Nippon Zeon Achieves Business Reform by Refining Plant Design Capabilities

Nippon Zeon Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tetsuya Toyoshima, hereinafter referred to as Zeon) has partnered with SOLIZE Ureka Technology Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Tsutsumi) to achieve business reform through the formalization of plant design operations. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency and quality in plant design, which is crucial for stable and safe production, thereby strengthening competitiveness. It is also expected to contribute to the development of next-generation talent by facilitating the transfer of know-how from experienced employees.

Amidst business expansion and increasing sophistication of facilities, improving the efficiency and quality of plant design operations, essential for stable and safe production, has long been a major theme for Zeon. One such area is the creation and review of P&IDs (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams)*, which are extremely important in chemical plant design. P&IDs are fundamental documents for engineering, from design and construction to operation and maintenance. Their creation requires advanced knowledge and experience, posing challenges in terms of personalization and knowledge utilization.

To address this, Zeon and SOLIZE Ureka Technology have visualized the processes involved in these operations and built a system that organizes tacit know-how into linguistic data. This system goes beyond mere data accumulation; by defining the formalization of usable know-how, it enables designers to instantly grasp necessary information at a glance. Furthermore, to ensure the continued utilization of the developed design know-how assets in the future, a platform focused on designers' ease of searching has been established, enabling rapid data retrieval. This allows for the accumulation of explicit knowledge as organizational assets, leading to effects such as improved operational efficiency and design quality.

Effects

1 Accumulation of know-how as organizational assets, independent of individual experience

2 Reduced variability in design considerations and improved design quality through the ability to search and reference more useful know-how at the required timing

3 Reduction in review指摘件数 (number of review指摘) to one-third, leading to fewer missed checks, prevention of recurrence, and improved review quality due to enhanced design quality.

Going forward, Zeon aims to achieve further stable and safe production systems and sustainable manufacturing by promoting the adoption of advanced technologies such as data accumulation, analysis, and integration with AI, while also horizontally deploying initiatives with similar focus areas to other production innovations.

*P&ID (Piping and Instrumentation Diagram) = A schematic diagram showing the connections and interactions between piping, instrumentation, valves, and control systems.