Professors Jan Albert Van Mieghem and Achal Bassamboo at world-renown Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, have been focused on delivering ground-breaking MBA course content for their "Strategic Decisions in Operations" syllabus. This important area is one that is fast-moving and critical for tomorrow's business titans to really cut through the hype to get to the real deliverables. To support this, the Kellogg professors asked Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation business leaders to work with them to provide insights and detailed case studies that could be used to illustrate the impact of Autonomous Automation and Smart Operations on the factory floor.   In a further step, president of Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc., Scott Summerville, was joined by global IIoT evangelist Hajime Sugiyama, from Mitsubishi Electric, Japan, in a joint online discussion group kicked-off this February. It was aimed at explaining Mitsubishi Electric's e-F@ctory approach, sharing real life experiences and outlining future expectations, each being important steps to solve the jigsaw of Digital Manufacturing.

Supporting the increasing focus on digital manufacturing and IoT, Mitsubishi Electric has renewed its SCADA lineup, now offering two types of software for system monitoring and process control under the series name “GENESIS64”, replacing the existing “MC Works64” SCADA software. The new lineup will meet the diversifying IoT needs, covering a wide variety of purposes from small production line monitoring and control to multi-site monitoring and business intelligence (BI) of plant-wide systems, process automation as well as utility and building automation. The “GENESIS64 Basic SCADA” is an entry-level software with essential functions for small production lines, and the “GENESIS64 Advanced Application Server” is a full SCADA suite for large-scale monitoring of factories, buildings and utilities.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and long-term e-F@ctory solution partner Eplan are strengthening their digital solution's collaboration further as Mitsubishi Electric joins Eplan's new partner network; an initiative to further facilitate the structured implementation of digital manufacturing.

Industry 4.0 and digital processes are indispensable for future manufacturing growth. While many companies understand the importance of automation, they sometimes struggle to make it a reality. They need a strong partner with the know-how to guide them.

Targeted at commercial facilities, factories and other buildings, Mitsubishi Electric launches its new air circuit breakers (ACBs) with a breaking capacity of up to 50kA. The new range, called "AE V Series C-class", offers a number of built-in features that reduce the need for multiple additional accessories. For example, when utilizing the built-in solenoid for remote operation the traditional motor charging devices and closing coils can be dispensed with as the breaker only requires an appropriately matched shunt trip device. This helps to eliminate additional parts that were previously required to achieve remote operation.

Social distancing, protecting your employees, restarting operations and machines, catching up on supply chain gaps. Just like society as a whole, manufacturers are experiencing a lot of additional challenges they didn’t expect, and to top it all many are facing reduced budgets. So how do you navigate the new manufacturing norm?

In spite of advancing digitalization, the following still applies: Manual workstations are indispensable, because automation is not always profitable with small batch quantities or complex processes. Such workstations are preferred at the Martinshof Werkstatt Bremen, a sheltered workshop for a mixed workforce including people with handicaps, as they are ideally suited for integrating persons with physical or cognitive handicaps into working life.

Mitsubishi Electric, a sponsor of the International Tunneling Symposium, attracted attention by its innovative technologies.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced that its Graphic Operation Terminal GOT2000 Series, a type of human-machine-interface (HMI), would add a Rugged Model to enable workers to monitor, operate and adjust machines that operate under extreme conditions, including very high temperatures, extra-bright lighting, strong vibrations or shock, and high water pressure.

The application of e-F@ctory at Mitsubishi Electric’s Kani manufacturing facility, part of its Nagoya Works, Japan, has led to a number of hugely beneficial outcomes. For instance, by redesigning the process and reintegrating a human element where there was once 100% automation, a single line that previously occupied 280sqm has been reduced to a cell of just 44.1sqm. This 84% reduction in space means that the productivity of each square metre of production hall had been increased through greater utilisation.