The initiative "Snow Removal Support Project to Maintain Transportation Infrastructure in Heavy Snowfall Areas," spearheaded by Horiguchi-gumi Co., Ltd. in collaboration with the Graduate Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Kankyo Fudo Techno Co., Ltd., and Construction IoT Research Institute Co., Ltd., has received the Prime Minister's Award at the 9th Infrastructure Maintenance Awards. The award ceremony was held on January 20th (Tuesday) in the large hall on the second floor of the Prime Minister's Official Residence, and was attended by Associate Professor Michio Yamashita and Specially Appointed Professor Osamu Kanai Faculty of Information Science and Technology, among others.
This award aims to recognize outstanding initiatives and technological developments related to infrastructure maintenance in Japan, and to promote their development and dissemination by widely introducing them as best practices.
In the Rumoi region of Hokkaido, snow removal has become a serious challenge to maintaining local infrastructure due to an aging population and declining birthrate. The burden of this work is also hindering the passage of emergency vehicles and economic activities.
The award-winning initiative aims to improve work productivity through the introduction of technologies such as manpower-saving snow inspection patrols, efficient application of de-icing agents, and automation of snow removal volume calculation and overload detection. Furthermore, it also aims to ensure safety and security by implementing a simulated experience system to support technology transfer, utilizing assistive suits to support the elderly, and determining fatigue levels using biometric information, thereby building a sustainable work style and infrastructure maintenance system.
This initiative was recognized as an innovative approach based on "human-centered DX," and as a leading example contributing to the promotion of DX among local small and medium-sized construction companies and the sustainable management of social infrastructure.
For more details, please click here. *This link will take you to the website of the Graduate Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University.
A commemorative photo taken at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Source: Prime Minister's Official Residence website (https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/pages/20260120choukan_hyoushou.html)