STAFF INTERVIEW
Shinmaruyama Dam JV Construction Office Managing Engineer
Hiroya Kunijima
In civil engineering construction sites, it is said that the five aspects of management of QCDSE (Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety, Environment) is important. Let's compare the QCDSE conducted at Shin-Maruyama Dam currently with that of about 70 years ago when Maruyama Dam was constructed.
Quality
In dam construction work, ensuring the quality of concrete is most important. Concrete for the dam body of Maruyama Dam was placed between 1952 and 1954, shortly after published of research findings of concrete quality management began appearing in 1950.
During these times, it is said Maruyama Dam used hard and durable riverbed gravel (boulders) as concrete aggregate and introduced facilities for pre-cooling concrete aggregates for crack prevention, which was a first in Japan. I am admired by their high level of quality management awareness among engineers at that time. In the construction of the dam body of Shinmaruyama Dam, we will utilize digital technology, such as establishing traceability using BIM/CIM (Building/ Construction Information Modeling, Management)(Available only in Japanese)
, to perform quality control, aiming to impress people 100 years from now.
Cost
The fundamental attitude of "generating appropriate profits" remains the same throughout the ages, but the contractors of Maruyama Dam might have felt pride in contributing to the national project of constructing Maruyama Dam rather than pursuing profits. Currently, laws have been enacted to promote fair bidding and contracting for public works, preventing the exhaustion of construction companies and the burden on subcontractors due to dumping contracts. In order to ensure a sustainable workforce in the construction industry, we strive to create a rewarding site work environment where all companies involved in the construction of the Shinmaruyama Dam strive to create a rewarding where they can obtain fair profits and carry out the work with satisfaction.
Process
Maruyama Dam was constructed with the aim of quickly securing electricity for the strained Kansai region with the aim of quickly securing, so it is said that construction was carried out day and night regardless of a day of the week. Nowadays, work style reforms are being promoted to ensure the health of working people and improve work-life balance. By making full use of productivity improvement measures such as the use of ICT tools and precast components, and we aim to complete the construction within the determined schedule while ensuring proper rest on weekends and holidays.
Safety
No matter how era change, safety is paramount in construction work. In concrete dam construction works, cable cranes are used to transport concrete and construction machinery, so overhead of heavy objects pass through constantly. While safety was previously ensured through visual checks and alarm devices installed on hanging bracket, the construction of the dam body of Shinmaruyama Dam incorporates not only conventional safety management methods but also safety management systems utilizing CPS (Cyber Physical Systems *1) to ensure thorough safety management. We will continue to strive for daily safety management with a strong determination to continue achieving zero accidents and incidents until the dam is completed.
※1 CPS（Cyber Physical Systems）
A system that reproduces the real world (physical) in a virtual space (cyber) on a computer, and after analysis, reflects it on the real world to derive optimal results.
Environment
During the rapid growth of the economy in the postwar era, serious pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, environmental destruction, noise, and vibration issues was occurring throughout Japan. Now, 70 years after the completion of Maruyama Dam, people live in harmony with abundant nature around the dam. In the constructing of the dam body of Shinmaruyama Dam, we will proceed with the construction while more considering the environment (noise, vibration, dust, etc.) for the neighboring residents even more than we would construct for a new dam. We would also aim to create a comfortable working site environment so that those working on dam construction can be done.
In dam construction, there are various types of work from different categories, and even if without any one of them, a good dam will not be possible. I see my role as the coordinator of the main construction work, is to actively communicate with a variety of people and align the vectors of everyone on site.
On holidays, I try to change my mind by forgetting about work and going out or meals or sports events together. Since this construction will be a long-term working, I believe that good interpersonal relationships lead to good sites and good construction, so I work hard every day.
