6‑4

6 Games Management Operation Centres

Overview of Equipment Deployment
Centre of the Tokyo 2020 GamesKAWATA Masahiko

Approximately 30 000 units of IT equipment were used in the operation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo
2020 The Equipment Deployment Centre (EDC) was set up independently to achieve efficiency and quick response tochanges EDC collectively handled the preparation setting and deployment of all IT equipment to each venue EDC could
set up and ship up to 600 units of equipment per day By operating this EDC the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo
2020 could ship and deploy IT equipment on the schedule requested by the venues without delay in May and June 2021 thepeak season for venue construction
Keywords：Tokyo 2020 Games Equipment configuration Image deployment

1．Introduction
During the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo
2020 (hereinafter referred to as “Tokyo 2020”) approxi-

2．Outline of the Equipment Deployment Centre(EDC)
EDC is a facility used for the preparation temporary

mately 30 000 units (approximately 11 000 PCs or withinstorage and testing of IT equipment required for thethe entire period from the inauguration of the Organising

operation of the Games and equipment disposal after theCommittee to the end of 2021 17 000 PCs approxi-Gamesmately 3 000 printers/multifunctional printers (MFPs)

EDC should be located near or within Main Distribu-

and approximately 3 000 network devices) were de-tion Centre (MDC i e

the Olympic and Paralympic

ployed over about one and half months As mentioned

Gamesʼ warehouse) to efficiently hand over goods

above previous Olympic and Paralympic Games had

between the logistics team responsible for transporting

their independent Equipment Deployment Centres

equipment to competition venues and facilities and the(EDC) to flexibly handle the preparation and configura-technology team responsible for preparing the equip-

tion changes of a large quantity of equipment and toment Based on the above perspective EDC for thequickly replace the equipment that had failed The

Tokyo 2020 Games was also set up in MDC

following is an overview of the EDC established and

We designed the PCs for the Tokyo 2020 Games with

operated at the Tokyo 2020 Games similar to theseveral patterns of equipment configurations and setup

previous Games

specifications depending on the purpose of the work
And EDC had to efficiently set up and prepare many PCs
based on the different patterns to meet the deadlines
required by each venue and facility Therefore EDC

KAWATA MasahikoTechnology Services Bureau The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic
and Paralympic GamesThe Journal of The Institute of Electronics Information and Communication Engineers Vol 105 No 8 Supplement pp 320‑326 August 2022
© 2022 The Institute of Electronics Information and Communication Engineers

320

needed to be equipped with a high‑speed and wide band
local area network (LAN) capable of duplicating anddeploying PC settings via a network Referring to theshipment data of previous Games and the TEAP

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONICS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERS

(Technology Equipment Allocation Plan) we designed ahanded over to the logistics team and was awaiting

PC deployment system including LAN with a maximum

delivery (the status of this equipment was alreadydaily production capacity of 600 PCs at the EDC for the“shipped from EDC”) The floor layout was such that aTokyo 2020 Games

handover area surrounded the EDC
The EDC occupied an area of 726 m 2 in total and was21

divided into three main sections : the LOAD‑OUT/

Physical Layout of EDC

As mentioned above EDC was located on the second
floor of MDC adjacent to the technology component

LOAD‑IN areas on the left and right and the work areaat the centre (Figure 2)

storage area (Figure 1) And there was a temporary

The LOAD‑OUT area (150 m 2) was a temporarystorage area around the perimeter of EDC for equipment

storage area for finished products that had beenthat had been assembled and configured at the EDC andcompleted at the EDC and were waiting for hand over tothe logistics team (Figure 3) The LOAD‑IN area
(150 m 2) was a storage area for parts taken from the

Figure 1

Floor Layout Around the EDC on the Second Floor of
MDC

Figure 2

Figure 3

LOAD‑OUT Area and Equipment Waiting for Shipment

Floor Layout in EDC

Special Issue : Technology and Innovation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

321

Figure 5

Table 1Figure 4

Responsible for EDC as a whole
Coordinates with EDC external parties(logistics team VITM etc )Coordinates emergency EDR and approves
production plans

EDC
Supervisor

Assist EDC Manager
Planning of production plan
Receives EDRs assigns and directs production work to each engineer and handles
incidents

ServerEngineer

Responsible for production of server equipment

W&L PC
Engineer

Responsible for production of Workstation/
Laptop PCs

Reprographics
Engineer

Responsible for production of printers and
MFPs

NetworkEngineer

Responsible for production of network equipment

EDC
The central work area had six workbenches for PCs
and two for printers and small MFPs at the top of the
figure a work area for large MFPs and five for network
equipment in the middle The lower section of the work
area was allocated to office space server space etc
22

