The Stratus ztC Edge platform delivers proven operational performance and efficiencies
Toyko, Japan – March 30, 2023 – Stratus Technologies Japan (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Yoshitake Matsumoto), a Japanese subsidiary of Stratus Technologies (Headquarters: Maynard, Massachusetts, USA; President and CEO: David C. Laurello, hereinafter referred to as “Stratus”), an SGH (Nasdaq: SGH) company and a global leader in simple, protected, and autonomous Edge Computing platforms, today announced that Daido Rubber (Headquarters: Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, President: Takahiko Kadono), a specialized manufacturer of industrial rubber hoses, has selected Stratus’ zero-touch Edge Computing* platform, the Stratus ztC® Edge platform, as its standard data utilization platform for production innovation and technology success. Stratus’ ztC Edge platform has supported Daido Rubber’s digital factories and operations without interruption or dedicated IT system administrators since deploying the solution in March 2021.
*Edge Computing is a distributed computing model that processes information physically close to the place where data is generated, such as the place where people work or the factory where things are produced, rather than in a data center or in the cloud.
Before adopting the Stratus ztC Edge platform, Daido Rubber experienced the following challenges:
- Daido Rubber lacked reliable data needed to stabilize supply and demand for high-mix, low-volume production.
Daido Rubber supports a variety of industries and produces many made-to-order products, including small-lot, high-mix production. In order to improve production efficiency and standardize on-site know-how, the company systematized production reports. However, in the event of a server or network failure, the production site would be negatively impacted. Therefore, data availability became a critical requirement for business continuity essential to stabilize production. - Daido Rubber experienced lower than desired operational availability of its production control system that supports manufacturing.
In its conventional system, the servers installed at the head office and at the factory site were linked by VPN, so if a network failure occurred between the head office and the factory, it affected the production site. Furthermore, since there is no IT system administrator at each factory, it was necessary to have a system that would not require time and effort to manage and would ensure continuous operations even in the event of a failure.
The Stratus ztC Edge platform provides high availability, zero-touch operation, and operational efficiencies.
Daido Rubber chose to deploy the platform because of the following factors:
- The Stratus ztC Edge platform is a high available, fault tolerant server that operates even when a failure occurs.
Selected as a business continuity measure for Daido Rubber, the Stratus ztC Edge platform is a simple, protected, and automated. The platform contains autonomous monitoring and self-protection functions running as a single high availability node, or as two fault tolerant redundant nodes that operate as a single system. Even in the unlikely event that one of the two nodes fails, processing is automatically switched to the standby node, and the system continues to operate without interruption. - Stratus ztC Edge platform’s zero-touch operation does not require IT staff.
The platform enables zero-touch** operation through its self-monitoring, self-diagnosing, and self-healing capabilities while also being able to “call home” and initiate parts replacement – all without stopping the system. The platform also automatically synchronizes and returns to a redundant configuration when a new node is added. This minimizes the time and effort to operate and maintain, helping solve the system operation issues of Daido Rubber, which does not have a dedicated IT staff at its facilities.
**Zero-touch equates to ease of operation and reduced maintenance. By reducing the operational workload, it is possible to address human resource shortages and significantly reduce work and operations costs due to the high availability assurance.
- Stratus ztC Edge platform drives operational efficiencies.
The platform is designed for harsh edge environments, such as factory sites, and supports long-term maintenance contracts of 10 years. In addition, the stable operation of the system and simple management reduces the operational burden on IT and OT personnel, freeing them to concentrate on their primary work. The Stratus ztC Edge platform has enabled Daido Rubber to achieve significant operation and maintenance cost reductions.
Production Innovation and Technology Succession
Daido Rubber is committed to building a system infrastructure that facilitates production innovation and technology success through data utilization. Since deploying the Stratus ztC Edge platform, Daido Rubber has had two years of uninterrupted operations with no operational issues and eliminated approximately 18 hours of unplanned downtime per year.
Shinji Kagawa, Senior Managing Director and Factory Manager of Daido Rubber, stated, “We adopted Stratus ztC Edge platform because the loss of our production management system could have a major impact on our manufacturing site. Considering the total cost benefit analysis, we decided that the introduction of Stratus ztC Edge was a great investment.”
Regarding their future IT strategy, Mr. Hirotake Matsuura, Director and Sales Manager at Daido Rubber, said, “By introducing this platform, we were able to build a stable system infrastructure. In the future, we will promote new initiatives such as visualization of factory operations and more efficient machine maintenance.”
Reference Image: Daido Rubber System Structure
The Stratus ztC Edge Platform for Critical Industrial Sites
Stratus provides high availability and fault tolerant solutions to avoid downtime of mission-critical systems for customers of various industries and enterprise sizes. In recent years, due to IIoT initiatives at industrial sites for Manufacturing Digital Transformation, large amounts of data is being generated from IoT sensors and devices. Data utilization, collection and analysis has advanced, and system availability has become essential, as a result.
Stratus ztC Edge high-level benefits include:
- Robust product design specialized for operation at industrial sites
- Excellent environmental resistance
- High availability as well as a fault tolerant configuration of two nodes (equipment connected by network) ensuring data and application availability
- Autonomous computing device that is easy to operate
- High performance
About Daido Rubber
Founded in 1948, Daido Rubber Co., Ltd. is a specialized manufacturer of industrial rubber hoses. Boasting one of the best achievements and technologies in Japan in the field of industrial rubber hoses, we support various industries with high-quality products. Approximately 170 employees are engaged in manufacturing and sales at two bases, Horai-cho Headquarters and Showa-cho Factory, located along the Seto Inland Sea in Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture.
Business: Manufacture and sale of industrial rubber hoses
Representative: Takahiko Kadono, President and Representative Director
Established: December 10, 1948
Capital: 220 million yen
Sales: 3.2 billion yen
Number of employees: 187
Base: Headquarters: Horai-cho, Marugame-shi, Kagawa / Factory: Showa-cho, Marugame-shi, Kagawa
About Stratus
For leaders digitally transforming their operations to drive predictable, peak performance with minimal risk, Stratus ensures the continuous availability of business-critical applications by delivering zero-touch Edge Computing platforms that are simple to deploy and maintain, protected from interruptions and threats, and autonomous. For 40 years, we have provided reliable and redundant zero-touch computing, enabling global Fortune 500 companies and small-to-medium sized businesses to securely and remotely turn data into actionable intelligence at the Edge, cloud and data center – driving uptime and efficiency. For more information, please visit www.stratus.com or follow on Twitter @StratusAlwaysOn and LinkedIn @StratusTechnologies
Stratus Technologies Japan
Marketing Department
TEL： 03-3234-5562、FAX： 03-3234-6733
E-mail： [email protected]
URL： https://www.stratus.com/jp/
* Stratus, Stratus logo, ztC Edge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Stratus Technologies Bermuda Ltd.
All other marks are the property of their respective holders.