In plant operations, the primary focus is on enhancing plant reliability to ensure safe and stable operations. Beyond this, we pursue advanced maintenance and operational efficiency. Achieving these goals requires a platform that organically integrates operational data, maintenance information and human expertise, enabling seamless digital connectivity and data circulation.
Human expertise also plays a crucial role. To properly understand and analyze operational and maintenance data, a deep understanding of design knowledge and industry-wide experience is essential. Our company and our group company, Chiyoda X-ONE Engineering (CXO), have accumulated extensive knowledge from handling regular maintenance projects after plant handover. This includes insights derived from past plant designs and post-handover operations.
Our expert group, Chiyoda Advanced Solutions (ChAS), specializes in troubleshooting, analysis and diagnostics. By leveraging their databases and expertise, we have developed a suite of solutions to support the safe and efficient operation of plants, branded as plantOS^TM. This initiative reflects our commitment to ensuring ’Business Safety’; providing plant owners with peace of mind and secure business operations. With plantOS^TM, equipment ‘speaks’, past decision-making ‘remains visible’, and the next generation of engineers is empowered to ‘make informed judgments’.

Among the solutions offered within plantOS^TM, one standout achievement is the LNG Plant AI Optimizer (LAIO).
LAIO addresses the unique cooling efficiency challenges faced by LNG plants. By combining engineering data with real-time weather data, this AI application improves production efficiency by 1–5% annually without compromising safety. The resulting financial impact ranges from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of yen, representing a significant contribution to operational profitability.
Furthermore, operational challenges identified overseas are largely consistent with those observed domestically. This confirms the potential for expanding our services into non-EPC domains as a new business model, paving the way for a ‘New Chiyoda’.

Our strengths lie in combining ChAS' diagnostic and analytical expertise with CXO's capabilities to deliver comprehensive Operation and Maintenance (O&M) solutions. By integrating digital and physical (field operation) solutions, we provide a hybrid value proposition.
For example, engineers and customers can collaboratively review operational data, maintenance records and design information from plants. This enables the optimization of inspection, repair tasks and scheduling during regular maintenance activities. The fusion of digital tools with physical expertise ensures a highly efficient and informed approach to plant operations.

Customers often face challenges in bringing research-stage innovations to societal implementation in a fast, accurate and cost-effective manner. Over the years, we have contributed to scale-up and continuous process development of plants in fields like petroleum, petrochemicals and LNG. Recently, the AI Process Simulator developed for operational support has proven effective in this domain.
Simulations are critical during the early stages of plant engineering when physical prototypes are unavailable. These simulations assist in sizing equipment and conducting risk evaluations, including fluid dynamics modeling. Veteran engineers traditionally relied on their chemical engineering expertise to construct limited scenarios for evaluation. However, with advancements in simulation technology, and more recently with the integration of AI, the AI Process Simulator enables the rapid creation of large-scale patterns with high precision.

One notable application is the ’Cultivation Digital Twin’. This solution virtually models cell cultivation processes for biopharmaceuticals. By combining statistical approaches with physical model-based techniques, the simulator performs CFD^*7 equivalent simulations at high speed, enabling early-stage evaluation of cultivation reaction processes that were previously difficult to assess. This provides invaluable support in accelerating new drug development for societal implementation.

• ７：A simulation technique that uses numerical calculations to model fluid behavior and heat transfer, enabling visualization and prediction of complex processes.

A significant advancement is the ability to utilize AI for real-time visualization and prediction of key metrics that previously required detailed analysis and were difficult to measure directly. In the Cultivation Digital Twin, predictions equivalent to analytical instrument measurements can now be made without direct physical testing, bringing simulation capabilities to a level usable in operational environments.
To illustrate, consider the goal of autonomous operations in cars versus plants. Cars can rely on numerous sensors for immediate external perception, but plants lack such visibility. Sensors alone cannot achieve full-scale ‘visualization’. Simulations are therefore used to infer the full picture, integrating limited observations of liquids, gases, heat and energy balances to model both current and future states. Optimization is then built upon this simulated foundation.
Chiyoda has refined these core simulation techniques and incorporated AI to create a high-speed, high-precision AI Process Simulator. This innovation is expected to play a critical role in advancing plant autonomy, representing a major milestone in operational technology.

We have long utilized cutting-edge computational tools, including large-scale simulations and 3D modeling, to support plant engineering, research and development and equipment diagnostics consulting. Our focus extends beyond analysis; we provide comprehensive solutions that include problem-solving and improvement strategies.
Our team includes individuals who have mastered specialized areas, served as advisors for academic societies and contributed significantly to the advancement of diagnostic and analytical technologies in Japan.

This expertise is complemented by decades of operational success from plant designs based on simulation results, another cornerstone of our strength.
Our pool of talent capable of leveraging AI and digital technologies has also grown. The combination of domain-specific expertise, AI capabilities, and extensive design data from safely operating plants opens up vast opportunities for innovation. Insights gained from post-handover operational support have further enhanced simulation accuracy, establishing our simulations as a reliable benchmark for external validation.

Chiyoda DX Initiative has been in development for several years. At its core lies the engineering expertise cultivated over decades. When we share our DX strategies with external stakeholders, we often hear voices such as, “I had no idea you were doing this much”, or “With Chiyoda's capabilities, there’s so much potential for innovation”.
Our company employs curious and driven individuals and we are optimistic about our future potential. The CDO Office accelerates DX talent development and internal communication while strengthening external outreach to share our vision and achievements more broadly.

Whenever I interact with members across departments during DX core talent training, I am consistently impressed by their speed in grasping challenges and solutions. For instance, the AI-powered internal chat tool introduced in fiscal year 2023 has seen widespread adoption, boosting Company-wide momentum for DX.
Our aim is to digitize repetitive tasks, enabling employees to shift their focus toward higher-value work. We will continue to create environments that support this transformation.

As someone advancing DX within corporate operations, my priority is to establish robust infrastructure to support the seamless execution of projects. Regarding Citizen Development, as AI continues to evolve rapidly, the possibilities for turning ‘what if we could do this?’ ideas into reality will expand.
Our role is to help employees identify the ideas with the greatest potential for improving operations and support them in selecting the right AI tools to bring those ideas to life. By doing so, we aim to empower innovation across all levels of the organization.