PC Deployment System

In Tokyo 2020 Games there were 12 types of PCs

Roles of Each EDC Position

EDC
Manager
PC Deployment Workbench

inventory of the MDC for assembly and setup at the

EDC Structure

mainly for the Competition Network (CPN) and 27 forthe Back Office Network (BON) We used Microsoft
System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) as thethrough a dedicated VLAN and expanded to enable

tool for the deployment and production of these PCs

deployment of a small number of PCs at each site in case

SCCM was also used to deploy the CPN PCs at the Rioof emergency

2016 Games So for the Tokyo 2020 Games we started
using SCCM in the early phase This was effective in23

terms of increasing expertise in SCCM operation We

EDC structure (Figure 5) and the primary roles offirst implemented the system as a management system
for the PC of the Organising Committee Then we

EDC Structureeach position (Table 1) are described below
EDC Manager and EDC Supervisor were assigned toextended the system as a deployment tool Specificallytwo people for shift work A total of up to 20 engineers

we installed six servers to distribute and deploy PC

were engaged in production and responsible for setting

settings three each for BON and CPN each of the six

up the actual equipment

workbenches could deploy 36 PCs simultaneously(Figure 4) The distribution servers and the network

3．EDC Operation

hubs installed at each workbench are connected via SDN(Software Defined Network) Although the configura-

31

tion is typically 1 : 1 CPN (3 workbenches)/BON (3EDC construction started in time for the shipment of

Launch of EDC

the system was configured in theequipment for a test event held in the summer of 2019assignment ratio of workbenches that could be flexibly

However due to delays in preparing the MDC where thechanged according to the daily production plan of CPN

EDC is to be housed the existing office floor (approxi-

PCs and BON PCs

mately 250 m 2) within the MDC was initially used as aworkbenches)

The network of this PC deployment system is

temporary EDC and the equipment for the test event

extended to major sites such as competition venues

was shipped in May 2019 Subsequently after complet-

322

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONICS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERS

ing construction of the permanent EDC production

to the delivery date and delivers the equipment with theequipment and other facilities were moved to the

EDRs and logistics requests mentioned above to thelocation shown on the MDC floor (Figure 1) at the end oflogistics warehouse team and delivery team in MDC

December 2019 and production at this EDC began for

In Tokyo 2020 Games there were two systems theequipment management system and the logistics sys-

shipments in 2020

tem EDC VITM and logistics staff had to operate both
32

Preparation of PC Master Image for Finish

systems ; Tokyo 2020 Games combined the EDR number

Product

and logistics request number manually by VITM and

Although we reduced the number of PC hardware

VLM However it would be better to have both systems

platforms for the Tokyo 2020 Games to four main

automatically link EDR numbers and logistics request

models 49 master images of equipment configuration

numbers to each other to avoid errors in linking But

and setting specifications were defined as the final PC

while the equipment management system will be used

Finish Product (FP) Furthermore due to the postpone-across multiple Games the logistics system will changement of the Games for one year in March 2020 because offrom one host city to another so a challenge is how to

the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) outbreak thedesign the interface of the two systems

support period of OS used for the prepared FPs expired
and we had to recreate the PC master images with the34

Key Points of EDC Operation

upgraded OS version In both original and recreated the341

staff in charge of each Finish Product PC werenʼt

As described in Section 4 the number of devices

Production Planning and Refinement

familiar with the method of duplicate deployment andproduced by EDC varies from month to month This isthey took the work to create the PC master image longer

mainly due to the non‑uniform schedule of venue

than planned

EDC shipped each device withconstruction and the concentration of equipment deliv-

keeping the first delivery date requested by the venue

eries during specific periods The fluctuation in theButnumber of devices produced leads to variations in man‑
33

Equipment Deployment Request Process

hours making it challenging to arrange the workforce

To deploy PCs and other equipment at competition

For the Tokyo 2020 Games the venue construction

venues and facilities the Venue Information Technology

schedule was constantly checked from the early stages

Manager (VITM) in charge of IT management andand initiatives were implemented to streamline theequipment installation at the venue first issues anequipment production plan This allowed optimizing

Equipment Deployment Request (EDR) based on the

allocation based on correct forecasts of the workforce

TEAP

plan

VITM must issue EDR to the equipment

management system at least four weeks before therequired delivery date at the venue for test events and

342

Collaboration with the Logistics Team

From the initial stages of launching EDC for the Tokyo

eight weeks for the Games period
VITM must share information about the EDR with the2020 Games we had multiple discussions for operational

Venue Logistic Manager (VLM) of the venue and havedesign with the logistics teams including the warehouse

the VLM issue an equipment logistics request for theteam that stores the equipment and the delivery teamthat transports the equipment to the venue As a result

logistics system from EDC to the venue
The Venue Technology Implementation Duty Manag-

we reduced the overall shipping lead time by optimizing

er (Imp DM) in the Technology Operation Centre

the setup from parts dispatch to delivery of Finish

checks the EDR issued for consistency with TEAP

Products We also established a procedure for respond-

availability of parts stock delivery date etc

ing to emergency shipping requests from the venue inand thensends the EDR as status approved to EDC

