The following blog article is the last of three parts (to the first part / to the second part) and deals with “Customer Satisfaction” and an interview with Hideyuki Nakaya of the Facilities Department’s Electricity Section, who led the project, and Satoshi Ikawa of the General Affairs Section.
Customer Satisfaction
We spoke in this connection with Hideyuki Nakaya of the Facilities Department’s Electricity Section, who led the project, and Satoshi Ikawa of the General Affairs Section.
What do you see as the benefits of the new virtual network?
“With the integration of our factory and office area networks, people now have access to all essential data. We see an improvement in security levels and efficiency, with dual management no longer necessary.”
“Our expertise in networking has improved, as we have been able to move forward with the project with support from Yokogawa experts. We usually change our network settings and troubleshoot problems ourselves, and only ask Yokogawa for support when necessary.”
“The switchover took just around 30 minutes. Our employees may not even have noticed the change.”
“Of course, no security issues have occurred.”
What is your impression of Yokogawa’s Plant Network Security Monitoring Service?
“The key to the success of our new virtual network was the Plant Network Security Monitoring Service. Normally, we would have to train and increase the number of people with specialized knowledge. However, with this solution, there was no need to do so.”
“We are very happy with the remote support from Yokogawa. It allows us to share the status of the network infrastructure and get advice at any time. When we faced a problem the other day, I worked on identifying the root cause and contacted Yokogawa for support. We looked into it together and solved the issue within 20 minutes of occurrence.”
“The monthly report is also very informative. I could see how the plant network was being used, and I realized that threats do exist there. The visualization has helped raise awareness of network security.”
What kind of security management is required at biomass power companies?
“There is a voluntary initiative by the industry association, where an annual interview is performed to see if appropriate security measures are taken. We are pleased that our plant has been rated above the average.”
Please share your future initiatives with us.
“Although a safe, secure and efficient network infrastructure has been established, we believe it is necessary to continue using the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycle to optimize operational quality management and continuously provide training to employees. We still have a lot to do. We hope that Yokogawa will also provide support with our initiatives and activities in the future.”
Project Manager Mr. Shouichi Doi
SI Service Sec., Business Incubation Dept., Lifecycle Service Business Division
IA Systems and Service Business HQ, Yokogawa Electric Corporation.
Our project manager, Shouichi Doi, reports as follows …
As the customer’s trusted automation partner, we have the necessary deep OT / IT knowledge and comprehensive understanding of their business operations. We were able to develop complete solutions to the problem, and eventually implement them, together with the customer in line with ‘Co-innovating tomorrow’.
Any revamp of the plant network architecture is a huge challenge, as unfortunately it may well cause interference with running plant operation. When executing the switchover from the conventional network to the virtual network, we took each step resolutely together with the customer and spent a few days at the site to monitor whether everything was fine, so that we could address the client’s concerns.
Our ‘Next Generation Industrial Network Security Solution’ allows us to collaborate hand-in-hand with the customer’s expert team, to efficiently achieve and maintain the intended security level. We are available to support our customer at any time with the essential know-how, with the emphasis permanently on business continuity.
Plant security – a management issue
It was clear to Hyogo Pulp Industries that ensuring plant security is an issue for the management. Through business impact analyses, they now also evaluate and assess cyber risks in this age of digital evolution. In doing so, they are laying the foundation for the use of innovative key technologies. One of the next activities in the pipeline will entail introducing cloud-based ERP solutions to increase productivity.
