Speech by SMS Koh Poh Koon at the launch of Makino Asia’s Smart Factory in Singapore

Mr. Yoshiki Ueda, Vice-Chairman and Representative Director, Makino Milling Machines Company Limited,

Mr. Shinichi Inoue, President and Representative Director, Makino Milling Machines Company Limited,

Mr. Sankaran, Vice-Chairman, Makino Asia,

Mr. Neo Eng Chong, CEO and President, Makino Asia

Distinguished guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Good morning

Opening remarks

1. I am pleased to join you today to mark the launch of Makino Asia’s Smart Factory in Singapore. 

2. Makino Asia was amongst the wave of Japanese investments during the early days of Singapore’s industrialisation, establishing itself in Singapore in 1973. Over the years, the company continued to deepen its capabilities in Singapore, and eventually transferring its global product charters from Japan to Singapore in 2009. Makino also sited its Global Training Centre, as well as its headquarters for Southeast Asia, China and India in Singapore.

3. Today’s launch of the Smart Factory signifies another key milestone in the company’s growth and transformation in Singapore. Advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing, robotics and augmented reality, are already transforming our production processes and supply chain configurations. Makino Asia understands the opportunities brought about by digital technologies and advanced manufacturing, and is transforming itself to collect, analyse and disseminate data-driven insights to enable greater flexibility and productivity in operations.

Manufacturing re-design with digitalisation technology

4. Manufacturing has been and will continue to be a key pillar of the Singapore economy. In 2018, it contributed more than 20 percent of our GDP and 14 percent of our total employment. The growth prospects within the manufacturing sector remain strong. Additive manufacturing, for example, is growing rapidly at over 20% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) annually.

5. To sharpen and sustain Singapore’s manufacturing competitiveness in the Precision Engineering (PE) Industry, the government rolled out the PE Industry Transformation Map (ITM) in Oct 2016. We are investing in promising growth sectors including additive manufacturing and robotics. In 2017, more than 4,400 industrial robots were installed here in Singapore, ranking us second in the world in terms of robot density per worker^_[1].

6. Beyond just investment and adoption of robotics technology, we are also building up our manpower capabilities in additive manufacturing across the Institutes of Higher Learning and Research Institutes. The Government has supported the training of over 600 researchers and engineers at the postgraduate and specialist diploma levels till date. By middle of this year, SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) will also publish the refreshed PE SkillsFuture Skills Framework with updates to guide local workers in acquiring the requisite skills and competencies to capture growth opportunities.

Digitalisation of manufacturing can benefit the workforce

7. Under the PE ITM framework, we also outlined our intent to support companies in their transformation journey through the Smart Factory projects. I am glad that Makino Asia has taken on the challenge to implement its S$100m Smart Factory here, with state-of-the-art automation and a solid foundation to continually innovate and implement advanced manufacturing processes. The success of a Smart Factory depends not just on the capital investment in technologies and hardware but also on preparing the workforce with the right mindset and equipping them with the necessary skillsets and know-how to support the transformation.

8. It is heartening to know that in preparing the workforce for the Smart Factory, Makino Asia has engaged the union, in this case the Metal Industries Workers Union (MIWU) branch committee, for inputs to curate a customised course with Temasek Polytechnic, so that its employees could learn about Industry 4.0 as well as the future roadmap of Makino Asia. More than 500 workers and management staff of Makino Asia have attended the course.

9. Following the training, workers are better equipped to leverage digital connectivity, drawing data on operations and machine conditions from sensors. Both managers and production workers can now view the latest operational and administrative updates from the mobile devices. With information readily available at their fingertips, managers and workers are able to plan and execute task flows more efficiently.

10. The Smart Factory transformation has translated into new opportunities for workers. Take for example Mr Alvin Lee. After graduating with a Precision Engineering diploma from Nanyang Polytechnic and a few years of work experience in the precision injection moulding sector, he joined Makino Asia in 2017 as an assistant production engineer in the machining factory. In the midst of Smart Factory transformation, Alvin attended courses at NUS and Temasek Polytechnic in mechanical engineering and Industry 4.0, and also benefited from overseas training opportunities offered by Makino Asia. Today, Alvin is an automation engineer with the Smart Factory team. Having started his career in mould-making, Alvin is now integrating robotics to automate work processes previously done manually.

11. Makino Asia’s support and investment in workers like Alvin is a demonstration of how workers can contribute to the company’s growth and transformation. On the other hand, workers must also be at the heart of the transformation process and benefit from the new opportunities that company transformation brings. I hope more employers and workers will be inspired and join this effort.

12. People Development remains key to successful Industry 4.0 transformation. Leveraging the strong labour-management relations with MIWU, I would like to strongly encourage Makino Asia to consider setting up a Company Training Committee (CTC) as a platform to involve representatives from both the management and union in their change management process. This will better engage workers and allow them to be active participants in Makino Asia’s transformation journey, contributing valuable insights and ideas in operationalising the new work processes.

Digitalisation transforming Solution Provision and Service Delivery

13. Digitalisation also changes the way companies deliver solutions and services. I understand Makino Asia will be showing their new Smart Glasses capabilities, which link engineers based in Singapore directly to shop-floor environment overseas. These Smart Glasses incorporate augmented reality features, displaying crucial information to the user to support accurate decision-making in real-time. These may include isolating a technical fault or recommending changes to maintenance routines.

14. The Smart Glasses innovation also represents another way in which manufacturers can partner Singapore’s digitally-savvy workforce to deliver new digital services. With real-time information transmitted directly, the experience and knowledge of locally-based engineers can transcend physical boundaries to effectively and remotely support customers across the world.

Concluding Remarks

15. At the launch of the PE ITM back in 2016, the Government hoped to catalyse the first wave of manufacturing digitalisation. I am pleased to know that Makino Asia is one of the first to embark on their digitalisation journey, and today we see the fruits of their labour, and this may just be the beginning.

16. I am confident that Makino Asia’s Smart Factory will provide it with a solid foundation to capture new opportunities in advanced manufacturing. We look forward to deepening Singapore’s partnership with Makino, and wish you every success for the future. Thank you.

[1] Source: International Federation of Robotics World Robotics 2018