Use of 3D Data and Response to i-Construction

「The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is promoting “i-Construction 2.0” to improve productivity at construction sites. Centered on automating the construction, data integration and construction management processes, it aims to create sites where work can be performed safely and efficiently with fewer personnel.」

「We accurately identified market trends such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's promotion of i-Construction and the adoption of BIM/CIM, as well as revisions to work regulations by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, and proceeded to provide products and functions addressing these trends. In addition, support for importing the new 3D representation technology 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) contributed to higher sales of related software.」

「During the current interim consolidated accounting period, sales increased due to higher demand resulting from the adoption of 3D technology in the surveying and civil engineering fields, the promotion of i-Construction by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and partial revisions by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan to the standards for work procedures.」

「In April 2024, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism formulated i-Construction 2.0 with the aim of improving productivity at construction sites and set a target of increasing productivity 1.5-fold by fiscal 2040. ... Based on this policy, we continue to develop products and services that contribute to reducing labour requirements and improving productivity across all processes in the construction industry.」

「During the current interim consolidated accounting period, demand for 3D-compatible products expanded due to i-Construction 2.0 promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the adoption in principle of BIM/CIM, making a significant contribution to sales.」

「To address social issues surrounding infrastructure, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism aims to improve productivity at construction sites by 20% by fiscal 2025. Taking the adoption in principle of BIM/CIM from fiscal 2023 as an opportunity, it plans to further accelerate measures to reduce labour requirements and enable remote offices at construction sites. We continue to develop products and services that contribute to reducing labour requirements and shortening construction periods across all processes in the construction industry.」

「During the third-quarter consolidated cumulative period, the number of companies with ongoing transactions in the construction infrastructure business, whose main products are point-cloud processing software and BIM/CIM communication systems, increased against the backdrop of the adoption in principle of BIM/CIM that began in fiscal 2023, and sales remained strong.」

「Due to expanding demand for 3D applications associated with the adoption in principle of BIM/CIM, sales in the construction infrastructure business, whose main products are the point-cloud processing software TREND-POINT and the BIM/CIM communication system TREND-CORE, remained strong and contributed to higher revenue.」

「Revenue from the surveying and civil engineering systems business was ¥1,806 million, up 6.4% year on year, and operating profit was ¥844 million, up 9.1%. During the first-quarter consolidated cumulative period, sales in the construction infrastructure business, whose main product is point-cloud processing software, remained strong due to expanding demand for 3D applications associated with the adoption in principle of BIM/CIM, contributing to higher revenue.」

「In the surveying and civil engineering systems business, the transition to i-Construction, a government initiative, is continuing, and the IT Introduction Subsidy has contributed to higher sales. However, the number of approved applications declined this fiscal year from the previous fiscal year following changes to the subsidy program, limiting its contribution to revenue and causing product sales to stagnate. Stock businesses, mainly maintenance services, nevertheless performed steadily. As a result, revenue was broadly unchanged year on year.」

「The surveying and civil engineering systems business was affected by a lower approval rate following the addition of a digitalisation infrastructure implementation category to the IT Introduction Subsidy. However, sales in the construction infrastructure business, whose main product is point-cloud processing software, remained strong due to the spread of i-Construction and contributed to higher revenue.」

「Meanwhile, approvals under the IT Introduction Subsidy and the spread of i-Construction, which had supported the Group's business performance, continued to contribute to performance.」

「In the surveying and civil engineering systems business, performance remained firm, particularly in the civil engineering and construction infrastructure businesses, supported by the spread of i-Construction, government measures related to promoting BIM/CIM, and sales support from the IT Introduction Subsidy and other programs. Performance in the segment increased in both revenue and profit year on year.」

「In the surveying and civil engineering systems business, performance remained firm, particularly in the civil engineering and construction infrastructure businesses, supported by the spread of i-Construction and government measures related to BIM/CIM. Performance in the segment increased in both revenue and profit year on year.」

「In the surveying and civil engineering systems business, performance remained firm, particularly in the civil engineering and construction infrastructure businesses, supported by the spread of i-Construction and government measures related to BIM/CIM. Performance in the segment increased in both revenue and profit year on year.」

「Meanwhile, approvals under the IT Introduction Subsidy and the spread of i-Construction, which had supported the Group's business performance, continued to contribute to performance.」

「During the third-quarter consolidated cumulative period, although the surveying business experienced a reactionary decline from the previous fiscal year's demand for system changes, revenue increased year on year due to higher sales of point-cloud processing software, a core product of the construction infrastructure business, supported by approvals under the IT Introduction Subsidy and the spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites.」

「During the second-quarter consolidated cumulative period, performance in the segment remained firm, led by increased sales of point-cloud processing software, a core product of the construction infrastructure business, as a result of approvals under the IT Introduction Subsidy and the spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites.」

「In the surveying and civil engineering CAD business, revenue growth was limited due to the suspension of sales activities and other measures associated with the spread of COVID-19. However, the continued spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites supported sales, and performance in the segment remained broadly flat year on year.」

「The spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites and approval under the IT Introduction Subsidy during the second-quarter consolidated accounting period supported sales, and all businesses in the segment ended the period with higher revenue and profit.」

「The spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites and approval under the IT Introduction Subsidy during the second-quarter consolidated accounting period supported sales, and performance remained firm across all businesses in the segment. During the third-quarter consolidated accounting period, revenue declined slightly from the same period of the previous fiscal year due in part to a reactionary decline in sales following subsidy approvals. However, for the nine-month consolidated cumulative period, revenue and profit increased year on year and performance remained firm.」

