March 19th, 2024
FPCJ Press Briefing

Solving Problems in the Construction Industry in
an Era of Declining Birthrate and Aging
Population with DX
Ritsumeikan UniversityKazuyoshi Tateyama
1Background for Necessity of Innovation in Japanese construction

Population Movement and Prediction in Japan
Estimation

Real number

×10,000

Total population

Population 65 and over(FY 2017 estimate)

Ratio of working age toelderly population

Age: -19

Age: 20-64

Age: 65-74

Age: 75-unknown

Statistic Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

22020
Male2030
FemaleFemaleMaleWorking AgePopulation

2050

2040
FemaleMale

MaleFemale

2060
Male

FemalePopulation Pyramidin Japan
3

Prediction of population in JapanPop ulatio n (m illion )140
120
To tal p opula tion
100
80
D ecrease of 28.2 %60

W orking -ag e p opul ati on(15-64 y ea rs old)
Estim ation

40
Real
20
2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060

2070 A.D.

• Working-age population will fall to 71.8 % after 30 years.
• The decrease in the number of construction engineers and workers will accelerate.
• Reduction of the tax revenue → Shrinking of budgets for public investment.

4Predicted number of workers (15-64 years old)
Number of workers byin the construction industry
age group（x10,000）
2021

After 5years

15-19

3

320-24

21

21

25-29

33

21

30-34

32

33

35-39

42

32

40-44

51

42

45-49

69

51

50-54

63

69

55-59

47

63

60-64

42

47

Total

403

382

600

Num ber o f con struction w orkers( x 10,000 )Agegroup

Real

Estimation

500

10years 20years 30years

400-11.7%-34.0%-46.7%

2030

2040

2050

300
200
10002000

2010

2020

From Portal site for Japanese Government Statistics (e-Stat )A.D.

• The forecast assumes that the composition of the working population by age
group will remain unchanged.
• Mid-career leavers and mid-career entrants are not considered.
5Construction industry with an aging workforce
40％

Decline in technological capability

Retirement

Construction industry (over 55 years old)

35
30
25

All industry average (over 55 years old)20

All industry average (under 29 years old)

15
10
5Construction industry (under 29 years old)2002 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

From Digital Construction Handbook 2023（Japan Federation of Construction Contractors）• The technical capabilities of the construction industry depend not on theorganization but on the engineers' long years of experience.
• Retirement of skilled engineers = Decline in technical capability.

6

The 2024 Problem in the Construction Industry
At the end of March 2024, the grace period for the upper limit on
overtime work that exceeds the legal working hours (by LaborStandards Law) will end.
Construction workers' working hours must be constrained．

Measures for an era of serious labor shortages
1. Creating a system that enables more work than ever with lessmanpower ⇒"Productivity improvement" through manpowersaving and efficiency improvement
2. Transformation into an industry in which a different type ofworkers can also play an active role
Perspectives on technological succession are important.

7

Comparison of Changes in Labor Productivity by Industry
Yen/(person x hour)

Poor productivity

Manufacturing

All industry

Construction(Year)
Productivity = Real gross added value/(Number of employed persons x Total labor hours per year)
From Digital Construction Handbook 2017（Japan Federation of Construction Contractors）★ Construction industry has enough potential to increase the productivity.★

8

A New Policy of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

i-Construction from 2016
Remarkable Improvements in Productivity throughAggressive Use ofICT in Construction

HardDirty
DangerousStandardization ofthe Specifications

High wage levels
Sufficient holidays
Safe labor environment

Balancing of Orders
throughout a year

Drastic Development
as an industry
9

Conventional method

Promotion of i-Construction

Full use of ICTICT Construction

From 2D to 3D

KOMATU Rental Dotou

Okumura Engineering
CorporationInterference check of rebar by3D model
NPO Green EarthAutodesk10

Level of construction (%)

Efficiency through fixed and uniform management ofconstruction methods - Merits and Demerits 100
80

railwaywaterworks• Systematizing design• Settling criteria• Completing manuals

60
40200leveeurban park

sewerage expressway
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Growth of infrastructures in Japan（white paper on Japanese construction）

Efficient system forconstruction ofinfrastructure
Uniform management inconstruction• Establish infrastructure of a certain quality in a short period• Fixation of construction methods and reluctance to introducing newtechnologies• Inducing waste through uniform management11

ICT in Construction : Need for a Next Step
•ICT, mainly MG, MC, and drone surveying in earthwork and pavement construction,is being introduced to a certain extent.
•Signs of productivity gains in construction are beginning to emerge.

but•Those companies that are able to introduce ICT are doing so. For companies thatcannot cope with the prescribed ICT introduction, another scheme is necessary.
•In particular, the challenge is to introduce the system to local governments andlocal companies that support infrastructure development in rural areas.

DX Promotion in general society
Need to promote digitalization more than ever in Construction
12Promoting Digitalization in Construction
I. Digitization
UAV surveying

Digitization of analog work

Optical surveying

GNSS surveying
ICT Construction

II. Digitalization
Systematization of construction
with ICTBIM/CIMNPO Green Earth

III. Digital Transformation

Data Integration
Simulation

Inducing new content

Case Study

TOPCONInfrastructure

Economythrough data fusion
Land

Data HubNature

13

III. Digital Transformation DX ⇒ Digital Twin DT
A technology that reproduces a real space in a cyber (virtual) space based on datacollected in a real (physical) space using IoT, etc. Unlike conventional virtual spaces, thistechnology is characterized by its ability to reproduce a more realistic space in real time.
It is like the world in a mirror that copies the environment of the real world into thevirtual space, and is called "digital twin" in the sense of "digital twin．
Cyber (virtual)
space

Digital Twin =Collect information in real time with IoT andsimulate the real in cyberspace．

Real (physical)
spaceStage of manufacturing

Stage of Use

14

Infrastructure Development with Digital Twin
Digital twin allows us to simulate various scenarios and redo
them as many times as we want.