Theadvanceconfusion at EDC is avoided with the collection of EDRs

In addition visualization of the production schedulefrom multiple venues by the Imp DM and sent to EDC

for the most recent week from the start of production toafter checking and considering parts availability prior-the completion of shipment enabled close cooperation

ity etc by the Imp DM

among relevant parties and prompt response to emer-

Upon receipt of the EDRs EDC reflects the EDRs ingency shipments (Figure 6)

its production plan produces the equipment according
Special Issue : Technology and Innovation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

323

343

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Preparation

increased rapidly a few months before the opening of theTokyo 2020 Games did not have a backup site of EDC

Games On the other hand during the Games period

If a problem occurred at the EDC and production orwork shifts were set and each role was assigned toshipment of equipment stopped it would significantly

multiple staff members Therefore only about one‑half

impact preparations for the Games Therefore plansof the total number of people involved in the operation of

and work procedures were established in advance so

the Games will be working simultaneously during thethat if a problem were to occur equipment shipment

Games and having the same number of PCs as the

could continue even though production capacity would

number of staff was not necessary Therefore PCs havebe reduced Specifically we prepared a plan that would

been allocated to each operation role and shared byallow work to continue even if these problems occurred :multiple people to control the increase in the number of

NW failure PC deployment system down and equip-

PCs (called this kind of PC “position PC”)

ment request system down The business continuity

On the other hand the main PCs for the Tokyo 2020

plan was rehearsed in January 2020 to verify its

Games were portable notebook PCs and before theaccuracy

Games one PC was given to each person involved (Itwas also necessary to give a PC to each person for

35

Issues in PC Deployment Planning for the Tokyo

remote work as part of the measures for COVID‑19 ) It

2020 Gameswas necessary to transform the PC usage pattern fromThe number of people involved in the operation of the
Olympic Games

including the Tokyo 2020 Games

individual use before the Games to shared use during theGames However due to delays in Games preparation
the use of individual PCs was extended until the very lastminute of the Games and the number of PCs that had
once increased to the number of staff members had to be
reduced by the number required for position PCs This
resulted in a shortage of PCs and confusion in the field
due to the replacement of position PCs
The shortage of personal PCs before the Games wascompensated for by renting the necessary number of
PCs in a short period but EDC also needed to produce
additional PCs to meet the shortage In recent years as
the use and dependence on PCs in business have become
more common the concept and operation of position PCs
are no longer suited to the actual situation In the future
it may be more appropriate to plan and operate one PC

Figure 6

EDC Production Control Board

Figure 7324

per person for the entire duration of the Games to

Number of Monthly Shipments by Equipment TypeTHE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONICS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERS

eliminate wasteful work such as replacement workand network devices : 5 157 units In total 22 699 unitsof IT equipment were produced and shipped (Figure 9)

4．Statistical Information on Equipment
Shipments for the Tokyo 2020 Games
Next statistics on EDC equipment shipments for the

Shipments peaked in June 2021 with 5 544 units shipped
followed by 4 927 units in May and 4 896 units in Marchwith 86% of total shipments concentrated in these fourmonths from March to June

Tokyo 2020 Games are shown below (Figure 7) A total

Furthermore 60% of all EDRs for Games compliedof 2 100 EDRs were processed at the Tokyo 2020 Games

with the rule that EDRs should be issued at least 8 weeks

and a total of 43 076 units of IT equipment were

before the required delivery date at the venue Of the

produced and shipped This quantity includes equipment

114 EDRs issued 7 days before the required delivery

shipped before the postponement of the Games in Marchdate 75 EDRs were emergency shipments that took less2020 and returned to EDC by the venues due to thethan 2 days from issuance to arrival at the venue and 67

postponement Due to the postponement no equipmentof these EDRs were issued during the Games period

was shipped from August 2020 to November 2020

(Figure 10)

To exclude the impact of the Games postponement
we narrowed down the shipment period to December
2020 through August 2021 We found that 1 307 EDRs
(Figure 8) were handled with the main items being
laptop PCs : 19 030 units printer devices : 2 626 units

Figure 10
Figure 8

Number of EDRs Issued per Month

Figure 9Distribution of Time from EDR Issue Date to Required
Delivery Date at Venue

Number of Shipments by Month (December 2020‑August 2021)

Special Issue : Technology and Innovation in the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020

325

5．Conclusion
This was an overview of EDC which played an
important role in deploying IT equipment for the Tokyo
2020 Games EDC met all shipping deadlines for the
EDRs it received

including those for emergency

response

KAWATA Masahiko
KAWATA Masahiko graduated from Osaka
City University in 1990 with a Bachelorʼs
degree in Mechanical Engineering and has beena member of the Technology Services Bureauof the Tokyo Organising Committee of the
Olympic and Paralympic Games since April
2015 He is currently with NEC Solution
Innovator Ltd in the Smart Society Solutions
Division

EDC produced 11 198 PCs and achieved high work
quality There were only 248 defective units with adefect rate of only 2 2% Therefore EDC has made asignificant contribution to the Tokyo 2020 Games(Received February 28 2022 ; Revised March 16 2022)㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇㍇

326

THE JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF ELECTRONICS INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERS