Soil allocation management through accurate volume estimation and optimized construction planning
Schedule Recovery and Cost Reduction Enabled by Simulation-Based Construction Planning and On-Jobsite Coordination
IMAI CORPORATION is a comprehensive construction company based in Shimane Prefecture, engaged in civil engineering, architectural construction, real estate, and recycling businesses. With a strong commitment to contributing to the local community, the company leverages the region’s rich natural resources to pursue a sustainable future. Through construction technologies, real estate development, and environmental preservation, IMAI CORPORATION continues to grow together with the local community.
Location
Shimane prefecture, Japan
Customer Type
General Contractor
Project Type
Road
Related Solutions
Issues
In large-scale civil engineering projects involving multiple contractors, regular progress meetings on soil distribution are held, where each company reports its progress based on the number of dump trucks used. However, this reporting method often leads to coordination issues—for example, a jobsite scheduled for soil transport may suddenly become unavailable, or a jobsite capable of receiving soil may no longer be able to do so. These disruptions frequently cause work stoppages due to poor coordination between jobsites.
In response to these challenges, IMAI CORPORATION, a general contractor based in Shimane Prefecture, recognized the need for more accurate data sharing and progress management—not only within its own work zone but also across other zones—to eliminate inefficiencies and maximize productivity.
However, traditional information sharing methods relying on drawings—even when based on highly accurate data—proved insufficient for conveying the actual conditions and dynamic changes of the jobsite. As a result, there was a persistent risk of misalignment in understanding among stakeholders.
Solutions
IMAI CORPORATION began by using「Smart Construction Simulation」to run an initial construction simulation, verifying the validity of their original plan and creating an optimized version. (See details here ←) To further optimize the plan, they conducted a second simulation based on actual dump truck transportation history. (See details here ←) They then shared the fill progress and simulation results during a progress meeting with the client, partner contractors, and jobsite supervisors. Based on mutual review, the number of dump trucks in the plan was adjusted accordingly. By sharing accurate data in easy-to-understand formats such as videos and graphs, they reduced inefficiencies and developed a more effective construction plan.
In the progress meeting held in early August, it was confirmed that the actual transported volume had fallen short of the plan due to rain in June and July. As a countermeasure, the number of dump trucks on internal routes A and B was increased from 4 to 5 each. Based on the results of a new simulation, all parties agreed on a recovery plan. By executing the work according to the optimized plan, the project proceeded smoothly with fill volumes aligning precisely with the simulation results.
In addition, a review was conducted to optimize the number of dump trucks, including those planned for Transfer to another jobsite route starting in October. The following three scenarios were considered:
As a result, it was confirmed that Pattern 3 could reduce labor by the equivalent of 68 truck-days and cut construction costs by approximately 5.1 million yen compared to Pattern 1.
Based on this outcome, the team adopted a transport plan using 5 dump trucks for both on-jobsite and transfer to another jobsite route, for a total of 10 trucks.
