NEXCO East Japan - remote attendance to road inspections and daily operations. Improving efficiency with a digital field book
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism in Japan is promoting remote working using digital technology to improve the efficiency of supervision and inspection tasks among contractors. Under this initiative, East Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO East Japan) has introduced a digital field book using GEMBA Note. This is not only used for remote meetings but also for road inspections and daily tasks, due to delivering operational improvements. This comes as a response to the chronic issues of aging and labor shortages in Japan's construction and civil engineering sectors, making digital technology utilisation an imperative for labor-saving and efficiency improvements.
Fig1. Inspection report form. It has for elements to aid input, such as selecting from a list, mandatory information and controlling what type of information can be entered into the form. The process is completed by capturing photos and then submitting directly from on-site.
Boosting construction efficiency: remote co-ordination and streamlined documentation
By implementing remote meetings, NEXCO East Japan was able to reduce travel time by about 60%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the GEMBA Note app in saving time and improving operation efficiency in construction management. This digital transformation also streamlined the documentation process, making it easier to share and approve documents electronically, which was particularly beneficial amidst the dispersion of construction sites and the need for travel between administrative offices and these sites.
Moreover, the use of MetaMoJi app has been expanded to daily operations such as managing company vehicle driving reports, and emergency item loans, making processes simpler and reducing input errors. The positive outcomes hint at an accelerated efficiency improvement in the company's operations moving forward, as it paves the way for further digital integration in managing construction projects and daily tasks.
