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Penta-Ocean Construction Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan - April 8, 2024 -The member companies of the Bar Arrangement Inspection System Association (21 general contractors^*1 ) and Prime Life Technologies Corporation (Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO, Makoto Kitano) have been working on joint development of the Bar Arrangement Inspection System (hereinafter, the System) that supports quality improvement and enhancement of operational efficiency in rebar arrangement inspection, under the name “A construction DX^*2 service provider CONSAIT ^*3”.

When activating the System, the AI-powered camera “CONSAIT Eye”, developed using the technology of Panasonic Corporation, effectuates three-dimensional recognition of the arrangement of reinforcing bars, and measures their diameter, number, pitch and arrangement. The System then automatically reconciles the measured results with the pre-registered design data and automatically logs the comparative results to formatted reports. Meanwhile, “CONSAIT Pro Bar Arrangement Inspection” streamlines the process of inputting inspection data and creating reports prior to the inspection. The System improves the accuracy of inspection operations and data logging, while also significantly shortening work time required by streamlining complex operations during bar arrangement inspection (the total time required for prior preparation, inspection, photographing, and creating reports is reduced to approximately half^*4).

1. Background of the development
As stated in the “Act on the Arrangement of Related Acts to Promote Work Style Reform,” which was enforced on April 1, 2024, the common issues generally faced by the construction industry include the following: 1. aging and retirement of skilled workers; 2. fewer engineers of the young generation and the longer time required to train them; and 3. increasing business volume due to more strict quality control. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has set a target of improving productivity at construction sites by 20% through the use of ICT by 2025. Consequently, the promotion of construction DX has been attracting attention as a promising tool to provide solutions to the above issues.

2. Outline of the System
The System consists of three components: 1. CONSAIT Basic, a platform and recording application that streamlines overall data recording operations at construction sites and enhances group data sharing; 2. CONSAIT Pro Bar Arrangement Inspection, an application dedicated to bar arrangement inspection; and 3. CONSAIT Eye, an AI-powered camera that is a dedicated device.

[1]CONSAIT Basic: This application simplifies daily data recording operations at construction sites, including logging to portable interactive whiteboards, photographing, managing rectification plans, managing drawings, and creating reports. The application is compatible with all types of construction work and allows intuitive command and control.

[2]CONSAIT Pro Bar Arrangement Inspection: This application streamlines the entire work related to bar arrangement inspection, including the entry of inspection data, inspection item settings, and the creation of post-inspection reports.

[3]CONSAIT Eye (AI-powered camera): The system is equipped with a dedicated, AI-powered triplet-lens camera device for three-dimensional detection of bar arrangement, and carries out measurement of the diameter, number, and pitch of rebars, as well as rebar arrangement. The introduction of AI-powered camera is expected to bring construction DX to building construction sites, where the implementation of such devices is not broadly witnessed compared to civil engineering sites (support for civil engineering sites is also planned).

3. Features of the System
The features of the System are as follows:
-Capable of three-dimensional detection of rebar arrangement
-Easy to hold and use for all users
-Facilitates recording of all inspection locations
-Capable of remote operation by supervisors
-Operative even in an off-line environment

4. Future application
Through repeated verifications at construction sites, the 21 general contractors confirmed the excellent efficacy of the System in terms of improving the inspection quality and operational efficiency of bar arrangement inspection. Going forward, the contractors will collaborate with Prime Life Technologies Corporation in the form of the Continuous Improvement Scheme and strive to improve the System and encourage its broader application at construction sites, with the aim providing solutions to the ongoing issues in the construction industry and achieving productivity improvement.