Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to establish new “Digital Innovation Headquarters” to transform customer business models through “Smart Connections”

June 22, 2022

Digital innovations incorporating MHI’s core competences

･ MHI has core competence in high-precision digital control and high-security technologies for assured operation of complex machines and social infrastructures in such areas as defense and nuclear energy. Superior reliability is achieved in operating machines flexibly in a broad range of environments: from deep sea to outer space, cryotemperatures to extreme heat, and low-speed to ultra-high-speed operation.
･ Highly demanding areas such as these require continuous updating of machine systems’ internal operating data and of advanced analysis and simulation technologies, as well as continuous enhancement of digital control capability and use of AI. MHI, with a portfolio of more than 500 product groups, has accumulated diverse data and expertise in everything from development to operation and maintenance.
･ To capitalize on these corporate strengths and respond to rapidly changing social needs, MHI creates and provides new value through “smart connections” of products and digital technologies. The Digital Innovation Headquarters is being established to further accelerate this transformation.

Effective July 1st, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will add a new “Digital Innovation Headquarters” to its corporate organization. Until now, the Company has sought to strengthen its product competitiveness through ICT solutions encompassing communication network technologies, information processing technologies, etc., with a focus on developing new solutions and expanding current solutions. Going forward, in order to respond to the increasingly diverse needs of the future, under the new headquarters MHI will concentrate on expanding its digital strategies, digital platforms and digital transformation (DX) promotion functions.

MHI Group’s Unique Digital Innovations
To carry out the Company’s shift in orientation, in addition to pursuing intelligence and autonomous operation in the machine systems provided by its group companies, MHI will pursue “smart connections” by coordinating the machine systems vital to society and adding intelligence to social systems, in a quest to achieve secure social infrastructures.

MHI already has a solid record in digital plant operation control (DIASYS Netmation®) and remote monitoring and automated plant operation (TOMONI_™). These and other DX infrastructure technologies have given the Company accumulated expertise in modeling and simulation technologies, based on extensive research, development and field verification; data collection and analytics technologies, derived from operation and maintenance based on abundant operational experience; and AI technologies that have been applied in diverse products and systems. In addition, through integration of security technologies cultivated through the Company’s defense products, etc., MHI aims to provide solutions in safety and security.

In recent years MHI Group has set its target on introducing not only individual new technologies but also technologies that enable digital optimization and operation of multiple products as a package. This solution concept has been named “ΣSynX”(Note1). The objective here is not to collect and analyze data from multiple customers, but rather to achieve comprehensive digital optimization of multiple plants and machines operated by a specified customer.

Going forward, using MHI Group’s unique operational data relating to digital technologies, the Company will provide new digital value by accelerating “smart connections” between products and digital technologies.

Fig.2 DX supporting joint solution creation with the customer — Fig.1 DX supporting joint solution creation with the customer

Outline of the new organization
The new headquarters is being established to powerfully drive forward the Company’s digital business.

The new headquarters will focus on strategic functions by making decisions concerning the digital strategy directions of the entire MHI Group, building digital-driven infrastructure and operating across divisions, developing DX human resources, and overseeing governance, resource optimization, etc.
The new headquarters will target further value creation through cross-divisional use of digital assets and ecosystem building, and will undertake cross-organizational promotion of use of software and other digital product-related modular designs and digital platforms.
The new headquarters will address development of digital services and applications relating to customer contacts in the business segments; and agile development functions(Note2) in integrated monitoring, operation, and other digital platforms; and also focus on promoting digital experience and digital platform development.