The Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology tackles research and technological development which transcends business boundaries and takes on the challenge of creating innovation

In January 2023, the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology was established to consolidate the research and development functions of Nikkiso’s businesses.

The aim here is to deepen the extent of Nikkiso’s technological capabilities and creating innovation. The concept of the Institute has three pillars: Interactions between engineers,  Development of engineers and technology, and Disseminating and sharing technologies.  In order to have this take shape, we are undertaking a variety of initiatives, including a “Research and Technology Festa, (R&T Festa)” where we have participants present and share information on the technological achievements of each of our businesses.

For this article, we interviewed four members of the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology about what things have been like behind the scenes of the Technology Festa, about the current state of the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology a year after its establishment, and about their vision for the future. Two of those individuals are Mr. Sato and Ms. Sakamoto, who put together the R&T Festa as executive members of the executive committee, an organization made up mainly of younger engineer. The other two are Mr. Yokoyama, who provided support to the aforementioned individuals, and Mr. Kinoshita, who leads the institute as the General Manager.

R&T Festa, where interactions between engineers are born

A day participants look forward to and where many interactions are born

From left to right: Sato, Sakamoto

——  I have heard that the R&T Festa was held for the first time as one of the efforts aimed at facilitating the realization of the spiral-up initiative comprised of the three pillars of Interactions between engineers,  Development of engineers and technology, and Disseminating and sharing technologies. Can you shed some light on what exactly the R&T Festa is?

Sato: It is an event where the engineering departments of each business come together to present the R&D achievements which have been yielded throughout the year. In past years, the event was held in the form of a technological presentation meeting which served as a forum for research presentations. This time around, however, we held the event as a “R&T Festa” with the aim of creating a festival of sorts where engineers would be able to share their achievements in a franker manner and interact with one another. 

Yokoyama: The technological presentation meeting involved a rather stiff image, so we wanted to break this image in a positive way and make it easier for everyone to participate and gain an understanding of what is going on at other businesses. I wanted to make it an event that everyone would look forward to, so we proposed the holding of the event as a sort of festival.

With a view to Nikkiso’s future growth, I asked Mr. Sato to serve as the Chair of the executive committee and Ms. Sakamoto to serve as the Vice Chair. This is something we did with the hope of fresh opinions and leadership provided by the younger generation. That’s how the initiative started.
 

——  What goals did you have in mind when it came to the R&T Festa?

Sato: Since we had been working at different locations and because the businesses that we were involved in were very different, I felt as though there were walls of sorts which existed between our engineering departments. Through the holding of the R&T Festa, we worked with the aim of thinning and breaking down those walls by generating interactions which transcended the boundaries between businesses.

—— What kind of things did you devise for the R&T Festa to generate such positive interactions?

Sato: In past years, we had only deployed the oral presentation. This year, however, we introduced the poster-based presentation as well to encourage everyone’s participation.

 In addition, in order for the participants to get a sense for the fact that our goals are all the same even though we are all working on different things, and to encourage participants to use their imagination based on the efforts of other engineering departments, we set several common themes and divided the presentations up among the various business for each theme. That way, the audience could hear presentations from a variety of businesses under the banner of a single theme.

 In addition, I think we were able to make it so that the R&T Festa served as a place to share ideas and insights through interactions facilitated by exchanges of opinions taking place during the general discussion sessions held for each common theme after presentations were given.

 Sakamoto: We also made efforts to share the R&T Festa with a wider audience by streaming the day’s events online and by having the materials used for poster presentations (digital posters) viewed by people in the manufacturing and marketing departments found at other locations.

The number of presenters was more than double that of previous years thanks to various efforts which were undertaken to promote interactions.

—— How were things on the day of the Technology Festa?

Sakamoto: When it came to the poster presentations, which were incorporated for the first time this year, I could see that conversations were lively based on what I saw in terms of the Q&A sessions. It was great to see interactions taking place between engineers from different divisions.

Research and Technology Festa (R&T Festa): Where participants presented the R&D achievements of each business to one another

Sato: The conversations were quite lively, with participants becoming quite excited about what certain technologies were capable of.   After the Q&A sessions, discussions were also held among those who were interested in the same topics, which I thought serve to create a good atmosphere.