Extraction of optimal scenarios⇒ Optimization of urban planning

Estimating the effects of introducing ⇒ Promotion of new technology
introduction
new technology
Inducing new technologicaldevelopment⇒ Innovation in Infrastructure
Development
15

Digital Twin as a base for infrastructure development
Cyber (virtual) space : Simulation of real phenomena
Extraction of optimal scenarios, conditions, and methods

Feedback

Feedback
Real-time data collection with IoTConstruction

In service

Real (reality) space : Data collection on events

16

Evolution from i-Construction to Infra-DX
DX in the infrastructure sector (Reform of organization, processes, culture, and ways of working)
Digital Twin

Advanced Development andManagement of Infrastructure

Utilization and Servicesof Infrastructure

3D display of hazard maps

i-Construction (Improved productivity in the field)
ICT Construction

Standardization

BIM/CIM

Equalization of period

Construction Industry, Consultant
Manufacturer, etc.

Construction Robots

Virtual Site

Image Discrimination by AI

Software, Service industry ,Telecommunications industry, etc.

https://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/kanbo08_hh_001004.html

March, 202217Significance of ICT implementation
1. Improvement of efficiency and manpower saving.
Productivity improvement through manpower saving and efficiency
improvement by utilizing ICTPromotion of manpower saving through automation and autonomous
technology
2. Creation of opportunities for diverse human resourcesIt allows people who have never been involved in construction before to sharein the work.
Engineers can use their free time to work on more specialized technical workwith more time to spare.
3. Reduction of excess through precise management
 Optimization of construction through reduction of excesses that are inevitablewith uniform management.
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1. Productivity improvement by utilizing ICT
Aerial surveying with UAV
Overlapping photographic shots

Photo surveying
Point cloud data
Quantification of landformby 3D data setby Kajima Corporationby Okumuragumi-Doboku
Methodology

AreaTime

Human works

CostUAV2ha

1 hour1man day（1day）

1.0

3D Laser scanner

2ha

1 day

2 man day（2days）

4.0

Electro-opticalmeasurement

2ha

3 days

10 man days（5days）

5.619

1. Promotion of manpower saving through automation andautonomous technology- Comparison with Factory Automation (FA) Manufacturing• Form and materials are clearlyspecified in design.
• Working environment is stablebecause of indoor jobs.
• Working objects come to robots bythemselves on a conveyer.

Construction• Materials are soil and rocks and thus
their properties are variable• Outdoor working conditions are muchaffected by weather• Machines must arrive at working
objects in a huge field.

Construction robot should have a function to determine its own action
flexibly according to the situation of each construction site.

20

From construction equipment to autonomous robots
Evolving construction work utilizing peripheral technologies

Autonomous RobotMachines evaluate conditions, environments
and determine the way of controlling machine
Machines control itself automaticallyJudgement function

Unmanned Construction

Operators evaluate conditions, environments
and determine the way of controlling machine
Operators control machines remotely fromseparated place

Advanced control function

Construction Machines

AI

Control Technology
GPS, GNSS

Operators evaluate conditions, environments
and determine the way of controlling machine
Operators control machines on vehicles
21

Autonomous Construction Robot （Kajima Co. Ltd.）

System consisting with pluraldifferent machines which dotheir jobs corroborating eachother.
Each machine can do its own
jobs, while grasping theinformation on surrounding
circumstance, the working
object, the move of othermachines and determining
the optimum control way ofitself.
22

2. Creation of opportunities for diverse human resources to play
an active role

Dangerous Job on high roofs, Aged workmen, Lack of successors
Low productivity. There are a lot of the issues to be solved.

Challenge of Matsuzawa Pantile Co. Ltd.
Reduction of works on high roof by changing
players from skilled workmen.
23

i-Construction in Roof Construction

UAV surveying of theshape and size of theroofs as 3D data

Design, Constructing
planning, Estimation
with 3D CAD

Precutting ofroof tileindoors

Placing
roof tiles

Various personnel can enter the construction industry with ICT.
Various trials for Diversification of Professional Staffs has started.

24

3. Reduction of excesses through precise management
Construction Conditions
Environment

BadGood

Construction jobs generally have to include
some unexpected factor.
Planning with margins

Real Conditions

Flexible change of the original plancorresponding to the real conditions

TimeOptimization: Saving labors, materials and energies, etc. 25

Precise management ： Energy conservation monitoringin tunnel construction
電力使用量(MWh)Electricity
consumption

Conventional
Size of Tunnel
Blasting planning
Machinery planning
Design of ventilationequipment

Measurement results of
Description of work, CO2,
Oxygen concentration,
Dust content, Toxic fumes, etc.

When the air is dirty. ⇒100％ power
When the air is clean. ⇒ 70％ power

Electricity consumption

Control of airflow to suit the environment
inside the tunnel

90 (MW/h)
807060504030From beginning to end : 100%201006:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

90 (MW/h)
When the air is dirty : 100%
80706050
When the air is clean : 70%
40
30
20
Shimizu Corporation
10
06:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00

Infrastructure Development
20th century : Streamlining with the standards<Uniform management>

21st century： Elaboration by engineer's judgment＜Individual Evaluation＞

Reduction of waste and effective use of resources27Summary The construction industry is certainly on the move.
 We have a great opportunity to set up a system to overcome theproblems that are sure to come in the future.
 What is most needed is a positive change of mindset on the part ofeach individual.
 In construction, it is necessary to foster a culture that appreciates
challenges rather than blames failure.
 It is important to proactively try what we can do now that we have alittle more time to spare.
28Can DX solve the problems of theconstruction industry?

29