generative AI, and product DX to provide new value to customers through cloud technologies, support AI-assisted decision-making, and contribute to solving societal issues
For internal DX, we use a Fit to Standard approach to review commodity business processes and align them with industry standards. This helps us increase efficiency through the application of best practices. In addition, by actively providing webinars and educational content, the company is encouraging wider use of generative AI in daily operations throughout the organization. Also, making use of low-code tools, we are demonstrating how specialized AI chatbots could be used by all personnel. Furthermore, we are improving how we respond to information security risks. With regard to generative AI in particular, we carefully evaluate both the risks it poses and the opportunities it offers. In this way, we strive to sustainably enhance enterprise value by advancing DX while protecting information security. For product DX, we are deploying on-site services centered on AI and cloud technologies. In January 2025, we released an AI-driven navigation system for quality management (p.40),and in 2026 we plan to release an AI-based production planning and modification system, which automatically creates production plans. As well as helping to improve productivity and quality by enhancing on-site decision-making, these solutions will contribute to solving issues facing society such as labor shortages and intergenerational skills transfer. Our Building Automation business offers services for large-scale buildings that utilize cloud computing to improve the efficiency of energy/facility management and tenant services. Evolution to a system based on cloud computing allows for remote operation and facilitates modifications to the services provided. This has already resulted in more than 500 contracts. We will continue to improve functions and expand services as we aim to provide new value. Smart metering as a service—which realizes remote meter communication and smart safety by linking smart meters via the cloud—serves to enhance data centralization, big data utilization, and disaster response capabilities through combined meter communication for gas, water, and electricity. In these ways, we will realize safe, secure, and smart social infrastructure..
DX case studies of the azbil Group
The azbil Group views product DX and internal DX as the two pillars of DX promotion and is addressing them jointly.
The following are case studies up to FY2024, ranging from those involving product DX to those focused on AI quality navigation, and from internal DX to cases involving the promotion of higher efficiency, through building information modeling (BIM), and work-style innovation.
Aiming to create sustainable production spaces while contributing to the well-being of employees with an AI-driven navigation system for quality management in which key elements of quality control are performed by AI
Masao Sasaki
Manager,
Strategic Business Development Department 3,
Advanced Automation Company
Azbil Corporation is putting renewed emphasis on its commitment to autonomy in its Advanced Automation (AA) business. Our AI-driven navigation system for quality management automatically extracts factors that affect quality from past production data, monitors them during production, and conducts trend analysis, thereby quickly detecting signs of fluctuations in quality. Furthermore, in the event of a quality inspection rejection, the system automatically investigates potential causes, in either raw materials or manufacturing processes, to conduct factor analysis and provide clear conclusions.
This is an innovative product that makes a significant contribution to eliminating quality problems by allowing AI to take charge of important parts of the quality management system. This reduces losses of raw materials and energy and ensures stable quality is maintained while productivity is improved. It also contributes to the acceleration of societal innovations by enabling a rapid response to evolving product categories and the speedy launch of new products. Moreover, it reduces the psychological burden placed on those engaged in quality control, improving the well-being of on-site staff.
As a DX/SX (sustainability transformation) partner, we will continue to work with customers to realize sustainable production spaces.
Unique internal DX using BIM to promote high efficiency and work-style reforms to maximize the value provided to customers
Katsuhito Miura
Business Planning Department,
Building Systems Company
Digital Design Department,
Digital Enhancement Headquarters
In recent years, the Building Automation (BA) business has seen strong building demand, though the industry as a whole faces challenges in handling busy workloads and securing qualified personnel. To appropriately address these challenges and meet more of our customers’ needs, we are accelerating BIM-based operational reform (internal DX) and aiming for sustainable growth.
The BA business supports a customer’s building throughout its life cycle using an integrated system that encompasses development, manufacturing, sales, design, construction and engineering, maintenance and service, and even renovation. The BIM-based operational reform is designed to achieve centralized management, visualization, and the sharing of data within each process, thereby increasing the efficiency and sophistication of operations.
In addition, internal DX initiatives such as these enable employees to focus on their specified tasks, thanks to improved efficiency. This leads to greater job satisfaction and the self-motivated upgrading of skills. We plan to deploy these initiatives not only within our company but also at partner companies in Japan and overseas, as well as provide them to customers upon request with the aim of solving issues in the industry as a whole.
Driving force behind data utilization projects
Shravani Kulkarni
Information Systems Department,
Digital Enhancement Headquarters
At our Digital Enhancement Headquarters, Shravani Kulkarni, from India, brings her expertise and broad experience to the table every day. Ms. Kulkarni graduated from the Savitribai Phule Pune University (India) in 2019 and joined the company in 2021.
Drawing on the knowledge of database management and other systems that she gained at university, she is promoting the use of data visualization tools (business intelligence) for data utilization platform*. Currently, she is engaged in projects such as one involving replacement of the performance management system for the BA business, and another involving development of a data linkage function for the production system. She performs a variety of other tasks while playing a central role in promoting data utilization.
Ms. Kulkarni’s perspectives and innovative ideas are key elements serving to support our innovation. By working together, employees with diverse cultural backgrounds create new value and strengthen our competitiveness in the global marketplace. We will continue to emphasize diversity and actively promote a human resources strategy that leverages diversity.
* A data utilization platform is an infrastructure used for collecting, organizing, and utilizing various kinds of business data of the entire azbil Group to generate value.