ARS Bridge & Engineering Co. Ltd
ARS Bridge & Engineering Co. designs, manufactures and erects steel structures such as bridges and sluice gates mainly in the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kinki regions west of Nagoya. In 2017 the company introduced iPads and MetaMoji’s platform into 16 accounts, mainly in the construction department, to enhance productivity and work style reform. We interviewed Mr. Shigeto Mori of the Construction Department, Mr. Shinji Inahara of the Construction Section and Mr. Kasumi Hara of the Construction Planning Section about the current status; three years after the introduction.
“When going on site, I used to have my hands full with my paper file drawings, camera, cell phone, and notebook, but since the introduction of MetaMoji, I now only need an iPad and cell phone. This results in not just a reduction in the number of items I have to carry but it also leads to various cost savings in terms of preparation time and storage space”
IT Implementation Started with The Construction Department
When MetaMoji was introduced in 2017, the construction industry was seeking to reform the way of working through the introduction of ICT, and the company decided to start our IT initiative with their construction department. The company decided on MetaMoji because of its effectiveness on iPads in improving various operations, not restricted to handling drawings. Before the introduction of MetaMoji, the company would input work hours in Excel, create PDF files, and then send them to the head office via e-mail. However, after switching to MetaMoji all that was required was to simply input the daily work hours. On the deadline for submitting the daily work report at the end of the month the in-house staff used to have to call the site many times to urge them to submit the report, and it was difficult to reach the person on shift who worked at night. Now, the reports can be checked in real time, and settlements and tallying are smooth. Mr. Mori said, “MetaMoji has completely changed the daily work reports that we were having trouble collecting until the last minute. We hope to take this experience as an opportunity to introduce MetaMoji to the general affairs department to further improve the efficiency of the entire company.
Changing On-site Supervision
“All drawings, which used to be printed on A3 paper and filed, have been transferred to MetaMoji. They are easier to carry, can be viewed immediately on site, and are resistant to wind and rain without losing pages. When going on site, I used to have my hands full with my paper file drawings, camera, cell phone, and notebook, but since the introduction of MetaMoji, I now only need an iPad and cell phone. This results in not just a reduction in the number of items I have to carry but it also leads to various cost savings in terms of preparation time and storage space.”
“We have been able to solve problems at an early stage because we can go to the site with MetaMoji containing the drawings, contact the head office if there is anything we don’t understand at first sight, and have a quick meeting with each other while looking at the photos. If we also include specifications and construction standards, we can save a lot of time,” said Inahara.
In the future, the company also plans to migrate site inspections and construction photos to MetaMoji.
“With MetaMoJi, we can accurately convey the same location by simply circling it with a pen. Since MetaMoJi can be scaled and used like a simple CAD system, the crane locations that used to have to be brought back to the site to use the CAD system can now be determined on-site.”
Mr. Hara, who has been in charge of promoting the use of IT within the company since the introduction of MetaMoJi, says, “The younger generation will use it easily, but the older generation has a high hurdle when it comes to the iPad. Nevertheless, the use of iPads gradually spread from those who were willing to make use of them, and now everyone in the department is using them. I have also been in charge of general affairs tasks such as daily work reports and business trip reimbursement for the construction department. If MetaMoJi is introduced to the entire company, including the general affairs department, with digitization progresses, I would like to make my original job even more convenient with MetaMoJi. First of all, I would like to work on creating forms that can be used for surveying and other purposes,” he says.
Effects and Expectations for MetaMoJi
Mr. Mori feels that MetaMoJi is most effective in speeding up the initial response to problems. Even in situations where the site of the problem, the person in charge, and the head office (in charge of design) are all in different locations, MetaMoJi makes it possible to discuss the situation as if they were in the same place, and quick decisions have reduced the number of stoppages at the site. The head office is also able to reliably communicate, “There is a possibility that a problem may occur, so we need to be careful,” which has eliminated the need for workers to return to the site.
He also expects MetaMoJi to pass on skills and knowledge to the next generation. Mori says, “People with extensive experiences and inexperienced people have different draw-outs and different results when faced with the same problem. MetaMoJi allows us to share our know-how, and we want younger people to be confident in their work.”
He hopes that veterans will openly pass on technical matters to the younger generation, that the younger generation will not only pass on but also apply MetaMoJi to their work, and that the older generation will learn from the younger generation and change the way they work through a synergistic effect.
Although the industry is becoming increasingly digitalized, there are many cases in which submissions can be made digitally, but the presentation must be made on paper. Therefore, at present, there is still little ICT collaboration among companies, such as communication with subcontractors.
“The use of ICT is also subject to points in bidding evaluations. When we submitted a technical proposal for the use of MetaMoJi in the past, the response was, ‘Wow, they are using MetaMoJi!’ But some of them started using MetaMoJi as a result of the proposal. There is no doubt that we have chosen this trend. We must try it once, both inside and outside the company,” said Mr. Mori.
The day will come when it will be commonplace for multiple companies to collaborate using ICT tools. It can be said that ARS Bridge & Engineering Co. is steadily preparing for that day.
Before the introduction of MetaMoji, I had two hands full of personal belongings, but now I only have an iPad and a mobile phone.
Quickly solve problems over the phone by checking the photos shared on MetaMoji. Surrounding the area with a laser pointer makes it easy to see at a glance.
It is now possible to set the scale in MetaMoji, place the crane and make an approximate decision on site.
Left: Shige Morishige,
Centre: Shinji Inahara,
Right: Kazumi Hara,
