Daikin HR Development for Data Utilization:Temporary transfer of talented new employees after in-house university program
Daikin established the Daikin Information and Communication Technology University (DICT) within the company in December 2017. Aiming to cultivate the next generation of ICT professionals, this two-year curriculum provides intensive ICT education for new employees wishing to participate. After completing the DICT instruction, these young employees from various departments within Daikin enter a program in which they are temporarily transferred outside the company. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Masaki Fujimoto, senior engineer at the Technology and Innovation Center (TIC) and manager leading this program, along with Shinya Ishiba and Yoshikazu Okamura, both of whom received a transfer assignment. Their comments provide an insight into the objectives of the training and the practical knowledge gleaned from experiencing it firsthand.
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──Could you tell us about your career since joining Daikin and current responsibilities?
Fujimoto: I serve as a senior engineer in the TIC Data Utilization Promotion Group. Our group's mission is to reform the company’s internal tasks using data. As part of this, I am responsible for promoting and supporting the SCM/ECM area, DX transformation of the production site, and internal data management. In addition, I oversee the temporary transfer assignments, and the two people joining me here have assignment experience and are my team members.
Ishiba: I joined the company in 2018 and as a first commencement DICT student, I was exposed to ICT technologies. After two years of in-house training, I was assigned to the Data Utilization Promotion Group and was placed in charge of the image inspection automation project. After that, I was temporarily transferred to HACARUS Inc. I have now returned to Daikin where I am responsible for business improvement centered around ECM.
Okamura: Like Ishiba, I also joined the company in 2018 and was a first commencement DICT student. For two years, I was involved in the construction and operation of a research GPU supercomputer. Afterwards, I was assigned to the Data Utilization Promotion Group and put in charge of introducing and implementing an inspection app to replace manual inspections, which I did right up until the start of my temporary assignment. Six months ago, I returned to Daikin from HACARUS Inc. after a one-year assignment. Now I’m working on business improvements around ECM, such as automating inspections using CAD.
──What is the purpose of the assignment program and the criteria for selecting assignees?
Fujimoto: At DICT, we are fostering digital HR who have both IT skills and business knowledge, but for the first commencement graduates, like Ishiba and Okamura, there were no upper-class students, so they had no role models to inspire them to think, “I want to be that type of employee with advanced digital skills.” For DICT graduates to quickly improve their own technical capabilities and serve as role models, we envisioned a HR development program that would leverage the strengths of outside companies and universities with high technical expertise.
I had some contacts at HACARUS Inc. from my previous job and knew the company to be an excellent AI venture specializing in image processing. Also, HACARUS Inc. retains Professor Kaoru Kawamoto from Shiga University, a university famous for data science, as an advisor. We see eye to eye with the professor's approach, which led us to ask HACARUS to allow our employees to temporarily transfer there. We wanted them to not only absorb the technology but also to absorb the venture spirit of a company like HACARUS Inc., which has an open corporate culture that can make fast decisions. And we wanted them to bring that experience to Daikin.
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────I would like to ask the two of you who were assigned from here. Why did you opt for this program?
Ishiba: After being assigned to the Data Utilization Promotion Group, I was working on one theme by myself while trying to keep up with the latest image processing technologies. At the time, there weren't many data scientists in the company, so I had no place to turn for advice on how to proceed with my work. As a result, I was feeling the challenge of having to figure things out on my own. So, I wanted to work closely with outside experts and gather knowledge. I thought this assignment would be a good opportunity, so I volunteered.
Okamura: Hearing Ishiba tell me that I had a temperament suited for a venture business sparked my interest in ventures. Ishiba was just returning from his assignment, so when asked about my own assignment, I eagerly replied that I wanted to go to a venture company. Like Ishiba, I had to work through things on my own, so my desire to gain proper experience was strong, which is why I wanted to be assigned there.
──Specifically, what kind of tasks did you perform at the workplace on your assignment?
Okamura: I was involved in the front-end development of HACARUS Check, HACARUS Inc.'s main visual inspection solution. Through this work, I was able to cover a wide range of areas, including hardware and database management. I also gained experience working in a team of five to develop the service. Being challenged in an environment surrounded by experts at a higher level than me was extremely beneficial. Unsurprisingly, the sense of speed was typical of a venture, and it was refreshing to be in an environment where any interesting idea that I came up with would immediately be incorporated.
Ishiba: During the assignment, I was mainly responsible for two tasks. One was in the medical field, where pathology image analysis was conducted. It involved automating the analysis of high-resolution pathology images. My team included data scientists from the medical field, which motivated me further since it offered insights across various sectors. The other project involved visual inspection of vehicles using a HACARUS Inc.'s algorithm.
