Smart Construction – A top service to customers worldwide
The “Japan Service Awards” project, handed out this year for the third time, evaluates a wide variety of services in Japan, in education, entertainment, applications, healthcare, etc. and commends excellence that adds value to a company. Winners of the award can be viewed as leading service providers and models in this field. The service industry accounts for about 70% of Japan’s GDP and employment, and is an important industry that will be the key to the future growth of the Japanese economy.
A leading manufacturer of construction machinery, worldwide, Komatsu has, in the past years, also launched its unique “Smart Construction” offer globally, including in Europe. Smart Construction uses 3D topographical data, drones, connected machines, etc. to provide services for all processes from surveying to completion inspection, and achieves overwhelming safety and productivity improvement. Recently launched in Europe also, Smart Construction services originated in Japan, are unparalleled around the world, and fundamentally innovate the business format of civil engineering construction.
In addition to providing cutting-edge construction machinery and unique services, Komatsu offers a machine guidance retrofit kit that converts conventional hydraulic excavators into connected machinery at low cost, raising the full Digital Transformation (DX) level of the entire industry and addressing labour shortage with these services.
Mr. Yoshihide Suga, the prime minister of Japan, sent a congratulatory message to the winners: “Komatsu Ltd goes beyond “selling goods” for the manufacturing industry and has optimized the entire construction process by integrating and utilizing topographical data measured by drones, design data and operation data from construction machines. I have heard that Komatsu Ltd. has been providing services all over the world that dramatically increase productivity at construction jobsites. I understand we will be able to realize an accident-free construction jobsite with even higher labour productivity if we combine those services with autonomous driving and remote control functions in the future. This is not only “selling goods” but “selling services” as a whole, and I think it is one of the “models” that shows the way the Japanese manufacturing industry should go.”
Komatsu machines bring excellent value to customers during the construction phase of a project. And by digitally transforming the jobsite with Smart Construction, Komatsu aims to start delivering value throughout the whole project, from bidding on the tender to reporting to the project owner.
Richard Clement is DGM Smart Construction at Komatsu Europe. He says: “The data we capture with Smart Construction enables us to make estimates, based on previous activities, on how long a task will take, and allows us to propose to our customers an ideal choice of machines for a specific task.” He adds: “Construction companies can now also easily monitor and report on bottlenecks. With Smart Construction services, our clients can count on us on being their greatest ally on their next project.”
Mas Morishita, CEO of Komatsu Europe, says: “Our Smart Construction team at Komatsu Europe is leading the way to transform a manufacturing company into a top service provider. The added value of this unique service is now being recognized by the customers and the public in general. He adds: “I think this is the meaning of this award: it encourages us greatly to push ahead with Smart Construction in Europe.” In Japan, in Europe and around the world, Komatsu is always focused on innovation and on optimizing the future of the construction industry.