A pioneering digital transformation approach by Tokyu Construction, a leading construction company specialising in infrastructure construction for railways, roads, tunnels, and bridges. SketchUp played a central role in helping Tokyu Construction get consensus and communicate real-time reflection of plan changes for the once-in-a-century redevelopment of Shibuya Station.
Tokyu Construction's Nakahiro Ikeda, director of the Digital Technology Integration Promotion Office, Railway and Civil Engineering Department, Urban Development Branch shares how 3D visualisation helped enhance understanding of construction plans amongst various stakeholders.
Project Overview: 3D design application with SketchUp in the transition of Shibuya Station for the Tokyo Metro move, led by Tokyu Corporation.
Benefits:
Enhances communication among construction personnel, locals, government officials, police, and road managers.
Early Phase Advantage:
Utilization of 3D modeling from the initial design stages to identify and eliminate defects before finalization.
Process Improvement:
SketchUp facilitates processing consultations and validation of design defects.
Development of detailed processing plans based on the 3D model.
Comprehensive Project Support:
Benefits extend throughout the project lifecycle:
Upstream: Early design and defect resolution.
Downstream: Enables 4D simulations and virtual reality construction simulations during construction phase.
To co-ordinate the relocation of the Ginza Line, there were some limitations, including:
A. Limited time for construction due to daily operating hours of the trains.
B. Multi-level Construction - multiple cranes were required both on the track level, road level and a third "temporary structure surface". A detailed work plan was needed to ensure crane deployment was co-ordinated.
C. Real-time updates : As there were many different project teams working across different sites, and across and extended period of time, it was crucial for all participating workers (site engineers, support engineers, project operations and construction team), all have to work quickly and have clarity on the complicated work schedule and construction process and procedures.
Please tell us about your company's business and the work you are involved in.
Tokyu Construction is a general construction company that handles a wide range of large-scale infrastructure and civil engineering projects, including buildings, railways, dams and tunnels. I joined the company in 1997 and have been involved in railway improvement work in the Tokyo metropolitan area for over 25 years. I use SketchUp in planning and review work using 3D models.
I think that the sense of accomplishment and fulfilment that comes from seeing what you have thought up and planned come to fruition is something that is unique to the construction industry. In particular, creating 3D models is a great pleasure. Things that were previously difficult to see in 2D can now be seen in real life in detail, allowing you to get a concrete image.
Please tell us why you started using SketchUp and what changes have occurred since then.
I introduced SketchUp to this project in 2017. The reason for selecting it was that it was easy to model and could be very easily explained to stakeholders.Typically, the creation of models and perspective drawings has been outsourced to specialist companies, which has made it difficult to quickly reflect changes to the plan, such as the addition of new element during local information sessions and discussions with the government.
By introducing SketchUp, it became possible to reflect changes to the plan in real time. I believe that this change has brought benefits not only to those involved in the construction, but also to all stakeholders, including local residents, government officials, police, and road managers.
How do you use SketchUp in your work process?
The key to using SketchUp is to use it from the early design planning phase. By creating a 3D model before the design plan is solidified, it is possible to eliminate any problems that may arise later.
I used SketchUp to model from the early design planning phase, during construction discussions, verification of design defects, and formulation of detailed construction plans.
SketchUp provides benefits not only upstream but also downstream of the project. By creating a 3D model in the early design planning phase, it is possible to perform 4D simulations at the construction stage or to perform construction simulations in VR space. Since SketchUp can be used in different ways upstream and downstream, it plays a role in seamlessly supporting the entire project.
Can you share more about how using SketchUp helped you for this project?
The construction for Shibuya Station on the Ginza Line, started in 2009, and the new station building was moved to a new one in January 2020. Construction on the east side was carried out while railway operations continued in the new building, and construction on the west side began in 2021. We are currently working on demolishing the buildings and erecting two new bridges.
For such a large-scale project, it is difficult to get the younger staff to understand with just 2D drawings. Therefore, by using SketchUp, the younger staff can now understand the work and plans they are currently involved in. The biggest change within the company is that the younger staff can now understand the whole picture of the project "quickly" and "accurately."
What role does SketchUp play in your design planning?
In the railway renovation projects that I am involved in, construction is carried out while trains are in operation, so stakeholders from a variety of departments are involved, not just civil engineering and construction, but also the electrical signaling department and sales department.
SketchUp's visibility and excellence as a communication, collaboration, and presentation tool make it easy to reach consensus among all team members.
In addition, the use of point cloud data with SketchUp is extremely important for visualizing on-site equipment and facilities such as electric wires and utility poles that cannot be expressed in 2D drawings . It is now possible to verify on the data whether construction machinery will interfere with actual construction, or whether planned structures will interfere with existing structures. Being able to identify defects before construction is a major advantage. The more complex the construction work, the more important SketchUp becomes.
SketchUp is also compatible with other tools, and I import Civil3D directly into SketchUp and use it. I also import SketchUp data into the rendering software Twinmotion when simulating it. Since I mainly use SketchUp, I naturally use software that is compatible with SketchUp in conjunction with it.
What considerations should users have when using SketchUp 3D models?
While 3D models are very useful, they also have disadvantages - which I call the "disadvantages of BIM/CIM." Creating a 3D model is not the goal; it is the start of the process once it is created. Don't rely too much on 3D models, and don't deepen the visualized plans; otherwise, there is no point.
As an example of a lesson learned, I would like to introduce a part of the construction work at Shibuya Station on the Ginza Line mentioned above. At one site, the people in charge were divided into different work sections, and I shared the 3D model I created with all the sections. At that time, in one work section, arguments arose such as "We should place the crane here" or "We should rotate it this way," while in another work section, it was decided that "This will be easy." As a result, the former work went very smoothly, while the latter work did not proceed as planned.
The merit of a 3D model is not just that it is easy to understand. It brings to light things that would not be noticed if a 2D model were simply converted into a 3D model. I believe that this is where the benefit lies.
What are your company's future plans for using SketchUp?
In the past, when we only had 2D drawings, it was difficult to grasp the spatial form of the finished product. Although designers and planners could imagine it to a certain extent, there were discrepancies between them and third parties. In addition, the accuracy of consensus building varied depending on the technical level of the parties involved. Now, by using SketchUp's 3D models, such discrepancies have disappeared, and the accuracy of consensus building can be maintained at a consistent level regardless of the technical level of the parties involved.
The construction industry has been suffering from a chronic shortage of a young engineers and work hours are now reduced due to government labour reforms. This also means that the time available for engineers to learn skills on the job is limited. In this situation, our biggest challenge is how to pass on skills. Realistically, I do not think we can stick to traditional methods of training our younger workforce who need to understand the process of our construction workflow..
That's why I'm working on using SketchUp. However, it's meaningless to simply acquire the skills to create 3D models. This is because you can't draw the construction steps if you don't know the construction technology itself. Even if you can draw the finished product, you can't give advice to the construction staff if you can't draw the intermediate phases.
Nowadays, video tools such as YouTube have become commonplace. By using these tools in conjunction with SketchUp, a new form of training is possible.
Specifically, a 3D model is created in SketchUp and a video is recorded of how each phase is handled, and the trainee learns construction techniques through hands-on experience while watching the video. I think this method is very effective for young trainees.
Of course, modeling skills are necessary, but there is no point in honing them alone. Unless you acquire the actual construction skills, you will not be able to use excellent tools like SketchUp. The first step is to help young people hone their skills. This will be the first step in supporting the future succession of construction skills.
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