Kyocera promotes practical training for data engineers, producing over 200 data utilization talents
Standardizing parts management using MotionBoard contributes to solving on-site issues and reducing inventory by 60%

WingArc1st Inc. is pleased to announce that Kyocera Corporation (Kyocera) has adopted the BI dashboard, MotionBoard, to solve on-site issues related to its unique hands-on program to train manufacturing site technicians, including those new to IT, as data engineers.

Currently, the company has trained over 200 data utilization personnel, and by standardizing purchasing quantities of parts using MotionBoard, it has reduced excess inventory by 60%.

■Background 
Kyocera is promoting the creation of smart factories equipped with IoT sensors and other technologies, but was short of personnel who could utilize the vast amounts of data being collected and accumulated in their work. At the manufacturing site, data was mainly used manually using Excel, and operations such as parts management and raw material mixing were highly personalized, relying on experience and intuition, and data was not being fully utilized.

To solve this problem, Kyocera trained its manufacturing site technicians as data engineers and worked to create a system that would develop human resources capable of solving problems independently without relying on the IT department. It introduced MotionBoard as its data utilization platform. The key reasons for choosing MotionBoard were:

- Intuitive screen design
- Real-time automatic updates to keep everyone up to date with the latest information
- Highly practical functions directly linked to on-site work

■Effects of implementation
Kyocera has been promoting practical support training for data engineers since April 2021, and has now produced over 200 data utilization personnel, achieving a 60% reduction in excess inventory by visualizing parts inventory. Furthermore, learning about the on-site problem-solving process using MotionBoard led to the establishment of a highly accurate materials management system, which led to a 94.6% reduction in material waste and a 75% reduction in work-related workload. The following are some examples of specific business improvements:

・Standardization of purchasing quantities by visualizing inventory and the order status of parts
Kyocera developed "inventory inquiry" and "order history" screens for parts. The inventory inquiry screen displays information about lots with upcoming expiration dates, encouraging on-site decisions on first-in, first-out, and the order history screen allows users to check order information, delivery date response dates, remaining order quantities, and other information at a glance, preventing over-ordering and reducing excess inventory by 60%.

・Standardization of material mixing operations in the manufacturing process of cutting tools 
A person in charge who was primarily used to simple manual work in Excel and did not even know the VLOOKUP function developed a system to manage a series of data from the input of raw materials to final inspection. For material mixing work, the relationship between the mixing contents and product characteristics has been visualized, standardizing the subjective judgment that previously relied on the experience and intuition of veteran workers. By clearly displaying normal and abnormal conditions, problems in the production process can be detected early.

・Working on condition optimization using machine learning 
In addition to data engineering training, data science training was also provided with the aim of optimizing conditions using machine learning, and a model was built to predict optimal blending conditions based on knowledge such as the contents of blending slips, fluctuations in values during processes, and the impact of each blending ratio.
As the model continues to operate, its accuracy improves, providing hints for improvements that would previously have gone unnoticed.

Kyocera currently has an educational program in place that can accommodate approximately 100 people per year. By using MotionBoard, students learn the entire process of processing and organizing scattered data, storing it in a database, and visualizing the data. They report their results at a final report meeting three months after the course, and their success stories are made public within the company on an alumni board created with MotionBoard.

MotionBoard has established a cycle of data utilization, capturing issues on the manufacturing floor with data, visualizing them, and linking them to action. It is now being used as the core of an educational program that promotes the evolution of smart factories.

■Use case 
URL: https://www.wingarc.com/product/usecase/1418.html (Japanese)

■Kyocera Corporation
Established: 1 April 1959
Location: 6 Takeda Tobadonocho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture
Main business: Manufacture and sale of major electronic components and electrical equipment, including fine ceramic parts, for four key markets: information and communications, automotive, environment and energy, and medical and healthcare.
URL: https://www.kyocera.co.jp/ (Japanese), https://global.kyocera.com/