Renewal work on the Metropolitan Highway: Real-time creation of pile witness inspection reports.
In anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, renewal work on the Metropolitan Expressway No. 1 Haneda Line is progressing at a rapid pace in the maritime section of Higashi-Shinagawa, Tokyo. The Obayashi JV in charge of construction has introduced MetaMoJi's digital field book GEMBA Note for on-site inspection of piles by the client, and used it to prepare inspection reports, resulting in a drastic reduction in work at the site office. We interviewed an engineer on the frontline of the project to find out first-hand how effective this has been.
GEMBA NOTE for pile witness inspection reports.
A substantial construction project is underway on the Tokyo Expressway, Haneda Route, stretching approximately 1.9km across the Keihin Canal in East Shinagawa, Tokyo. Central to this project is the installation of about 300 steel piles, vital for the infrastructure's support. The piling inspection is a meticulous process, and every pile inspected generates about ten pages of inspection reports, detailing dimensions and other critical data. The conventional method, paper-based recording, proved to be time-consuming and cumbersome. The transformation arrived with the digitalization of these processes through the MetaMoJi app, an innovative solution allowing real-time data input and sharing on-site.
Streamlining Reports and Co-ordination on a 1.9km Site
The adoption of GEMBA Note has significantly simplified the report generation process. Original paper forms were converted to PDFs and uploaded into GEMBA, where text fields and checkboxes were added for easy digital input. The result was a digital inspection form identical to the original paper form, ensuring ease of transition for the personnel. GEMBA’s user-friendly interface allowed for quick data input, considerably reducing the amount of time previously spent on data recording and report generation. Additionally, GEMBA facilitated real-time data sharing among the team, crucial for coordinating efforts in a large-scale project with a sprawling 1.9km site.
Real-Time Data Sharing and Digital Advancement in Construction
With GEMBA Note, data is entered on the spot during inspections and instantly shared through cloud servers, ready for access across various devices. This real-time data sharing helps in prompt decision-making and keeps all personnel updated with the latest information from the construction site. The simplicity and efficiency brought by GEMBA have also encouraged the use of digital tools for other aspects of the construction process, including material delivery and vehicle allocation planning. Besides, the app's flexibility extends to capturing pictures and jotting down notes directly onto the digital forms, which is a significant step towards paperless operation, aligning well with the ongoing i-Construction initiative in Japan.
Bridging Field and Office Operations in the i-Construction Era
Moreover, GEMBA’s future upgrades are anticipated to further streamline operations, not only on the field but also between the site and the office. The digital transformation ushered in by GEMBA is indeed a timely response to the evolving needs of modern construction sites, embodying the next level of operational efficiency and data management in the era of i-Construction.