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──Could you tell us about any lessons learned, changes in approach, or areas where you felt a measure of growth from the assignment?
Ishiba: The qualities of a data scientist can be categorized as "data analysis skills," "engineering skills," and "business skills," but I feel that data analysis skills were what I developed the most. My awareness of speed improved significantly from having to frantically keep up with everyone around me. I may be mistaken, but I do feel that I am around 40% faster now.
Before the assignment, I’d sometimes stumble and get knocked off stride, but now I have a clear understanding of how to approach problems, and my work has become considerably smoother. I have gained know-how on what kind of model would be best to apply for a specific issue.
Okamura: At HACARUS Inc., the close proximity to the customers provided a meaningful learning experience. At Daikin, the client was a colleague within the company, but at my assignment, the clients were actual customers deciding whether to buy a product, and my work directly affected sales. Delivery deadlines were strict, and I had to perform with a sense of urgency. Schedules were tight, and while I’d initially wondered, “Will I be okay,” I soon eliminated what was unnecessary and became laser-focused on what needed to be done and doing it. This gave me tremendous confidence and persuaded me to become more involved at a relatively early stage in the development process and remain involved through to delivery and after-sales support. In this way, I believe that my perspective on work greatly expanded.
──How have you applied this experience to your work at Daikin? Also, do you have any new expectations for your future career development?
Okamura: Since returning to Daikin, I have been involved in two themes being developed as a team. One is managerial, while the other involves hands-on duties. In both cases, I can now perform activities, from planning to setting milestones, that I never thought possible before. Greater deadline awareness, which I learned from HACARUS Inc., has also been useful in development. For my future career, I’m leaning to being a tech lead because I like technology, but I haven't made a firm decision yet. My assignment broadened my perspective and also increased my career options.
Ishiba: I continued with the product visual inspection theme until March 2023, and I think my assignment experience was put to good use there. From data acquisition to analysis and reporting, I was in charge of verifying the possibility of introducing an inspection system in its entirety in a short period of time. The know-how I learned at HACARUS Inc. was helpful in solving issues during the PoC phase. Instead of forcing a resolution of problems with a model, I was able to execute tasks without losing valuable time by using a workaround in business operations. I believe I've also acquired decision-making skills. For my future career, I now have an internal guideline and measure to assess the appropriateness of setting tasks for a theme, so I'd like to develop my own abilities in a position similar to that of a business data scientist.
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──Lastly, as the person overseeing the program, could you share your impressions and thoughts on the results of the temporary transfer of the participants?
Fujimoto: Both of them were transferred with different goals in mind, but I believe that they have brought back exactly the results that we were expecting
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We aimed for Ishiba to develop a unique skill set within data scientists - the ability to translate business challenges into data analysis. It seems that his one-year assignment and interaction with experts in the field gave him the needed confidence to execute his own ideas. I think that he can work toward his themes while being attentive to the benefits that are close to the users. In this respect, I feel that the purpose of his temporary transfer has been fully achieved.
On the other hand, Okamura was transferred to work as an IT engineer working alongside a tech lead. I feel that his experience of working in a challenging environment where technical consultation was not possible, directly interacting with customers, and meeting strict deadlines was an experience that can be positively applied to his current work.
At this point, neither of them has achieved a perfect score yet, but the lessons we hoped they would learn from their assignments outside the company have been well assimilated. I believe it's good to work toward a perfect score in the future. What they have absorbed from a year outside the company becomes an intrinsic part of them, and the question is how they can now enhance their capabilities. I'm looking forward to fostering their further growth. I have high hopes for their continued success.
※1.
Company Name: HACARUS, Inc.
Representative: Takashi Someda, CEO
Address: Oike Building 8F, 206 Takamiya-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-0835,Japan
Established：2014
URL：HACARUS INC.
※The information and profiles are based on the time of the interview.
Masaki Fujimoto
Senior Engineer, Technology and Innovation Center
Joined in April 2020. Originally from Nara Prefecture, he is responsible for IT technology related to data utilization.
“I aim to create an environment in which every department within the company can utilize data analysis.”
Shinya Ishiba
Technology and Innovation Center
Joined in April 2018. Originally from Osaka Prefecture, he is responsible for Utilization of data and IT technology in design development and manufacturing.
“I am committed to tackling everything from data collection to analysis and utilization in one go, and I aim to achieve business innovation based on ECM.”
Yoshikazu Okamura
Technology and Innovation Center
Joined in April 2018. Originally from Hiroshima Prefecture, he is responsible for IT technology related to data utilization.
“I aim to use data utilization technology as a tool to make development and manufacturing sites "more convenient and more enjoyable."
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