Receiving the 58th Shibusawa Award (Fiscal 2013)

Development of Overhead Catenary System (OCS) Inspection System,
CATENARY EYEPatent Nos. 4635657, 4779770, 4816567 “Trolley Abrasion Inspection System by Image Processing”

MEIDENNEWS[Outlined Explanation of OCS Inspection System]
The inspection for OCS for electric railroad
is required to avoid any accident like the breakingof an overhead catenary wire trolley so thatelectric power can be normally fed to electriccars under the condition that each pantographis always kept contact with the catenary wire.
For this purpose, periodic maintenance is required to check the catenary setup conditions(height, deviation, and wire wear). The OCS
inspection system, “CATENARY EYE,” is a maintenance unit intended to check the conditionsof catenary height, deviation, and wire wear
through periodic measurements. This system
has been adopted by over twelve customers athome and abroad. It has contributed greatly tothe improvement of maintenance efficiencies
for electric railroads. This time, our track records
were recognized and led to the award.
[Conventional System in the Market]
Conventional system in the market is basedon an approach that a laser unit is installed in a
dedicated inspection car. This method, however,involves a substantial problem in terms of installation space and power capacity. Therefore,
it cannot be installed in a normal car in operation. Wire wear of overhead catenary tends todevelop in a nearby area of each station. Despite
that, it is necessary to suspend measurementsin this area because laser radiation may behazardous to the eyes of passengers.

camera is believed not suitable for outdoor use
because variations in illuminance by sunlightare rigorous. Therefore, it has been mostly commercialized for indoor use where the lighting
conditions are duly arranged. It has not beenused for measurements in the field of electricrailroad. Under such a technical background,
we developed a small-sized line sensor camera
and an image analytical approach inclusive ofedge detection techniques and image filtering
treatments stable even under conditions of turbulence. This development has resulted in worldfirst realization of overhead OCS wire wear technologies that enable high-precision telemetry.
( 3 ) This system records images of catenarysliding surfaces. Therefore, it is possible to perform the total judgment of catenary conditions
such as rolling abrasion and abnormal wire wearfrom recorded images, and also image checking.

Fig. 1 Conventional Car Equipped with the OCS
Inspection System[Advantages of this System]( 1) Since this system comes in a compact unit
configuration where a small-sized line sensor
camera is used, it can be installed in an ordinary commercial car. Since no laser beams areused, there is no danger of causing visual disturbance for passengers and people at the station. In addition, the status of actual train operation can be measured efficiently and such afeature greatly contributes to the improvementof security, reliability, and business efficiencies
for electric railroad systems. (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2)( 2 ) According to past practice, the line sensor

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MEIDEN REVIEW Series No.162 2014 No.3

Fig. 2 Conventional Dedicated Inspection Car
Equipped with the OCS System

Launching Ceremony of Prime Meiden Limited

MEIDENNEWS

On May 23th 2014, Meiden Group held alaunching ceremony at New Delhi in India forestablishing a joint venture with Prime ElectricLimited or PEL who is a supplier of power transformer in India. More than 300 people wereparticipated including the ambassador of Japanor ambassadors from Middle East and Africancountries, high government official in India andpeople from Japanese subsidiaries in India
and the Indian companies.
This time, Meiden Group signed the capitalalliance agreement and tech transfer agreement with PEL, an Indian power transformer
supplier. We acquired of 23% of PEL share.
By this capital alliance, Meiden Group will
combine its long-standing technologies andhigh quality expertise with PELʼs latest manufacturing facility and aim to secure many T & D
projects in and out of India. Moreover, we will
improve our organization to provide the wider
offerings of power products and services forJapanese subsidiaries in India and Indian firms
who are in need of quality power products. By

these agreements, PEL changed its name to“Prime Meiden Limited”.
Meiden Group so far has developing our T& D business mostly in the Southeast Asia andChina. Going forward, with Prime Group as our
new partner and our joint venture, PrimeMeiden Limited, Meiden Group will try to enter
the markets in India and the emerging markets −west of India like Middle East and Africa. We
aim to grow overseas and we go forward in enhancing our competitive advantages throughthe joint product development with them.

The 1st Meiden Group Southeast Asian Area QC and Occupational
Safety Training Course was HeldSponsored by ASEAN Training Center, anorganization under Meiden Asia Pte. Ltd. (“MAP”),
Singapore, we conducted the 1st Meiden GroupSoutheast Asian Area QC and Occupational
Safety Training Course for two days from 23rdJuly 2014 at two venues: our Thai Training
Center and Meiden Electric (Thailand) Ltd.
From Southeast Asian Area, total 6 companies
with total 18 persons joined the course and weconducted the training course. This time training course covers Meiden Groupʼs Corporate
Philosophy, Corporate Management Policy, QC
in general and Safety Management in general.
In the safety training program, we designed toincorporate several hands-on training sessions
to deepen the understanding of occupationalrisks through the hands-on experiences.
The sponsoring body, ASEAN Training Center
was established in April this year for Meiden
Groupʼs HR and Talent Management in theASEAN Region. This Center aims to provide

the training courses to Meiden Groupʼs ASEAN
Area employees to raise an awareness as aMeiden Group and to deepen the knowledge
on QC and Safety Management and to improvetheir technical capabilities.
Going forward, we will have various training
programs once in every three months and, inso doing, we will improve the capability andunderstanding of QC and safety and contribute to our business growth there.

Hands-on Experience on Safety: Witnessing Risk of
Retractable Cord Reel – Overloaded Cable Thermal
Level Change and the Burning of Cable

MEIDEN REVIEW Series No.162 2014 No.347

MSL and PUB opened the Singaporeʼs First Ceramic Membrane
Bioreactor Plant to Treat and Recycle Industrial Used Water
On March 10, 2014, Meiden Singapore Pte.
Ltd. (MSL) and Public Utility Board (PUB),
Singaporeʼs national water agency, opened
Singaporeʼs first Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor(MBR) plant coupled with an Upflow Anaerobic
Sludge Blanket (UASB) to treat and recycle industrial used water in a more energy-efficientand cost-effective manner.
This plant processing one million gallons(i.e. 4550 cubic meters) industrial used water issited at the Jurong Water Reclamation Plant in
Singapore and the Ceramic MBR plant wasconstructed by MSL.
The reclamation of such high chemical oxygen demand (COD) industrial used water wasconsidered difficult. This demonstration projectwill prove the effective use of Meiden Ceramic
MBR System technologies in achieving energy
savings and a consistent high-quality output ofrecycled water.
This collaboration between MSL and PUB
started from a MOU signed in 2010. Under
the MOU, MSL has been conducting various
test-bedding projects using the Ceramic MBR
system in PUBʼs water reclamation plants.
Following satisfactory test results from theseprojects, MSL took the research one step further by collaborating with PUB to construct ademonstration plant to reclaim industrial usedwater for recycling purposes.

Opening Ceremony

Ceramic MBR Plant

Ceramic Membrane Unit

Ceramic Membrane

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MEIDEN REVIEW Series No.162 2014 No.3