DENSO Creates Approximately 3,300 Hours Annually Using Teachme Biz

Studist Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Satoshi Suzuki; hereinafter 'Studist'), which supports the realization of lean operations, announced that the Manufacturing Engineering Division of DENSO Corporation (Headquarters: Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture; President: Shinnosuke Hayashi; hereinafter 'DENSO') has introduced the AI manual 'Teachme Biz' since 2023, achieving approximately 3,300 hours of man-hour creation annually in fiscal year 2025.

By combining video and AI, veterans on the manufacturing floor who felt that 'verbalizing' in text was a barrier have built a system where they can standardize and share know-how just by filming. This converts the tacit knowledge of skilled workers into organizational assets, accelerating skill transfer both domestically and internationally.

■ Background and Purpose of Introduction

DENSO's Manufacturing Engineering Division is responsible for creating world-class in-house specialized machine equipment and is the source of the company's manufacturing competitiveness. On the shop floor, where high technical skills are required, there is a technical gap between the know-how of veteran workers and young engineers. An organizational challenge was how to standardize 'artisan skills' and create a system where anyone can work with the same quality.

However, previously, manuals were created individually using Excel and PowerPoint, resulting in inconsistent formats and granularity, with necessary information scattered. Additionally, many skilled workers and engineers supporting Japan's manufacturing floors are not good at 'writing text' or 'verbalizing'. Even if a carefully written manual was translated into English, there was the issue that the meaning was not accurately conveyed locally.

With this 'barrier of verbalization' hindering skill transfer, Teachme Biz, which allows for the creation and sharing of manuals led by the shop floor using video and images, was chosen as the solution.

■ How Teachme Biz is Used

Solving the 'Weak at Verbalization' Challenge on the Shop Floor with Video x AI

Complex operations and sensory work procedures that are difficult to explain in text can now be turned into manuals simply by filming them. With AI functions, text is automatically generated from the captured video, and there are cases where experienced creators have reduced manual creation time to about half of the conventional time. The weakness of verbalization, which had been an 'insurmountable wall' for years, has been turned into a strength through the tool.

A System to Access Information 'When Needed, On the Spot' with QR Code®

By attaching QR Code® to equipment and work areas, necessary manuals can be accessed directly by simply scanning them with a smartphone. The shop floor, which previously had to search for information using keywords, has transformed into an environment where 'necessary information can be reached immediately from anywhere', making it one of the most impactful changes experienced within the division.

*QR Code® is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED.

Utilization for Multilingual Support and Global Expansion

Using automatic translation functions, a system is in place to instantly convert manuals created in Japanese into multiple languages. The challenge of meaning shifting in text translation is resolved by combining video and automatic translation. The aim is to build a bidirectional system where staff at overseas bases can update and edit manuals according to local equipment changes.

■ Results After Introduction

Creation of Approximately 3,300 Man-Hours Annually

The man-hours previously spent on training and information sharing have been significantly reduced, achieving approximately 3,300 man-hours of creation annually for the entire division in fiscal year 2025. The burden of one-on-one training for new employees by veteran workers has been reduced, allowing that time to be allocated to advanced technological development and priority tasks.

Veteran Know-how Becomes 'Organizational Assets'

Tacit knowledge that previously existed only in the minds of specific veterans is now being visualized and accumulated as video manuals. There are increasing instances where new employees can independently check and practice (self-drive) by referring to videos, resolving discrepancies in understanding between the teacher and the learner. Initially started with assembly and electrical departments, the scope of use has now expanded to the entire division, including production control and parts processing.

■ Future Outlook

In addition to use within the division, plans are underway to expand to the manufacturing side (equipment operators and maintenance personnel). Furthermore, the company aims to further strengthen the bidirectional skill improvement system with overseas bases, aiming to improve productivity across the DENSO Group and establish a skill transfer platform. Moreover, the company plans to extend this initiative beyond the DENSO Group as a skill transfer model for the entire Japanese manufacturing industry.

■ Comment from Takahiro Ito, Head of DENSO's Manufacturing Engineering Division

'In the future, we want to expand this system to bidirectional skill transfer with overseas bases and realize a global standard where 'anyone, anywhere can understand at a glance.' We don't want this to end as just an initiative of the Manufacturing Engineering Division; we want to make it a platform that delivers the 'artisan skills' that the DENSO Group, and indeed the entire Japanese manufacturing industry, is proud of, to the world. To achieve this, we expect Studist to continue working with us not just as a 'provider of a manual creation tool' but as a 'partner that transforms on-site operations themselves.'

■ About Teachme Biz

'Teachme Biz' is an 'AI manual' where AI handles everything from creating easy-to-understand manuals to their use and updates. It provides functions such as automatic manual generation from videos, PDFs, and text, text assistance, and AI search to eliminate waste, unevenness, and overburden on the shop floor. By creating slack on the shop floor, it aims to achieve a state where continuous improvement (Kaizen) can be sustained. It is used by over 2,300 companies in Japan and abroad and has achieved the No.1 sales revenue share in the latest surveys by 'Fuji Chimera Research Institute (*1)', 'Deloitte Tohmatsu MIC Research Institute (*2)', and 'ITR (*3)'. It is highly regarded as a standard in the manual creation and on-site training market, regardless of industry or company size.

https://biz.teachme.jp/

*1: 'Industry-Specific IT Investment Trends / DX Market Future Outlook 2026 Edition DX Investment Edition' Manual Creation/On-site Training Tools FY2024 Results (Volume/Amount/SaaS) Vendor Share

*2: 'Deskless SaaS Market Status and Outlook 2025 Edition' Video Manual Creation Support Tool Market

*3: 'ITR Market View: Human Resource Management Market 2025' Manual Creation Support Market

■ About Lean Operations

Lean operations, as advocated by Studist, is a continuous improvement process that removes 'waste, unevenness, and overburden' from operations, reinvesting the slack created by efficiency gains into 'value enhancement' to achieve overall organizational productivity and sustainable growth. Specifically, through the steps of visualization, standardization, simplification, and thoroughness of operations, it aims for a lean organization and ultimately supports the establishment of a system that allows focus on core tasks.

The company supports the realization of lean operations as a partner that achieves customer productivity improvement through hands-on service provision combining business assessments, manual creation outsourcing, and training, in addition to the manual creation and sharing system 'Teachme Biz'.