Mr. Uchida made his first appearance the morning of the opening day in a panel discussion on the topic of “Winning Strategies for the Flat World.” Joining him on the stage were Andy Chatha, President of ARC; Sid Snitkin, Vice President of ARC; Tom Artz, CIO Global Refining, Chevron; Kevyn Renner, Chief Technologist, Control & Information Systems, Chevron; Michael Cannon, President & CEO, Solectron; Gerhard Klemont, CEO, Reliance Life Sciences; John Berra, President, Emerson Process Management; Ken Brown, Vice President and General Manager, Invensys Process Systems; and Dan Sheflin, CTO, Honeywell Automation and Control. Each panelist answered questions from the ARC and the audience that focused on reducing complexity -- turning data into useful information that could be used to make intelligent decisions.

In answer to questions directed at him, Mr. Uchida mentioned three Yokogawa initiatives -- One Global YOKOGAWA, Customer Centric Solutions, and Leading Edge Technology - and explained Yokogawa’s production strategy of “one virtual factory, centralized production, and in-market production.”

As in past ARC Forums where Gold Sponsors were allowed to give a speech and introduce a customer, Mr. Uchida took charge of the room, causing heads to lift from computer screens and eyes and ears to focus on him.

According to John Kuenzler, Director, ARC Strategic Advisory Services, “He always draws the crowds. His sense of humor and his ability to relax a crowd makes him a great speaker.”

This was never more true than in Yokogawa’s Gold Sponsor hospitality suite. As Mr. Uchida walked up to the podium, the usual scenario began. The room quieted immediately. Those sitting sat up straighter. Those standing went to claim a chair and sat forward in anticipation. Mr. Uchida welcomed everyone, gave his opening remarks, and then reached the point of the speech that has always had the crowd chuckling.

“Our CENTUM has greatly improved since last year’s ARC Forum,” Mr. Uchida said, a grin splitting across his face as people began shaking their heads and smiling at his explanation of the CENTUM’s (production control system) progress already realizing its seven nines goal. “Last year, I told you that we had gone from 99.9999953 to 99.9999954. That was a great improvement.

This year, I did the calculations myself. …Now we are 99.9999958. This is better. You agree?”
During the rest of his speech, Mr. Uchida emphasized Yokogawa’s belief that “A Commitment Made is a Commitment Kept.” He spoke of the Company’s success with its first two initiatives of the VigilantPlant campaign, Safety Excellence and Asset Excellence. “Since we launched the two excellence initiatives,” he said, “we have delivered on our promises by releasing a series of innovative and customer centric solutions… We have completed seamless DCS-SIS integration and made safety loop assets part of our integrated asset management solution, and are ready to share our direction for the third step - Production Excellence.”

Yokogawa explains Production Excellence as “non-stop improvement by goal-oriented automation.” “To drive non-stop improvement,” Mr. Uchida explained, “people must be armed with the right tools and environment that empower them to achieve their operational goals and keep improving.”

As part of its Gold Sponsorship, Yokogawa was also given the opportunity to show a tabletop exhibit. Here, the Company featured its new Consolidated Alarm Management System (CAMS) and its innovative solution for field device configuration and maintenance, FieldMate.

During the first morning, Fred Woolfrey and Yasunori Kobayashi conducted several demonstrations for BASF, ExxonMobil, Shell, and many others.

“This is a perfect forum for (Yokogawa),” said one member of the press. “Isn’t that what the VigilantPlant concept is about - turning data into useful information that helps you make intelligence decisions?”