Japanese Manufacturers to use blockchain to share data

In Japan, hundreds of manufacturers, including Mitsubishi Electric and Yaskawa Electric, will use blockchain for sharing production data among companies in order to improve efficiency. The project is set to begin next spring and will be overlooked by the Industrial Value Chain Initiative.

They say that up until now, manufacturers have closely guarded their data on production. Mainly because it was linked to the competitiveness with other companies. But now they have cut all the lines and want to share data with each other to improve the performance. They have come up with a project that lets participants decide on how much data they are willing to share. Whether those are one, two, three companies. Also, they can choose whether to charge a fee for this information or not. The Idustrial Value chain initiative manufacturing group will oversee the project. Such companies as Mitsubishi Electric, Yaskawa Electric, and DMG Mori, which are very competitive companies in the global arena, are also expected to join the project. Essentially, Japan wants to lift its manufacturing sector as a whole by just attracting companies and big corporations with their new blockchain technologies. However, small players also will be able to join.

“For example, parts suppliers could begin mass production faster if an electronics manufacturer shares the data from computerized numerical control machine tools,” writes Nikkei Asia.

Also, when sharing usage data, because of blockchain, machine tool makers and their clients can know better when to expect service repairs and organize the order of new details in advance. “Blockchain technology, which underpins virtual currencies through a shared digital ledger, will be applied to this project. It is expected to lower the risk of data leaks compared with managing the information on servers, as well as reduce operating costs,” writes the source.