 Of course, there are still some elements that are not quite perfect and there is much more that can be done to make in terms of having the event serve as a place for interactions and in terms of making it feel more like a festival. I do, however, feel that the ingenuity demonstrated and aims involved in this instance of the event have partially taken shape judging from the response.

—— What are your honest impressions of the event when looking back on the period spanning from the preparation stages to the actual day of the festival?

Sakamoto: While there were many difficulties when it came to establishing the direction and themes for the event and when it came to creating mechanisms serving to encourage interaction, I am very happy that so many people, both offline and online, were involved in the event. I myself was able to deepen interactions with people from other divisions, so to be frank, I am glad that we held this event.

 Exchanged opinions transcended divisional boundaries during poster presentations

Sato: It was a lot of hard work to prepare for the event because there were so many things to think about when it came to making it an event that everyone could easily participate in and that would generate a lot of interactions. As a result, however, a large number of people raising their hands to take part as presenters, more than doubled when compared to previous years. That is something that I was very happy about.

 It was also rewarding to hear people say at the reception taking place afterwards that the event was better than that of previous years. Of course, there were areas where things ought to be improved, and I have my own areas to reflect on as well. First and foremost, however, I am just glad that we were able to successfully see the event through to the end.

Yokoyama: The fact that outside board members were interested in participating in the event also makes me feel as though the event has indeed become a festival of sorts that everyone can feel free to participate in.

General Manager Yokoyama

The success of the event, despite the short preparation period, was thanks to the effort of Mr. Sato, Ms. Sakamoto, and the other members of the executive committee. Of course, I’ll do my best as well, so let’s work together to make the event even better next year.

Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology: Nikkiso’s new base for research and technological development

Developing technologies that transcend business boundaries to continue meeting customer expectations

——I understand that the start of the new initiative, Technology Festa, took place against the backdrop of the establishment of the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology. Can you tell us about what kind of base it is?

Kinoshita: The Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology is an R&D institute which serves to consolidate the organizations responsible for technical development within each of Nikkiso’s businesses (Industrial Business, Aerospace Business, and Medical Business) and oversees them across the board.

 Approximately 400 engineers gather at the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology in Higashimurayama City in Tokyo to work on areas such as product research, the development of improvements, product design, and quality assurance.

General Manager Kinoshita

—— How did the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology come into being?

Kinoshita: In order to adapt to various changes in the environment and continue to meet the expectations of our customers, working on development without clinging to the technologies we have developed thus far and building a new foundation are things we must do.

That is why we thought that we should have a base where we could work on development and design with a mindset rooted in creating innovation of even higher dimensions after parting ways with the past ways of doing things, which would usually involve focuses on improvements and modifications. We therefore established the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology as a place to conduct research and technological development beyond the borders existing between business segments. 

Generating innovation through spiral-up initiatives involving Interactions between engineers, Development of engineers and technology, and Disseminating and sharing technologies

——  What kind of base do you want to see the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology become? What is your vision for or concept behind the new base?

Kinoshita: To realize the long-term vision set forth in Nikkiso’s medium-term business plan, which is to be a Manufacturing Transformer that continues to support the evolution of society through manufacturing, our aim for the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology is to have it serve as a base for creating something indispensable that will support society a hundred years into the future.

And the concept we have adopted to make that a reality consists of the three pillars ofInteractions between engineers,  Development of engineers and technology, and Disseminating and sharing technologies.

 That means developing talent and technology by engaging in research and development while actively interacting with one another and disseminating and sharing the results yielded by that research to people both inside and outside the company. We hope to create innovation by creating a spiral of new interactions with dissemination serving as a catalyst, and which has us developing talent and technology based on the feedback we receive with respect to our dissemination.

 In fact, I myself have had a bird’s eye view of the activities of each business as a Director, but it was not until I arrived at this research institute that I was able to get a certain sense for and really understand what kind of products we have and what kind of value we deliver to what kind of customers.

