Voice of Users

Headquartered in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture, Tokai Kogyo Co., Ltd. is a general construction company that has played a major role in creating the local social infrastructure.

Site manager Mr. Shinichi Nagata says, "Workers exchange ideas, discuss what's best, and work together to get the job done." As members of a forward-looking company, the workers at Tokai Kogyo were eager to get to grips with the introduction of a practical IT system they could use for construction.

In large-scale projects, such as airport construction, information technology has already been applied in the use of ICT (information and communication technology) to improve productivity and realize high quality. These results encouraged the MLIT to promote general diffusion, aiming by 2012 to make utilization of IT a standard practice in the construction industry. In November 2008, the MLIT Chubu Regional Development Bureau set up Japan’s first Construction ICT Implementation Research Committee. Tokai Kogyo’s construction of the Kojima Road on the National Route 23 Toyohashi Higashi Bypass, the FY 2008 pilot case study, attracted the eyes of the industry.

When, in August 2009, the Regional Development Bureau organized an inspection tour of the construction site, it was thronged with more than 170 people, mainly from local construction companies.

"Even in small and mid-sized construction projects, information technology is being used more and more; that’s why everyone gave me their full attention when I explained how we used the system.", said Mr. Yasuhiro Komoda, foreman in the construction department.

Tokai Kogyo introduced the GEOSURF iCE Series computerized construction monitoring system supplied by Geosurf Corporation. This uses GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) data for accurate, three-dimensional, close to real-time presentation of vehicle positioning information to equipment operators. Moreover, all the data is stored in digital form to constitute a daily log of work progress.

Road construction involves using bulldozers to spread earth and sand in flat layers and vibratory rollers to firmly compact the layers using pressure and vibration. Each vehicle is equipped with a GNSS antenna and receiver to pick up satellite signals and an in-vehicle computer along with wireless LAN equipment to communicate with the site office. The software for bulldozers is called iDozerCE and, for vibratory rollers, iRollerCE. These applications monitor the current position and height of the bulldozer blade and the number of times the vibratory roller has passed over each part of the site. This information is shown on the display of the in-vehicle computer and the data is continuously transmitted to the site office. With iCE Office Lite installed at the site office, the settings for acquiring and managing work data can be controlled. In addition, by generating figures to show the distribution and number of compactions, vehicle travel paths, and embankment status, work progress can be graphically monitored.

The in-vehicle computer installed in bulldozers was the CF-U1 and in the vibratory rollers, the CF-19.

"I was interested in the TOUGHBOOK after seeing it in trade journals. It has excellent dust and water resistance, and I was intrigued to find a computer that was tough enough to be used in the kind of harsh environment you find around construction sites." (Mr. Komoda)

Bulldozers are particularly susceptible to vibration, and greater vibration resistance was desired.

"We chose the CF-U1 for bulldozers because of its superior resistance to shock and vibration, and for its light weight. The heavier the computer, the more likely that the brackets mounting it in the cabin would break due to vibration. In fact, a CF-U1 did accidentally fall for about a meter to the cab floor. It was completely unharmed and worked just the same. I had direct experience of how amazingly well it withstands impacts." (Mr. Nagata)

After three months use, the TOUGHBOOK PCs had absolutely zero breakdowns.

Mr. Komoda was impressed that there was nothing unusual about the controls of the TOUGHBOOK. He liked the way it could be operated just like a normal computer: "Work on a construction site is characterized by the three Ds-dangerous, dirty, and demanding – and I think that you could say that this applies as much to equipment as to people. Without any second thought whatsoever, in rain and strong sunlight, or surrounded by dust and oil, I could use the TOUGHBOOK no matter how harsh the environment. I really got a feeling that I was involved in something quite revolutionary."

From the driver's seat, the operator can immediately grasp the current status of work progress because the TOUGHBOOK is able to display the elevation and, color coded on a map of the site, the number of compaction passes. Meanwhile, via the wireless LAN, the same screens can be viewed at the site office.

Mr. Nagata says that the installation of the system has transformed the way the site looks and how the work is done: "There's no longer any need to stake out the site. Now, guided by satellite, bulldozers can get on with spreading, which improves efficiency. And, since accurate elevation and distribution is displayed, no-one has to be on the ground checking the thickness of the layers. Because there is no need for surveyors to be out among the construction equipment taking measurements, I think that the work has been made safer. At the same time, quality is improved because we can avoid too little or too much compaction with vibratory rollers." (Mr. Nagata)