Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn was in the Republic of Korea (ROK), 13–16 June 2018, to identify capacity-building efforts needed to help member countries meet the challenges of Industry 4.0. His visit also explored how APO support for ongoing productivity improvement efforts in the country could be updated.

The Secretary-General, Korea Productivity Center (KPC) Chairman and CEO Dr. Kyoo Sung Noh, and other KPC officials discussed future collaboration in various areas, including the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution initiatives throughout the APO membership. The Secretary-General requested KPC assistance in developing the APO’s Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment Framework.

APO Secretary-General Dr. Santhi Kanoktanaporn (L) and KPC Chairman and CEO Dr. Kyoo Sung Noh at the KPC, 14 June 2018.

Dr. Santhi reported that the APO was developing a Roadmap for Industry 4.0 for its member countries. That would involve the establishment of industrial transformation centers incorporating the existing Center of Excellence (COE) on IT for Industry 4.0 as well as two new COE on Smart Machinery and Process Management. He suggested that, with its vast experience in process automation, the ROK would be the logical choice to host the COE on Process Management.

During the visit, Dr. Santhi toured Ulala Lab, a smart factory platform for artificial intelligence-powered industrial data analysis, and the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center to examine possibilities for cooperation in setting up similar smart manufacturing facilities in other APO members.