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Partnering for the greater good
Hitachi Asia’s Social Innovation Business is co-creating technological solutions with partners to address some of the region’s social challenges.
Amid an increasingly complex and interconnected global landscape, it is becoming more difficult to solve today’s social challenges with the resources of a single organisation, no matter how large that organisation may be.
These social issues can affect millions, making it crucial for governments and businesses to combine complementary skills and capabilities. Collaboration and co-creation have become the new normal.
READ: Fuelling sustainable solutions through technology
Hitachi Asia's Social Innovation Business has been contributing to the search for solutions to a wide range of issues in ASEAN; from working with companies to support their digital transformation efforts to collaborating with medical professionals to improve treatments for patients.
Cancer is among the leading causes of death in Singapore. Hitachi Asia and the National Cancer Center Singapore (NCCS) are developing new solutions to fight cancer. Photo: Shutterstock
POWERING GOOD IN THAILAND 4.0
Hitachi’s Lumada Centre in Thailand’s Chonburi province is helping to bring IoT and open data technologies across ASEAN.
Hitachi Asia’s collaborative creation with customers has accelerated with the establishment of Lumada, a facility that develops advanced customised digital solutions, services and technologies for turning data into insights to drive digital innovation.
For instance, the Lumada Center Southeast Asia is helping companies in Thailand navigate the economy’s rapid digital transformation under the Thailand 4.0 plan. Opened in 2018, the centre is located in Chonburi, which is slated to be one of three smart cities along Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor. Among other activities, the facility offers manufacturers Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to save costs and enhance productivity.
Problem-solving and co-creation play an important part in realising the Lumada Center’s objectives. Lumada Center is working with a team from Siam Cement Group (SCG) to improve the efficiency of its Thung Song Cement factory. As part of the project, Hitachi sent an expert to the factory to co-create a solution with the SCG team.
The project also aims to analyse the use of potential innovative technologies across SCG’s different businesses. To achieve its goals, the team collected data using sensors and overhead cameras at the plant, which monitor overall efficiency.
Another initiative focuses on transforming the manufacturing industry through smart analytics and artificial intelligence by developing ways to enhance load curves or lower energy consumption, for instance. In the next phase, it will work on solutions to reinforce a client’s supply chain by linking up multiple businesses to share resources and optimise logistics and planning.
Mr Yoshito Kodama, managing director, Hitachi Asia (Thailand), said: “Lumada Center is not a building, it is not a showroom. It’s a centre for co-creation, to bring our technology and prepare our people for the digital age.”
SUPPORTING THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
The new Proton Therapy Centre that is slated to open at the National Cancer Centre Singapore by 2022 could change the way oncologists treat cancer.
Cancer is a serious issue in Singapore. According to Health Promotion Board statistics, between 2010 and 2014, 61,522 cases of cancer were diagnosed in Singapore – an average of 34 cases each day. In this same period, 25,731 people died from cancer each year.
In Singapore, Hitachi Asia is working with the National Cancer Center Singapore (NCCS) to help develop new solutions to fight cancer.
A new 24-storey centre for NCCS is slated for completion in 2022, and will offer patients access to the latest solutions for cell therapy, cancer rehabilitation and education. One exciting feature of the centre is the Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre. Unlike traditional radiation therapy that targets tumour cells but can also affect healthy tissue, a Proton Therapy System offers more precise methods in treating tumours.
“We are able to spare patients the side effects that are associated with radiotherapy,” said Professor William Hwang, medical director at NCCS. Hitachi Asia provided NCCS with the advanced real-time imaging technology used in the Proton Therapy System.
“We aim to be a long-term partner of professionals in Singapore and also in the region to build a society in which everyone can live in good health,” said Mr Casey Tsui, senior sales manager, Industrial Products Business Unit, Hitachi Asia Ltd.
CO-CREATING SOLUTIONS ACROSS ASEAN
Hitachi’s work with SCG and NCCS are just some examples of how the company collaborates with partners in powering good across the region.
Hitachi also works with companies in the finance, mobility, agriculture, and urban development sectors, among others, to make the world smarter, safer and healthier. In the longer term, it aims to bring IoT and open-data technologies to more companies across ASEAN.
Date of Release: February 2020
This story is done in collaboration with Mediacorp Brand Studio and first published on CNA.ASIA
