Share
Go with “SPACIA X”! Designed by promising young employees! — How we’ve become perfect business partners
On July 15, 2023, Tobu Railway’s new flagship limited express, the N100 Series SPACIA X, started operations. The train is equipped with auxiliary power supply systems (APS) made by Fuji Electric. Prior to this project, Fuji Electric, which celebrated 100 years of business in 2023, had not had the opportunity to do business with Tobu Railway in the area of railcar equipment. Did the first partnership go smoothly? We spoke with two young employees from both companies.
SPACIA X was the “Debut”
New flagship “N100 Series SPACIA X” limited express
Both Tobu Railway and Fuji Electric have a company culture that “puts young employees forward to gain hands-on experiences.”
The two companies began studying the specifications and design of SPACIA X in earnest in April 2020.
Mr. Kanda of Tobu Railway’s Railcar Planning Section
As a member of the Railcar Systems Department, Mr. Kobayashi of Fuji Electric is responsible for drafting product specifications based on customer needs. He was in his second year at the company back then. It was the first time he was involved in a project right from the kickoff. He said, “I was at a loss as to whether I could do it, as I was still inexperienced, but I decided to do as much as I could.”
This coincided with the spread of COVID-19. Since he had been working from home for an extended period of time, he was unable to meet with his senior supervisors or the sales representatives. Mr. Kobayashi continued by saying, “My senior supervisors were very attentive of my needs, quickly introducing a web conferencing system at the start of COVID-19, as well as providing me support by telephone and study sessions.”
In October 2020, Mr. Kanda was transferred to the rolling stock planning section of Tobu Railway’s Minami-Kurihashi Plant in Kuki, Saitama Prefecture, where he was involved in comprehensive railcar inspections. Tobu Railway often transfers personnel between the inspection and maintenance departments and the head office, and many of its engineers are highly skilled working on job sites. When it was decided that he would be in charge of SPACIA X, he said, “Flagship express trains are only updated once every 30 years. So, this was a great opportunity for me.”
Mr. Kanda served as the contact person for Fuji Electric and Mr. Kobayashi.
Fuji Electric’s APS mounted under the floor of the railcar
Fuji Electric provided the APS for SPACIA X, which served as the debut project for these two young employees. The system supplies power to air conditioning, lighting, and other electrical equipment in the railcar.
The two companies’ first opportunity to work together dates back to 2017—.
The deciding factors were “clean factories” and “quick support services”
In 2017, with the rise of overseas manufacturers in China and Southeast Asia and various changes in social conditions, Tobu Railway began looking for new suppliers to continue the stable production of railcars.
Upon exchanging information with other companies in the same industry, representatives at Tobu Railway heard that “Fuji Electric’s products have a reputation for stable quality, and although they are simple, they are also robust in quality and provide peace of mind.” When they visited Fuji Electric’s Matsumoto and Suzuka factories in September 2017, they felt reassured, seeing that the factories were “clean and ready for mass production.”
Mr. Kanda said, “In addition to equipment reliability, quality control, and responsiveness to troubles, Fuji Electric’s superior technical solutions capabilities were decisive factors in our decision to partner with them.”
Mr. Kanda recalls that when he asked Fuji Electric to install energy-saving control systems for APS, he was impressed when the company promptly responded by saying, “Yes, we can.”
Mr. Kobayashi followed up by saying, “I tried to anticipate Tobu Railway’s needs and discussed them internally. I was helped by a senior supervisor when he told me that I’d be able to predict their needs by studying their business.”
“Communication skills and fast responses” supported negotiations
Mr. Kobayashi of Fuji Electric’s Railcar Systems Department
While the two companies were discussing the project, Mr. Kanda said there was something that surprised him.
“We discussed various aspects of specifications and systems, and usually it can take a month or more to get a response from other companies. However, Fuji Electric responded promptly and clearly, and even though it was my first project with them, I felt confident that things would progress smoothly.”
Mr. Kobayashi replied by saying, “I wanted to build a relationship with Tobu Railway, but I didn’t have many opportunities to meet and talk with people in person because of COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, I did my best to exchange information closely whenever I could to ensure that there were no misunderstandings.”
The two young employees who stood on the front line demonstrated their communication skills and helped build a relationship of trust between the two companies.
Challenging pre-operational Electromagnetic compatibility
The last challenging tests were the Electromagnetic compatibility(EMC test) (Note 1) conducted around March 2023 when SPACIA X railcars were delivered to the Minami-Kurihashi Plant.
This is a test to check whether the noise generated by the railcars causes malfunctions in other equipment, such as signaling equipment.
However, when we performed the tests, there were some unacceptable conditions.
Mr. Kobayashi described the difficulty of the test by saying, “Since noise levels are affected by the surrounding environment and outfitting (Note 2), it was not possible to do the test properly without actually operating the railcars. Since there was a fixed schedule for the start of operations, we were anxious to resolve the testing conditions by the time of the retest.”
Fuji Electric, in cooperation with Tobu Railway, worked quickly to overcome the challenges of retesting by arranging for parts and materials and conducting in-house verification to ensure that multiple countermeasures were in place by the deadline. Mr. Kobayashi said, “At that time, the cooperation we received from Tobu Railway and the signal manufacturer was also very helpful. Personally, I was feeling anxious, but my senior colleagues were confident that everything would be absolutely fine. We found a solution based on verification in our R&D department and by utilizing our extensive track record with these products. As a result, I was happily surprised to see that things progressed even faster than scheduled.”
After passing various performance tests, SPACIA X started commercial operations as planned on July 15, 2023.
-
(Note 1)
-
It tests that electromagnetic waves (electromagnetic noise) emitted by electrical and electronic equipment do not affect surrounding equipment, and that the equipment itself operates without being affected by electromagnetic waves (noise) from the surrounding area.
-
(Note 2)
-
The outfitting refers to the installation of electrical equipment and other equipment on the railcar body.
The project broadened my horizons
Mr. Kobayashi remarked on the SPACIA X project by saying, “It broadened my horizons as an employee of a manufacturer when employees at Tobu Railway told me about how our products were being maintained and used in real life. I believe this experience will be useful in future development projects.”
“Sometimes I have to give product explanations to customers by myself. At first, this would make me nervous and sometimes things didn’t go as planned, but now that I’ve been with the company for three years, I’m getting more confident. The company culture encourages communication among employees at all levels, and whenever I have a question, surrounding employees are there to offer advice and follow-up, enabling me to move forward with peace of mind. I also rely heavily on our comprehensive expertise in a variety of business fields and our on-site technical capabilities.”
Looking ahead to future business opportunities, Mr. Kanda said, “Thanks to the success we’ve had with SPACIA X, I feel that Fuji Electric has become our perfect business partner. Our first priority is to ensure that there are no equipment problems, but going forward, I would like Fuji Electric to recommend equipment that can further contribute to energy savings.”
Looking to the future, Mr. Kobayashi said, “Along with contributing to Tobu Railway’s energy saving initiatives, in the future, we would also like to supply them with electric door systems for commuter railcars in addition to APS. We would like to expand our horizons and offer technologies with a view toward the future of our customers and society.”
Recommended
With a Steam-Generating Heat Pump, It’s “Mission: Possible”! Let’s Speed Up Decarbonization!
March 11,2025
Three members of the ”All-Japan Research Team” are leading technological innovation in Japan’s world-leading next-generation ”GaN” semiconductors
November 25,2024
Contribute to Decarbonization at convenience store with the Developed New ”Store Controller”
October 18,2024
Development and delivery of uninterruptible power systems (UPSs) for a data center
October 2,2024
