An Asprova user was in a newspaper article as a pioneer in DX in 2025.
They use Asprova of 2013 without version up, they are, however, DX pioneer today.
The following is its translation.
A Challenge from Tohoku(North of Japan): DX Leading Companies; Plus Engineering
2024/04/04 Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
? Optimal processes are automatically created by inputting order information, eliminating night shifts without reducing volume
“Until 2023, we created a calendar with two shifts in case something happened. We’re not creating it for 2024, and we won’t be doing that in the future.” Kenichiro Asano, director of Plus Engineering’s Sendai Office (Murata-cho, Miyagi Prefecture), confidently states this. The company has been working to improve the efficiency of its manufacturing site with its proprietary production management system introduced in 2013, and in the spring of 2023, it changed its two-shift system to a single shift. By increasing productivity, the company will also implement work style reforms such as eliminating night shifts without reducing production volume.
First of all, this production management system is very innovative. When the information of the order is entered, the optimal schedule for each process is automatically created, and the machine tools to be used and individual tasks are determined up to two weeks in advance. Furthermore, the system is so powerful that it calculates the profit for each part.
The company accepts many visitors for factory tours, and the system is discussed with the visitors. “Factory managers say, ‘We want to introduce this to our company right away,’ but when we ask the site staff to come and explain it to us, they say, ‘This is not going to be easy to introduce.'”
The company specializes in the processing of about 10,000 types of special parts per year with an average lot size of about 10 pieces. “We looked for similar systems all over the world, but when it comes to a lot of kind and small lot production,it’s not easy,” he said. In addition, the system took long time to utilize.
In parallel with this, the company has also made improvements to the site, such as making workers multi-skilled, shortening setup times, and developing jigs for unmanned operation. During the two-shift era, the company eliminated the loss of production time that occurred when switching between day and night shifts, while also making full use of the vast amount of manufacturing data that had been accumulated over the past 10 years. They made a complete transition to a single shift without a significant drop in production quantity. “This is an area where manufacturing is unpopular, but the elimination of the night shift has also had the effect of increasing the number of applicants for new graduate recruitment,” according to the same source.
That’s all for the article.
Since we are an agency business, there are some things we don’t know, but they haven’t upgraded Asprova since 2013.
The system made with Asprova of 2013 looked advanced to this reporter. It is an honor for our company.
