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”300 days left” until the full transition to full-body harnesses. If you don't start planning early, you won't make it in time (The God of Construction)
As of January 2, 2022, products that do not meet the new standards may no longer be used. In February 2019, amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act made the use of full-body harnesses mandatory in principle. Since then, as a transitional measure, the use of all safety harnesses that meet current standards has been permitted until January 1, 2022; however, as of January 2…
Overly Involved? Hands-Off? What Is the Ideal Site Supervisor? (The God of Construction)
No Practical Experience: The Obstacles Facing a Rookie Construction Manager After 17 years of working as a carpenter—a job I’d always considered my calling—I abruptly quit and switched to residential construction management. Perhaps because I was a “former craftsman” with on-site experience, I was assigned work at a breakneck pace from my very first day on the job. That first week was…
Overly Involved? Hands-Off? What Is the Ideal Site Supervisor Like? (From the God of Construction)
No Practical Experience: The Obstacles Facing a Rookie Construction Manager After 17 years of working as a carpenter—a job I’d always considered my calling—I abruptly quit and switched to residential construction management. Perhaps because I was a “former craftsman” with on-site experience, I was assigned work at a breakneck pace from my very first day on the job. That first week was…
Exposé! The Reality of Kickbacks and Excessive Entertainment Rife in the Construction Industry (The God of Construction)
Do Kickbacks and Excessive Entertainment Really Exist? “I often hear that kickbacks and excessive entertainment are commonplace in the construction industry—but is that really true?” People who don’t work in the industry have started asking me this kind of question more and more often. Every time they do, I think to myself, “The construction industry…
“What Do ”Profitable Job Sites” Have in Common? Generating Profits Is Also Part of a Construction Manager’s Job (The God of Construction)
Generating Profit Is Also Part of a Construction Manager’s Job. On-site work prioritizes safety above all else. At the same time, however, they are also expected to generate profit. Construction managers working on-site constantly face the highly contradictory challenge of how to increase profits while improving their technical skills. Safely, and yet…
“Unseen Efforts Go Unappreciated”: What I Keep in Mind as a Fifth-Year Construction Management Engineer (The God of Construction)
What I Learned from My Mistakes It’s hard to believe that five years have already passed since I started working as a civil engineering construction manager. Amid my busy daily routine, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many different things. Naturally, having been in this job for five years, I’ve also encountered plenty of unpleasant situations and made many mistakes. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but due to my own poor planning, I…
Reflections on the Second State of Emergency: Is It Possible to Manage Construction Sites Remotely? (The God of Construction)
Is Non-Regular Employment Better Suited for Remote Work? The spread of the novel coronavirus is having a major impact on employment. Since the second half of 2020, there has been a significant increase in media reports about companies offering voluntary retirement programs, and non-regular employees are facing situations where their employment contracts are being terminated or not renewed...
The Incompetent Project Managers Pervading Construction Consulting Firms (From "The God of Construction")
Personnel Issues at Construction Consulting Firms In my previous article, “Issues at Construction Consulting Firms from a Construction Consultant’s Perspective,” I wrote about the challenges facing these firms. Since the discussion on the message board was more lively than I expected, this time I’d like to ramble a bit about personnel issues at construction consulting firms—particularly those at our company…
[Common Scenarios at JV Construction Sites] A 1.5 Million Yen Pay Gap for the Same Job. Listening to Complaints Is Part of a Site Supervisor’s Job (The God of Construction)
At a grueling joint venture site, our company was the only one without a bonus. At the time, I was working at a site that was quite grueling. It was a project to construct the outer retaining wall around a marine disposal site for fly ash (waste) emitted from a thermal power plant. I was assigned there as a subcontractor for a two-company joint venture, but it was an incredibly tough site…



