Even the older guys in the construction industry—who’ve only recently started getting the hang of using smartphones—can they really master ICT devices? (The God of Construction)
Barriers to ICT Adoption: While the construction industry can achieve efficiency gains relatively quickly after adopting ICT, the reality is that small and medium-sized enterprises lack the financial resources to make such investments. Examples of these barriers include a lack of in-house personnel with the necessary skills and the high cost of ICT equipment. Personnel…
Should I tell the major general contractor I’m assigned to that “black is black”? What is justice for a construction management engineer? (The God of Construction)
Technical Skills and Knowledge Are Essential for Temporary Construction Management Engineers It goes without saying that for construction management engineers working as temporary employees at domestic and international construction sites to earn a living, their success depends on their basic technical skills, such as construction management and drawing preparation. In addition to these, interpersonal relationships on-site and independence at the general contractor where they are assigned…
"Rumors of a Rift" Between the Site Supervisor and the Craftsman (the "God of Construction")
Site Supervisors and Tradespeople Tend to Fall Out—How many times have I witnessed a site supervisor and a foreman arguing on a construction site? Site supervisors and tradespeople tend to fall out very easily on the job site. People in the industry probably think this is unavoidable given their respective positions. However, when it comes to construction management engineers and…
[Satoshi Fujii] If the Kawabe River Dam had been built “as planned,” many of the victims would have been “saved” (The God of Construction)
*This article is based on content originally published in the newsletter “Takaaki Mitsuhashi’s ‘New’ Keisei-Kaimin Shimbun” (July 11) and has been edited with the author’s permission and additional input. The Kuma River Breach That Caused Widespread Damage: The “July 2020 Heavy Rains,” caused by the stalled rainy season front over the Japanese archipelago, brought various impacts across the nation…
The chance of rain on the concrete pour date is 30%… Should we pour or postpone?
Roof Waterproofing Work Where the Weather Determined the Outcome: Nowadays, with the widespread use of the internet, we can check weather forecasts in real time, but when I was young, we had to rely on newspapers and TV, so I think it was harder to predict the weather back then than it is now. The weather is the one thing that never goes the way you want it to…
[The Downfall of a Family-Run Business] The Bankruptcy of Okui Construction, a Long-Established General Contractor in Tokyo: Sloppy Construction Management and Lax Management
"There’s No Way They’d Go Bankrupt": The Shock of a Major General Contractor’s Collapse Okui Construction Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: 2-9-4 Umeda, Adachi-ku, Tokyo; President: Hirohiro Okui) filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court on March 23 and received a bankruptcy commencement order on the same day. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Okui Construction had been actively pursuing projects such as reconstruction work in the Tohoku region…
Every time an accident happens, this general contractor churns out posters. Can a piece of paper really reduce accidents?!
Do you really think a single piece of paper can reduce accidents? I’m currently at a plant site. The architectural and civil engineering work I’m in charge of is already nearly complete. The actual construction work on-site is being carried out by a super general contractor working as a subcontractor, but from what I’ve heard, there’s been a string of accidents recently…
Design Outputs Are Useless! Is There Any Point to the Work of Consultants Who Don’t Know the Field?
The Reality I Saw at a Certain Traffic Congestion Mitigation Construction Site I (Sekisan Shiroto) would like to express my gratitude for the many comments I received on the article I posted the other day (”How Do You Set the ”Daily Work Volume’ Used in Schedule Charts?”). I read through every single one, and I am truly grateful. …
How much longer will the media continue to report in a biased manner, referring to them as “civil engineering workers”?
The Hidden Prejudice Against Civil Engineering That Permeates Society What kind of image do people have when they hear the term “civil engineering worker”? The other day, I saw a news report about a “civil engineering worker” who was arrested in connection with a certain incident. I currently work as a civil engineering construction manager, but before that…