Event Report

The First International Conference on Press-inEngineering 2018, Kochi
The First “International Conference on Press-in Engineering (ICPE) 2018, Kochi” was held by the ICPE
Organizing Committee / International Press-in Association (IPA) at Kochi University of Technology in Kami city,
Kochi Prefecture, Japan on 19th and 20th September, 2018.
The IPA is an international academic organization founded in 2007 and tasked with the challenging aimsof explication and expansion of the Press-in technology. IPA marked the eleventh anniversary this year andis kept growing. “Press-in retaining structures: a handbook (First edition 2016)” was published and theinternational seminars have been held regularly to apply this unique technique to society. After more than
one decade of activities, the ICPE Organizing Committee was set up and the first international conference
was held in the city of Kochi, Japan, since Kochi is the birthplace of a piling machine called “Silent Piler”,
which plays a key role in Press-in Engineering. At the conference, there were 418 participants including
researchers, engineers, practitioners and students from 17 countries.
The three key words of the ICPE2018 as an international conference are “Disaster prevention”, “iConstruction*1” and “Regional revitalization”. As an aim of “Regional revitalization”, the ICPE2018
disseminate the Press-in technology through the international conference held in Kochi, Japan where thePress-in technology was originated. As an aim of “Disaster prevention”, the counter measures of Kochi
Prefecture against Tsunamis expected to occur as a result of future Tonankai earthquakes was the main topicof this conference. As an aim of “i-Construction”, it was recognized that the use of ICT or IOT in construction
machines is vital to improve productivity and solve the issue of labour shortage. In support of these aims, 28
supporters including Kochi Prefecture and the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), and the ICPE
Organizing committee received four subsidies including the International Scientific Exchange Fund of Japan
Society of Civil Engineers.
*1

A project promoted by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to make the construction
work more productive as well as appealing, mainly based on ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

In the plenary sessions, two Key-note lecturers were invited. Professor Fumihiko IMAMURA of Tohoku
University, of the director of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, who is a worldrenowned expert on Tsunami disaster prevention, and Mr Kenjiro SHIMADA, who is active in the front line ofKomatsu Ltd. which is a leading company developing ICT construction machinery. Also, a video message by
Mr Akio KITAMURA (Honorary president, IPA / President, GIKEN Ltd.), who is an inventor of the Press-intechnology, was shown. The message mentioned the background and the future prospects of the Press-intechnology and machines contributing to society due to their multiplicity of broad versatility in construction.
Furthermore, the state-of-the-art report of the collaboration between the Cambridge University and GIKEN
LTD. was unveiled. Across the sixteen general sessions, including two organized sessions regarding “iConstruction” and “Dialogue among operators and researchers”, in total 88 presentations on the researchand project reports were made. It seems that many participants listened attentively to lectures in the plenary
session whilst proactive discussions and useful opinion exchange occurred in the general sessions, which
demonstrated the high level of academic interest in the Press-in technology.
In addition to the international conference, a technical visit was conducted. A site tour of the Kochi coast
protection system of which the Press-in technology was adopted, keeping the function of both the existing
levees and arterial roads, was arranged, as was a tour of the facilities of the Kochi head office, GIKEN LTD.
This tour including the tsunami simulator, the underground mechanical car park “ECO-park” and the museumof pile drivers. Particularly during the site tour, some participants exclaimed in astonishment “I can’t believethat this levee was reinforced without the suspension of traffic. Additionally, the scenery of beautiful coastwas kept after the construction!”. Thus, this technical visit was a good opportunity for the participants tograsp the practicability of the Press-in technology.
1Key-note lecturer
Mr. Kenjiro ShimadaVideo Message
Mr. Akio Kitamura

Professor, Tohoku University

Team Leader, Komatsu Ltd.

President, GIKEN LTD.

Opening Ceremony
Dr. Osamu KusakabeOpening Ceremony
Mr. Takaaki Iwaki

Opening Ceremony
Prof. Masahiko Isobe

Chair, ICPE2018 Organizing Committee

Deputy Governor, Kochi Prefecture

President, Kochi University of Technology

Opening Ceremony
Prof. Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Opening Ceremony
Prof. Jun Otani

Opening Ceremony
Prof. Charles NG

Key-note lecturer
Prof. Fumihiko Imamura

President, JSCE

President, JGS

Closing Ceremony
Mr. Masanao Ozaki

Technical Tour: The Museum ofPile Drivers

Governor of Kochi Prefecture

2President, ISSMGE

Technical Tour: Demonstration ofTsunami Simulator