In this post, I\u2019ll read that article from a frontline perspective and consider whether \u201cthis will actually be effective on the front lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \"Per-Person-Day Rate Trap\" Mentioned in the Article and CCUS \u00d7 Volume<\/h2>\n
A quick summary of the article.<\/p>\n
It appears that the Japan Construction Industry Federation (Nikkenren) released the \u201cProductivity Improvement Guidelines 2.0\u201d in December 2025, setting a goal to increase productivity by 251 TP3T by fiscal year 2035 compared to fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n
The same long-term vision also states that there will be a shortage of 1.29 million skilled workers by fiscal year 2035.<\/p>\n
That's quite a number.<\/p>\n
In other words, it means that \u201done out of every three people needed on the job site is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For us slope workers, this means that a five-person team is always down to four people.<\/p>\n
On top of that, what the article identifies as the \u201croot of the problem\u201d is the way labor costs are calculated.<\/p>\n
Labor costs in construction are calculated in \"man-days.\"<\/p>\n
If a project takes 10 days with 5 workers, that\u2019s 5 \u00d7 10 = 50 person-days. Multiply this by the labor rate to calculate the total cost.<\/p>\n
However, if we increase productivity and complete the project in 5 \u00d7 7 = 35 person-days, labor costs will drop by 30 percent.<\/p>\n
In other words, it's a system where the people who finish early end up at a disadvantage.<\/p>\n
That is why the article proposes the following solution: \u201cBy cross-referencing employment history data from the CCUS (Construction Career Up System) with construction progress data, we can objectively measure the productivity of each team. Then, we can simply pay wages based on ability.\u201d<\/p>\n
It also appears to state that they plan to appoint a \u201ccoordinator\u201d who is on equal footing with the client in order to even out construction orders, which tend to be concentrated at the end of the fiscal year.<\/p>\n
It's a neat theory.<\/p>\n
But as someone who\u2019s been working in the field for 30 years, there are just a bunch of things that bother me, lol.<\/p>\n
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To begin with, why aren't people coming in?<\/h2>\n
The reason it\u2019s problematic is simple: it focuses entirely on \u201cmeasurement\u201d and fails to address the issue of \u201cpeople not coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
No matter how sophisticated the evaluation system is, if there are zero people hanging from a rope on a slope, the output will also be zero.<\/p>\n
Even when it comes to streamlining, you still need people to make that streamlining work.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, you need a large enough sample size.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So why aren't Japanese people coming in?<\/p>\n
I think it's because my perception of this job has hit rock bottom.<\/p>\n
This is just my personal impression, but there was a period\u2014starting around the time of the Koizumi administration\u2014when public works projects were cut back and the media portrayed the construction industry as if it were the villain.<\/p>\n
Then, under the Democratic Party administration\u2019s slogan of \u201cFrom Concrete to People,\u201d public works spending was cut even further, and the number of contractors continued to decline.<\/p>\n
From what I\u2019ve observed, the number of young people aspiring to enter the industry dropped sharply around that time.<\/p>\n
Once a certain image has been established, it doesn't easily go away, even if you tinker with the system.<\/p>\n
It's important to change the way wages are paid.<\/p>\n
However, I don\u2019t think the \u201charsh, dirty, and dangerous\u201d image that has already taken root can be reversed by CCUS scores alone.<\/p>\n
Even with CCUS in place and salaries made transparent, the pay gap between major general contractors and small and medium-sized subcontractors remains three to five times as wide.<\/p>\n
While major companies are posting record-high sales, small and medium-sized businesses are seeing a record number of bankruptcies.<\/p>\n
No one's coming in?<\/p>\n
No, no\u2014if we hire people, won't that put small and medium-sized businesses out of business?!?<\/p>\n
Huh? Do they want to shut it down??<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I sometimes hear people say, \u201cRobots are used for slope work,\u201d but hanging from an irregular slope to drill holes and apply shotcrete\u2026<\/p>\n
To be honest, the day when a machine can do that task all by itself is still a long way off\u2014or perhaps it will never happen (at least for now).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a whole different story from those rebar-tying robots used on flat surfaces, after all.<\/p>\n
Given that situation, Japan today has no choice but to rely on foreign workers.<\/p>\n
In fact, the Japan Construction Industry Federation\u2019s Long-Term Vision 2.0 also states that \u201cforeign workers are just as important as Japanese workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
We, too, rely on our interns from Nepal and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Let's be honest: there are already a ton of companies that simply can't operate without them.<\/p>\n
I feel that insisting on hiring Japanese job seekers is actually counterproductive and inefficient.<\/p>\n
What is efficiency...<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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Before streamlining, start by \u201ccutting back\u201d<\/h2>\n
And there's one more thing that's bothering me.<\/p>\n
The article says to \"use\" the CCUS data.<\/p>\n
But for those on the front lines, CCUS is, first and foremost, a \u201cburden of registration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though it\u2019s the same CCUS, the perspectives are completely opposite.<\/p>\n
Before we even think about measuring productivity or implementing AI, there\u2019s a mountain of waste right in front of us that we can eliminate.<\/p>\n
Documentation and system registration.<\/p>\n
Compared to the past, both drawings and documents have been digitized, and there are certainly areas where efficiency has improved.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, however, the number of systems requiring registration has continued to increase.<\/p>\n
Green Site, Buildee, CCUS. And many more!<\/p>\n
Each general contractor tells me, \u201cSign up for this\u201d and \u201cSign up for that,\u201d so I have to register for each one separately, and I get charged for each one.<\/p>\n
Where did all that efficiency go? lol<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just that efficiency has been replaced by a subscription model (the right to use the service for a set period).<\/p>\n
What's more, even though we coordinate with the general contractor, basic information still needs to be updated separately in each system.<\/p>\n
According to explanations provided by Green Site and CCUS (including information from MC Data Plus Co., Ltd. and the CCUS operators), the two are separate services; while employment history can be synchronized, basic information regarding businesses and skilled workers must be added or updated separately on each platform.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Entering the same company name, the same address, and the same social insurance information over and over again on different screens.<\/p>\n
If the information is even slightly off, an error occurs and the update fails, causing the process to get stuck there indefinitely.<\/p>\n
Everyone in the administrative department on the front lines is wondering what exactly is so efficient about this.<\/p>\n
Rather than adding another layer to \u201cmeasure\u201d productivity, it\u2019s far more effective to eliminate the hassle of having to \u201center data two or three times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ideally, registration should be consolidated, and inspections should be standardized.<\/p>\n
Whether it's Green Site, Buildy, or CCUS, we'll have a single entry point\u2014once you're in, you'll have access to all of them.<\/p>\n
Inspection documents should use a standard format rather than having different formats for each client.<\/p>\n
If we don't do that kind of \"streamlining,\" the front-line staff will spend all day just entering data into the system.<\/p>\n
If anything, I could just send the invoice by email, but instead I have to enter it into some system or other...<\/p>\n
That varies from company to company, too...<\/p>\n
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I\u2019m in favor of both smoothing out orders and having a coordinator, in principle.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying that efficiency and transparency are bad, either.<\/p>\n
It's just that I think the order is wrong.<\/p>\n
The underlying image problem that keeps people from coming, and the waste caused by duplicate registrations and duplicate billing that is putting a strain on the front lines.<\/p>\n
If you leave this unresolved and then say, \u201cLet\u2019s measure productivity,\u201d the people on the front lines will respond, \u201cWait, there are other things we need to do first, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Subtraction before addition.<\/p>\n
If you have the energy to create a new system, I want you to start by getting rid of the old, time-consuming processes.<\/p>\n
It doesn't have to be a drastic reform.<\/p>\n
Eliminate one unnecessary registration; standardize all forms to a single format.<\/p>\n
Veteran employees are seeing their workload increase steadily as they handle not only their existing paperwork but also systems designed to improve efficiency.<\/p>\n
Who on earth would come to an industry like this?<\/p>\n
And people say that introducing AI makes things more efficient, right?<\/p>\n
Going forward, the more experienced you are, the more work you\u2019ll have once AI is introduced. After all, you\u2019ll be forced to make decisions and judgments.<\/p>\n
General contractors have separate departments, and each individual\u2019s responsibilities are clearly defined, so they probably don\u2019t face the same challenges as small and medium-sized companies like ours. (Small and medium-sized companies can\u2019t fully understand the challenges faced by large firms.)<\/p>\n
We small and medium-sized businesses have to do eeeeeeeverything!<\/p>\n
If efficiency improvements\u2014the kind that make the news\u2014just keep piling up, then no matter how many people you have, it\u2019s never going to be enough.<\/p>\n
That was really a thought-provoking article.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See you later.<\/p>\n