Topcon Corporation (headquarters: Itabashi, Tokyo, President & CEO: Satoshi Hirano) officially opened its third training center in Japan. Located in the Kitakyushu Science and Research Park in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, the training center will serve to support efforts by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism to promote i-Construction.

In Japan, the use of i-Construction is particularly popular in Kyushu Prefecture. Of the 584 IT projects commissioned by the MLIT that were conducted in fiscal 2016, over 20% were overseen by the Kyushu Regional Development Bureau. Kitakyushu is proactively adopting i-Construction. With the objective of creating attractive construction sites and improving construction work productivity, the city partnered with the local construction industry to establish the Kitakyushu City i-Construction Promotion Council, making Kitakyushu City the first government-decreed city in Japan to undertake such an initiative.

Topcon has positioned the Kyushu region as a core site for the promotion of i-Construction and going forward we will continue making contributions to regional development.

The now officially opened training center replicates construction sites on a massive lot approximately 7,400m² in size. The center uses the latest surveying equipment and construction machinery to enable participants to experience and learn all processes involved in i-Construction. An important issue related to further penetration of i-Construction in Japan is the training of personnel who not only have broad knowledge related to drone-based 3D surveying and IT construction but who are also able to use this technology in real-world construction sites. As a pioneer of the industry, we have been promoting the expanded use of IT in construction world for more than 20 years. We will apply this vast experience and contribute to the development of human resources capable of leading civil and construction works sites into the future.

Last year, our training centers already operating in Shirakawa (Fukushima Prefecture) and Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture) were used by over 2,000 people from construction companies and local government. With the opening of the Kitakyushu Training Center, we will be able to provide hands-on training to an even greater number of people in the regions.

Topcon will continue to enhance our customer support and further contribute to promoting i-Construction.

* “i-Construction” is…
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in Japan has been promoting “i-Construction”, that the Japanese construction companies shall utilize 3D data in all the procedure of construction work to increase its productivity dramatically, generated by not only the conventional equipment such as Total Stations and GNSS receivers but also Drones, 3D Laser Scanners, and ICT Construction Machineries. “i-Construction” is a registered trademark of the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, MLIT.

[Training Center summery]

Name	Kitakyushu Training Center
Location	749 Shioya, Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka (1-2-180 Gakken Hokubuchiku)
Facility	Outdoor demonstration area (lot surface area: approx. 7,400m2) Indoor research facility
Operated by	Topcon Sokkia Positioning Japan Co., Ltd.
Contact about demonstration and training	Topcon Sokkia Positioning Japan Co., Ltd.
TEL	+81-3-5994-0671
Official opening	July 20, 2017