 When I look at it from the new perspective I gained here, various ideas come to mind, such as the idea that certain technologies could be used in certain businesses, or the idea that Nikkiso’s manufacturing could be improved by applying a certain technology to a certain area. I have growing expectations that we will surely be able to generate wonderful innovations.

Continue to take on challenges and not be bound by the existing ways of doing things

Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology, where various possibilities and ideas are born

—— It has been a year since the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology was established. Do you feel that the institute is beginning to function as a place where innovation and synergy can be generated?

Kinoshita: Many such possibilities and ideas are beginning to emerge, such as those which have us able to create something new by deploying the know-how possessed by a certain engineering  department, or which have us taking a step toward the kind of engineering development which could not have been conceived by a certain engineering department alone.

There are also things which have taken form as concrete initiatives, such as those involving the development CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic), which the Aerospace Business specializes in handling, for use in machines handled by the Industrial Business. There is also the development of in-depth simulations for design work undertaken through collaborations with engineers specializing in computer simulations who are engineer at the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology. Although we are still halfway down the road to where we want to be, I do believe that more synergies will emerge going forward.

Yokoyama: Having both engineers and research facilities gathered at one base is also something that is very significant. We find it all to be very convenient since we can walk about five minutes to have our own technologies tried out at other  engineering departments, or to have other engineering departments allow us to get some experience with their technologies. Efforts to exchange knowledge and skills will naturally and steadily increase in the future. There is no doubt that this will produce effects as we move forward.

Aiming for a research institute where we can rely on one another and take on challenges without fear of failure

—— Thank you very much. Finally, what are your thoughts when it comes to the future?

Kinoshita: In order to meet the high demands of our customers, who are professionals in a variety of fields, we must not only possess advanced technological capabilities; we must also deliver our products quickly so as not to be left behind in this changing world.

 Rather than developing products from scratch at the request of customers, it will be important to have a “drawer” of sorts with various technologies at the ready, to design products in a manner whereby we extract the most suitable technologies from that collection in accordance with customer requests, and to provide high quality products at the appropriate time.

 We would like to make the Nikkiso Institute of Research and Technology a solid research and technological division with many such “drawers” of technology and make it a base for deepening the technological capabilities that form the foundation of our businesses.

 In the process of doing so, I think it is important for engineers to be excited and have fun, so I would like to make it the mission of this Institute of Research and Technology to provide an environment that is appealing to work in.

 Yokoyama: Since specialists in various fields are all gathered in such close proximity that immediate consultation with one another is possible, I would like all of our engineers to work with peace of mind while relying on one another. I believe that a sense of security and satisfaction in relation to the environment will lead to the ability to enjoy work and to fulfillment when it comes to the work that one is doing.

 Kinoshita: Failure is an inevitable part of research and development, as well as technological development, so I would like to see us create an institute where failure is something that is allowed to take place. I believe that being able to take on challenges without fear of failure and learning from failures so that we no longer fail, is something that will lead to innovation. With that in mind, I have high hopes that these two individuals and other young engineer will be able to make this happen.

 Sato: Listening to you both, the feeling I had is that I would like to make the Research and Technology Festa an opportunity to change everyone’s mindsets various ways. I’d like people to know that when they see a problem, that they can consult with one another, that they can view the problems of other technological departments as their own and help one another, and that it is okay to fail. Ultimately, we would be happy if we could reach a state where we understand what one another is doing and can interact with one another even in the absence of this event.

 To that end, I would like to act on my own as an engineer and spread the word to the engineers around me so that we can continue our efforts and not let ourselves just be satisfied with the success we saw take place on this occasion.

 Sakamoto: It would be ideal for the walls between business segments to become thinner and thinner and be broken down through various opportunities for interactions, such as the Research and Technology Festa. I would like to participate more actively on such occasions myself and increase the number of connections I have throughout our entire organization.

 Kinoshita: It will be important to deepen the level of thinking in terms of technological management on the part of our management team so that younger people can proactively engage in such activities. I felt once again that spiral-up initiatives involving Interactions between engineers,  Development of engineers and technology, and Disseminating and sharing technologies would serve as important keys.