「The spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites and the IT Introduction Subsidy supported sales, and performance remained firm across all businesses in the segment.」

「Revenue from the surveying and civil engineering CAD business was ¥1,522 million, up 9.8% year on year, and operating profit was ¥635 million, up 14.3%. The continued spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites supported sales, and performance remained firm across all businesses in the segment.」

「The steady spread of i-Construction to improve productivity at construction sites and the continued expansion of ICT use, together with active support for the adoption of the IT Introduction Subsidy in the surveying and civil engineering fields, resulted in 875 approved applications and higher revenue and profit year on year.」

「Demand for responding to the rapidly changing shift toward 3D applications related to i-Construction remains high, and sales of our products have remained firm. In particular, demand for new systems and system changes in the surveying field, as well as additional demand for point-cloud processing systems among surveying and civil engineering users, increased.」

「The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism designated fiscal 2018 as the year of deepening i-Construction. The number of orders for ICT-eligible projects increased, and the types of eligible work expanded. The Group actively rolled out an action plan to improve construction companies' productivity through the everyday use of ICT, including on projects not covered by i-Construction.」

「i-Construction, promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, entered its third year, and productivity across the construction production system is steadily improving. Fiscal 2018, designated as the year of deepening, focused on expanding the types of ICT construction work, including ICT river dredging, further use of CIM, and expanded use of ICT in surveying. The Group is actively rolling out the 3D Action Plan 2018 to support productivity improvements through the adoption of 3D technology in the civil engineering surveying industry.」

「i-Construction, promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to improve productivity at construction sites through the use of ICT and other technologies across all processes from investigation and surveying through design, construction and maintenance, entered its second year. During the consolidated fiscal year, we actively promoted the 3D Action Program with the aim of further advancing the use of 3D data in the construction industry.」

「In connection with i-Construction promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the number of ICT construction projects and i-Construction orders from national ordering authorities exceeded 1,400 during the fiscal year. Local governments were also ordering model projects using ICT, and the Group promoted adoption by local governments by supporting contractors that had won construction orders.」

「The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism designated fiscal 2017 as the year of advancing i-Construction and was expected to order more than 1,000 applicable projects during the fiscal year. It was also undertaking various initiatives to promote implementation by local governments, thereby seeking to advance work-style reform and improve the financial and operational foundations of companies in the industry. To support these government initiatives, we produced Icon Sapuri BOOK 2017, an explanatory book using manga and illustrations, so that people in the construction industry could quickly understand the new and revised standards for fiscal 2017 and further promote the adoption and penetration of i-Construction in the industry. In product development, we moved quickly to support ICT paving, a new type of construction work added to the projects covered by i-Construction.」

「On 31 March 2017, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published new guidelines and standards to further promote i-Construction. Key measures included revisions to ICT earthwork standards, the introduction of ICT paving and ICT dredging, the formulation of CIM guidelines, and trials of i-Bridge, while the establishment of regional i-Construction councils was also progressing. As a result, model projects were being carried out by prefectures, and i-Construction was expected to expand beyond projects directly ordered by the Ministry to those ordered by prefectural governments. The Group advanced product development to support the new types of construction work and held i-Construction seminars in major cities nationwide to communicate the latest developments to the industry.」

「Following the full-scale implementation of i-Construction promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism from fiscal 2016, demand for 3D surveying expanded, leading to increased adoption of the 3D point-cloud processing system TREND-POINT by surveying companies as well as civil engineering contractors. Cases in which the CIM communication system TREND-CORE was adopted at the same time also increased. Going forward, demand for 3D applications in civil engineering is expected to expand in response to i-Construction and CIM.」

「With regard to civil engineering CAD software, i-Construction, promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is being implemented in full from this fiscal year. We published an explanatory book featuring manga entitled Icon Sapuri to provide information to those actually undertaking construction projects, and worked to promote i-Construction. As a result, adoption of TREND-POINT and the CIM communication system TREND-CORE progressed.」

「With regard to civil engineering CAD software, i-Construction, promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is being implemented in full from this fiscal year. Alongside EX-TREND Musashi, adoption of the CIM communication system TREND-CORE and, as in the surveying field, TREND-POINT is progressing.」

「In November 2015, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced the introduction of i-Construction to improve productivity through the use of ICT technologies at construction sites. On 30 March 2016, the Ministry also announced that ICT earthwork would be implemented fully from the new fiscal year and that, for the surveying, design, construction and inspection processes involved in earthwork, existing standards based on paper drawings would be revised and 15 new standards using 3D data would be introduced from April 2016. As a result, i-Construction initiatives have begun in earnest at construction sites throughout Japan. Accordingly, regional construction companies as well as major general contractors are actively adopting drones and ICT construction machinery, together with software for quantity takeoffs and heat-map generation. We have been developing products that support as-built and completed-work-volume management using 3D point clouds to promote wider adoption of our software. In this market environment, we held i-Construction seminars in major cities nationwide and worked to advance i-Construction as a driving force for the industry as a whole.」

「The 3D-compatible products TREND-POINT, which the Group had been actively developing since fiscal 2014, and the 3D civil engineering construction system TREND-CORE have been well received by the market, and adoption by major general contractors and leading regional construction companies is progressing rapidly. With fiscal 2016 regarded as the first year of i-Construction, system adoption is expected to advance further in anticipation of expanded use of 3D data in the surveying and civil engineering industries.」