Cambridge Consultants and NEC’s “5G Co-Creation Working”

Apr 27, 2020

Cambridge Consultants, as part of 5G co-creation activities, conducts demonstration experiments to improve the safety of construction sites, using wireless networks to prevent falling accidents during high rise construction

Cambridge Consultants and a group of construction and IT companies that includes NEC have jointly developed a system to promote the use of safety harnesses, which are essential for preventing falling accidents during high rise construction. This is the first step in efforts to improve the safety of construction sites using 5G. In this project that took place in Japan, the group interviewed companies in the construction industry, discussed and prototyped with several IT companies, and confirmed through demonstration tests using actual towers that the system would be effective in promoting the use of safety harnesses.

As 5G continues to be commercialized around the world, new services are being considered that take advantage of 5G features, including ultra-high speed and high-capacity communications, multiple simultaneous connections and low latency. NEC launched a group named “5G Co-Creation Working” (Note 1) in 2018 to enable partnering with a variety of companies, including Cambridge Consultants, to explore the potential of 5G across industries. This high-rise construction demonstration was carried out by the construction working group, in which nine companies (Note 2) including Cambridge Consultants alongside other construction and IT companies, participated in the work.

Background

In recent years, the construction industry worldwide has seen a persistent labor shortage. By improving the working environment it should be possible to create more attractive working conditions in order to address this labor shortage. In addition, the construction industry must maintain safety vigilance. In Japan, the construction industry accounts for 34% of the total number of deaths in industrial accidents and when looking at the causes of deaths and casualties, “crashes and falls” represents the largest number (Note 3). The working group began the project with the words: “Working together towards zero crashes and falls during high rise construction, using 5G and ICT.”

With regard to these accidents, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is working to prevent such accidents with the diligent use of protective equipment (Note 4). On the other hand, a survey by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism found that protective equipment was unused in 66.7% of scaffolding falling accidents (Note 5). As a result, the first initiative of this working group was to develop a system to improve the use of safety harnesses (Note 6) to prevent falls.

Overview of this system and demonstration

In the system used in this demonstration, beacon transmitters are installed in a high-rise construction environment, a vibration beacon is installed in the worker’s helmet, and the use of a safety harness is encouraged using a vibration alert when the worker enters a predefined high rise area. A sensor is attached to the hook of the safety harness, and the alert is stopped when the sensor detects that the hook is attached. In addition, hook usage and worker location information are continuously sent to the server using a wireless network (Note 7). In this way, a site manager can check usage of the safety harness in real time using a management monitor and can also use aggregated data to analyze the safety harness usage of the entire site.

Overview of the system used for demonstration

This demonstration was conducted in March 2020 using a tower at the training facility of NEC Nets SI Co., Ltd. The demonstration used alerts to notify workers of the use of safety harnesses, using the wireless network to check usage and acquire data. The system also received an evaluation from The Zenitaka Corporation, a member of the working group, that: “This demonstration has raised the possibility of preventing falling accidents using ICT.”

Demonstration experiments

Future Plans

In the future, the working group will use 5G technology to transmit high-definition images in real time from the work site, to allow administrators to visually check the use of safety harnesses, and to consider various measures to prevent industrial accidents using high-definition video by interviewing external stakeholders.

Further activities of “5G Co-Creation Working”, including the construction working group, will be announced during a webinar, titled “5G Co-Creation Working Conference Spring 2020” (Note 8) which will be held on May 11, 2020.

Cambridge Consultants will continue its active contribution to the initiative, working to harness technology in order to address social issues, such as improving of working conditions, employee safety management and workplace health management.

=================================

(Note 1) NEC launched a working system to provide a “place” for companies in various industries to share challenges, needs, and technologies, and to create new initiatives and services together in the 5G era. Since its establishment, NEC has established working groups in the areas of transportation, construction and distribution.

(Note 2) Construction working group participants (excluding NEC): Avanade Inc., Cambridge Consultants Japan Inc., CIJ Next Co., Ltd., The Zenika Corporation, Solace Corporation, PRONETS Co., Ltd., Ubiteq Inc., NEC Communication Systems, Ltd.

(Note 3) “Analysis of the Occurrence of Industrial Accidents in 2018” by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. See “The Status of Death Disasters by Industry (2008-2018)” and “Types of Industrial Accidents in the Construction Industry”

(Note 4) “13th Occupational Accident Prevention Plan” by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

(Note 5) Transport and Tourism Safety Awareness Leaflet (2019 Edition)” by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure.  See “Data Analysis of Falling Accidents”

(Note 6) The name of safety harnesses was changed to fall-arrest systems by the rectification of the Safety and Health Act on June 2018. But according to “Collection of Questions and Answers on Fall-arrest Systems” by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s, it is said that it is fine to still use the term “safety harnesses” which is a conventional name in construction sites. In fact, the name of the “safety harnesses” is widely used, and therefore is is also used in this article. “A Collection of Questions and Answers on Fall-arrest Systems” by The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

(Note 7) LTE is used in this demonstration.

(Note 8)
“5G Co-Creation Working Conference Spring 2020” details
Date & Time: Monday, May 11, 2020 / 13:00~16:45
Style: Webinar
Capacity: 500

=================================

<< Contact >>
Cambridge Consultants Japan Inc.
E-mail:infojp@cambridgeconsultants.com

Notes to editors

About Cambridge Consultants and Capgemini

About Cambridge Consultants
Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, services and intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 60 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 800 team members, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, energy and wireless communications.

About Capgemini Invent
As the digital innovation, design and transformation brand of the Capgemini Group, Capgemini Invent enables CxOs to envision and shape the future of their businesses. Located in nearly 40 studios and more than 60 offices around the world, it comprises a 10,000+ strong team of strategists, data scientists, product and experience designers, brand experts and technologists who develop new digital services, products, experiences and business models for sustainable growth.

Capgemini Invent is an integral part of Capgemini, a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. It is a responsible and diverse organization of over 325,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong 55-year heritage and deep industry expertise, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. The Group reported in 2021 global revenues of €18 billion.

Get The Future You Want

Visit us at www.capgemini.com/invent

Recent announcements

ディープテック

新規なテクノロジーや、そのテクノロジーを通じた長期的に持続可能な価値の創出について、ご関心をお持ちでしょうか。

当社はビジネスとテクノロジーが交差する場所での創造性に主眼を置き、お客様の事業を再定義するようなソリューションを創出します。

産業分野

お客様が目指す産業分野に関する深い見識を備え、ブレークスルーをもたらすディープテックを活用できて、価値を創出する活動で確かな実績を持つパートナーが必要です。

お客様の事業分野における当社の実績や、どのような事業上の優位性をお届けできるかについて、ご確認ください。

インサイト

ケンブリッジコンサルタンツの最新のインサイト、アイデア、視点をご確認ください。

ビジネスと社会の将来を形成するディープテックの動向を、最前線の事例を通じてお伝えします。

キャリア

ご自身の能力が評価され、真の差異を産み出せるような仕事に興味はありませんか。

これからキャリアをスタートする方でも、経験豊富な方でも、ぜひご連絡をお待ちしています。