3 Promoting sustainability management
DX Strategy

　Recognizing that DX promotion is essential for maintaining and strengthening our competitiveness and developing new business areas, we launched the DX Promotion Team in June 2022 and have established a system to work on DX on a company-wide basis. In the 26 Medium-Term Management Plan, DX continues to be an important theme and is positioned at the core of our growth strategy. In the future, it is expected that it will become difficult to secure labor in Japan and, even in a labor-constrained society, improving efficiency and saving labor throughout the entire supply chain will be important in order to fulfill our supply responsibilities. We will solve these problems with the power of DX. Our main initiatives include production process innovation (smart factories) and streamlining of administrative work (smart offices). We will focus on developing DX human resources to effectively promote these initiatives. We will position our DX strategy as a key driver for achieving our ideal vision for the Taiheiyo Cement Group, and will work to achieve sustainable growth and strengthen our competitiveness.

　We are developing a centralized management system for kiln operation at domestic and overseas plants, a support system by expert operators and an automated kiln operation system, and are considering unmanned nighttime operation. For example, in the calcination process it is necessary for the operator to make various adjustments while checking the inside of the kiln. We are attempting to automate this process using AI, and its accuracy is improving. We are test-introducing this initiative at the Kamiiso Plant and plan to roll it out to other plants in the future. In addition, we will introduce advanced equipment inspection methods, such as automatic collection of on-site instrument data and AI-based life span prediction, and a drone-based equipment inspection system. We are also promoting the automation and labor-saving of plant site work, such as through the introduction of remote-control systems for heavy machinery and selfdriving trucks, automation of bagged cement loading, and the introduction of ICT in visitor management and safety education.

　We are also working to improve the efficiency of our administrative work. For example, we are using automated workflow tools and data analysis tools. We are using AI to conduct demand forecasts and developing a system that can be used in daily sales and production activities. In addition, we are considering the efficient allocation of human capital by centralizing the operations of our administrative divisions at our headquarters. This will make it possible to reduce duplicate work at each site and allocate highly specialized personnel to the most appropriate locations. We are also promoting the elimination of borders in terms of the workplace through the use of remote work. We will streamline administrative work in conjunction with the automation of plant operations, and develop a system to prepare for the coming of a labor-constrained society.

Promoting the use of tablets
(CalPortland Company Research Center)

Promoting the use of tablets
(CalPortland Company ready-mixed concrete plant (Las Vegas area))

　We plan to develop more than 450 DX human resources during the period of the 26 Medium-Term Management Plan through cooperation between the Information - Technology Planning Group and business divisions. We will develop about 150 "core personnel for digital planning" who will be expected to identify challenges at each business site and play a central role in resolving them using digital technologies. The remaining 300 will be "advanced personnel in digital utilization" who will acquire the skills to master the use of the automated workflow tools that have been introduced. We will also provide DX literacy training to all employees to raise the level of the entire workforce. We will promote the development of human resources who will be the driving force behind the promotion of smart factories and smart offices.