Civil engineering is sometimes called “experience engineering.” It means that technicians acquire practical experience in the field, which is passed on from generation to generation to build a store of technical know-how. Amid recent tight budgets and administrative reforms, local governments have a linearly shrinking civil-engineering staff (Figure 1-3-23). Concern grows in the circumstances as local governments find it increasingly more difficult than before to build a store of technical know-how relevant to infrastructure maintenance and management.

## (4) Trends in the execution of infrastructure maintenance and management works

The percentage ratio of infrastructure maintenance and management works to public works ordered had moved at around 15% in the 1990s but tended to rise subsequently to account for nearly 30% in recent years (Figure 1-3-24).

In the meantime, a greater proportion of the orders for maintenance and management works awarded by public offices are smaller than the orders for new construction and other works in terms of the amount of contract per order. If the scale of construction works is compared by ordering office and by work category on the basis of the findings of “Construction Works Order Dynamic Statistical Survey” released by the MLIT, the maintenance and management works command about 40% of the new construction and other works for both the central and local governments (Figure 1-3-25).

Changes in the Amount of Prime Contractors' Construction Revenues in the Implementation of Public Works (New, and Maintenance and Repair Works) and Percentage Ratio of Maintenance and Repair Works

(Note) "Maintenance and repair works" in "Construction Works Execution Statistical Survey" means all kinds of works other than new construction and includes routine repairs conducted to preserve the original functionalities of existing structures and ancillary facilities, renovation, relocation, disaster recovery, partition marking and other works (operations).

Source) MLIT, "Statistics on Construction Undertaken"

(Note) "Maintenance and repair works" in "Current Survey on Orders Received for Construction" means routine repairs conducted to preserve the original functionalities of existing architectural structures, etc., renovation and other kinds of works intended to restore them by fixing their breakages, tear and wear, failures and other conditions.

Source) MLIT, “Fiscal 2012 Current Survey on Orders Received for Construction”

A look at the amounts of new construction works and prime contractors' amounts of maintenance and management works completed by contractor's capital size suggests that the maintenance and management works account for a greater share of the prime contractors' amounts of completed works (Figure 1-3-26).

Let us look at the findings of a questionnaire survey conducted on civil-engineering consultants (hereinafter called "Constructor Questionnaire on Maintenance, Management and Repair" Figure 1-3-26)

## Changes in the Amount of Prime Contractors' Construction Revenues by Capital Level (New, and Maintenance and Repair Works) and Percentage Ratio of Maintenance and Repair Works

(Note) Amount of construction revenues in the implementation of public works by full-time constructors, corporations and constructors authorized by the Minister and Prefectural Governors

Source) MLIT, "Statistics on Construction Undertaken (Fiscal 2012)"