Road to Realization -Project Story-

Mori Building Co., Ltd.'s largest development project, "Toranomon-Azabudai Project", based on the concept of "a city like a "plaza" surrounded by greenery and connecting people - Modern Urban Village -". The request was to manufacture and deliver the steel frame (approximately 1,700 tons) that will serve as the framework for a commercial facility to be constructed in Block C-1 within that area. This project was designed and supervised by Mori Building Co., Ltd. and Yamashita Sekkei Co., Ltd., and Obayashi Corporation was the contractor, and the order was placed with us through I-Tech Co.,Ltd.

When I was briefed on the project, Mr. K said, "We're going to build a town," and I still vividly remember being surprised at the scale of the project.

Looking at the drawings we received from the customer, it was easy to imagine that it would be a large-scale production. In order to raise the morale of the company, we made it known at the preliminary meeting that it was a project that would become a hot topic in Japan and overseas, along with a perspective image of the entire project, and that it was likely to become a historic building.

I could see the complexity from the completed image perspective, and I had a feeling that a difficult project was about to begin.

My main role is to coordinate production and on-site construction with customers, and to create materials for drawing construction drawings for specific production based on design drawings (design drawings and structural drawings).

I also negotiated and coordinated with external parties such as material suppliers and shipping companies, mainly in other departments within the company.

As the assembly team leader of the manufacturing department, I was in charge of assembling parts in the factory and deploying them to the welding team. I believe that the key to meeting deadlines is not to make mistakes. For that reason, since there are many young employees in the group, I tried to carefully share information with each and every one of them.

The question is how to proceed with production efficiently and speedily, even though high precision is required. We always keep that in mind when working on any project.

Every time production-related information was updated, Mr. K contacted everyone involved, so we were able to share information without any misunderstandings. I strictly adhere to the delivery date and always check the situation with my own eyes before communicating with the parties concerned.

The steel frame itself to be manufactured is very large, but the dimensional tolerance is a few millimeters and it is a very severe world. This project was nothing special, and we proceeded while maintaining high precision as usual and checking for any discrepancies from the drawings in order to avoid any defects.

Since iron may shrink when heat is applied, the dimensions of the parts are calculated taking this into consideration before assembly. Due to the complicated details of the steel frame for this project, we had internal discussions and conducted repeated inspections before proceeding to production, and carefully derived the dimensions.

Since it was a steel frame with complicated details, it took a lot of time to figure out where and how to assemble it. Through trial and error, mainly by experienced employees, the order and procedures were derived. We always check the direction and length of the pillars by referring to the drawings, and carefully assemble them so that there are no installation errors. I even shared the details of how to place it.

Product inspections can be completed in one time, but due to the lengthy construction period of this project, a total of 15 inspections were conducted. It was the last inspection before carrying out, so I was nervous every time. We believe that our customers appreciate our work.

I don't have many opportunities to meet customers, so I feel a sense of accomplishment when I see the finished product in the factory. The huge steel pillars that embody the drawings are a spectacular sight.

We stock the finished products in our storage area until they are shipped out. When the last truck departed, there was even talk of taking a commemorative photo with everyone (laughs).

When a customer smiled and said, "I'd like to ask Itagaki-san again," I was really happy to be involved in this project.

As the industry is evolving rapidly, it is essential to upgrade our technical capabilities. While making use of our company's over 150 years of history and technological capabilities cultivated by our innovative spirit, each and every employee is ambitiously aiming to improve their skills.

The company provides solid support and an environment that makes it easy to obtain qualifications, so employees in the manufacturing department are actively working to obtain qualifications. I am currently challenging myself to become a 1st grade ironworker technician.

In addition to the high level of technical capabilities that come from the gathering of employees who continue to hone their skills, we also believe that our ability to respond to customers is one of our strengths. We have made various proposals in consideration of on-site workability, and there are many cases that have been adopted. We will further develop our ability to respond to the high demands of our customers.

I think the best thing about Itagaki is that it can provide solid after-sales follow-up. We will continue to strive to gain the trust of our customers by demonstrating teamwork within the company while taking responsibility for each individual position while valuing the spirit of "harmony" that is our company motto.