Maeda Road Construction Co., Ltd, which is engaged in road maintenance, manufacturing and sales of pavement materials nationwide, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2030. At a time when the construction industry is required to reform its work style, we jointly developed our own "Road Paving Index" to optimize road paving work days according to weather conditions, and introduced "Weathernews for business," a weather application "Weathernews" customized exclusively for companies.
We interviewed Hiroshu Moriyasu - san, Director, Managing Executive Officer, General Manager of Technology Division and in charge of CSR and Environment at Maeda Road Construction Co., Ltd
Sudden rain or low temperatures at construction sites, which are affected by the weather, directly lead to a decrease in quality and work efficiency.
At road construction sites and pavement manufacturing plants (composite material plants), quality and work efficiency are greatly affected by the season and weather.
First of all, construction sites must basically stop paving when a certain amount of rain falls. Temperature also has a significant impact on the quality of asphalt mixtures. Rainfall and cooler temperatures cause the asphalt mixture to cool before it can be compacted and compacted, making it difficult to achieve the required strength.
In addition, not only at the construction site, but also at the plant (composite plant), sudden changes in weather conditions such as sudden rains or deviations from weather forecasts can affect the amount of pavement shipped that day, resulting in loss of pavement material.
In addition, workers' work plans must also be changed, which affects their work style. In addition, we need to consider the risk of health problems for workers, such as heat stroke in the summer," says Moriyasu - san.
Thus far, weather information, which had such a significant impact on quality and work style, had not been utilized effectively, according to the company.
The manager and the on-site workers would check the previous day's weather forecast on TV, or download weather forecast apps. When it came time to cancel work, the different information each person was looking at led to different decisions, and sometimes communication with the workers on site was not good.
We thought that by introducing highly accurate weather forecasts throughout the company, we could reduce costs, improve quality and work efficiency, and even promote work style reform in anticipation of the '2024 problem' (*)," said Moriyasu - san.
(*The 2024 problem: Issues in the working environment that the construction industry must correct by 2024, when the grace period of the "Workplace Reform Law" ends.
Jointly developed the "Pavement Index" to determine whether road construction is feasible or not.
Maeda Road initially thought that receiving highly accurate weather data would be enough. However, as they delved deeper into the issues and needs, they moved toward the joint development of a "pavement index" that would enable them to determine whether weather conditions were suitable for road pavement construction.
To be honest, it was difficult for us, as non-weather experts, to judge the situation based only on numbers such as temperature, precipitation, and wind speed. So we decided that it would be easier to use a tool that anyone could use to make a decision at a glance," said Moriyasu - san.
We incorporated the "Pavement Index" into the "Weathernews for business" application and ran a three-month trial from October 2022 at 23 sales offices. 50 people were asked to use the application daily as monitors and their usage logs were analyzed. Based on feedback on how construction decisions were made in the current weather conditions, we made numerous improvements to the accuracy of the forecasts and content.
We also found that there was a gap between the weather conditions at the head office and in the field when deciding whether to stop work or not. There were cases where work was possible at the site even though the weather conditions were considered difficult at the head office, and conversely, there were cases where work was halted at the site but the head office thought it was possible. We adjusted the index while absorbing the opinions of as many on-site workers as possible, so we were able to fill in the gaps between our senses and create an index that both parties could agree on.
The service's high scalability was also attractive, as it allowed us to respond to detailed requests regarding display and usability, such as "color-coding the displayed information so that anyone can understand it at a glance. Weathernews' sales staff was also very enthusiastic, and they were able to accurately handle our requests in a flexible manner.
The "Pavement Index," created through a trial-and-error process, divides construction work into three categories: earthwork, roadbed, and paving, and indicates whether the hourly weather conditions up to three days ahead are suitable for each type of construction. Specifically, precipitation, temperature, and wind speed around the site are predicted with high accuracy on a 1 km mesh, and conditions suitable for construction are indicated by icons in four levels of different colors. This information allows the person in charge of the site to consider whether or not to set up and carry out the construction.
After a trial run, the system was put into operation in April 2023 for all employees working at the head office and branches, 112 sales offices, and 96 lumber plants nationwide.
All civil engineering departments use the system, and more than 90% use it daily, a threat to the spread of the system.
In addition to the "Pavement Index," which is the main service, the application, customized exclusively for Maeda Road, also provides pinpoint weather forecasts for each site, rain cloud radar, typhoon information, heat stroke information, and other information important for road pavement.
At our sales offices, we use the app to check the weather at the site when we have a meeting with workers the evening before and in the morning on the day of the work. At the plant, we check the weather not only the day before, but also three days in advance. It is not just a matter of deciding whether or not to proceed with construction. If stormy weather is forecasted, the number of dump trucks and workers will need to be adjusted. By being able to know in advance, we can prepare for changes in orders at the site," says Moriyasu - san.
When introducing the new application, some people asked, "Isn't the existing application sufficient? However, once the application was actually used, its overwhelmingly high forecast accuracy and convenience accelerated its adoption throughout the company. The log-in usage rate for the entire company is now over 80%. In particular, all members of the civil engineering department are using the system, and the fact that more than 90% of them check the system daily demonstrates its practicality.
The new application is not only new, but the existing paid content functions and services can be used consistently, so we were able to introduce it without any stress, which is another point that is highly evaluated by our employees.
In fact, the 'rain cloud radar' on the day of work and the 'heat stroke alert' in the summer are also very useful. With the rain cloud radar, we can make flexible decisions, such as, "There is a forecast of guerrilla downpour, so let's finish work by 〇:00," or, "The rain will stop at 〇:00, so let's start work then.
The heat stroke alert was especially useful in the extremely hot summer of 2023, and the number of workers suffering from heat stroke has decreased dramatically compared to last year.
One of the things they realized after the introduction of the application was that it made it easier to share information because everyone involved in the work was using the same application.
One of the things we have realized since the introduction of the app is that it has made it easier to share information," he says. In particular, information on typhoons and thunderstorms not only improves worker safety, but also helps them to take paid vacations and use their time off in lieu. The quick decisions made through information sharing can optimize operations and reduce material losses, which in turn can lead to decarbonization and resource conservation," says Moriyasu - san.
Establish disaster agreements with local governments and set up a system to support reconstruction through "infrastructure development x weather data".
Moriyasu - san says, "This application is not finished just because it is completed. Now that the practicality of the application has spread to all employees, we will continue to improve it to make it even easier to use, with the aim of creating a more worker-friendly environment."
For example, we have no experience with winter snowfall, so we have the problem of how to deal with it. We also undertake snow removal work, which involves spreading calcium chloride. We will be able to devise various ways to determine how much the temperature will drop and how this will affect the site.
We are also considering a proposal to include "humidity" data in the "pavement index. The repair material we have developed with our proprietary technology, "Mild Patch," a bagged room temperature asphalt mixture that is compacted by applying water, has a long storage period, so if the humidity index is clear, we should be able to reduce losses even more," says Moriyasu - san.
The company's goal is also to address the social issues faced by Japan, where many natural disasters such as typhoons, torrential rains, and earthquakes occur every year. Roads also play an important role in times of disaster. For this reason, we hope to conclude disaster agreements with local governments so that in the event of an emergency, we can proactively utilize weather data to support reconstruction efforts.
Maeda Road has continued to lead the road industry as a leading company. Maeda Road has continued to lead the way as a leading company in the road industry. The company will continue to expand areas where weather data can be utilized, such as employee comfort, improvement of construction quality, environmental initiatives, and challenges to social issues.
