Cybozu Survey on Operational Efficiency in the Construction Industry: About 60% of Workers are 'Information-Lost,' with 63.6% Expecting Rework Reduction Through Information Centralization

Cybozu, Inc. conducted a survey targeting construction industry workers to understand the current state of operational efficiency. Two years have passed since the '2024 Problem,' when upper limits on overtime work were enforced, and this survey investigates the changes at the practical level while legal compliance is progressing. The survey suggests that establishing a foundation for information consolidation and sharing is crucial, with 63.6% of respondents believing that 'centralizing site information would reduce rework.'

The key findings of the survey are as follows. First, about 60% (60.3%) of construction workers reported that 'the amount of administrative work has not changed' compared to before the introduction of overtime regulations in 2024. Additionally, one in two (54.4%) said they spend 'two hours or more per day' on administrative tasks. Regarding rework, 46.7% experience it at least once a month, with the most common cause being 'instructions given only verbally or by phone.' Furthermore, two out of three (63.7%) find themselves in an 'information-lost' state, not knowing where to find necessary information. Over half of the respondents believe that the 'burden of administrative work' and 'communication errors' affect 'the occurrence of mistakes,' 'limits to adapting to work style reforms,' 'turnover of young employees,' and 'construction delays.' Regarding IT tool utilization, 42.5% of companies that have implemented them feel that 'adoption in the field is insufficient.' Finally, 63.6% have expectations that 'centralizing site information will reduce rework.'

Looking at the detailed results, regarding the volume of administrative work, 60.3% stated there was 'no particular change' compared to before the overtime regulations, indicating that the reduction of administrative burden has stalled. The most cited root causes of inefficiency were 'too few people in charge, leading to work concentration on one person (dependency)' (20.6%) and 'chronic personnel shortages' (17.3%).

Next, concerning the time spent on administrative work, one in two (54.4%) respondents answered 'two hours or more per day,' suggesting it constitutes a significant portion of their duties. The tasks felt to be most burdensome were 'phone calls for confirmation and reminders coming in separately from various parties' (31.5%), followed closely by so-called 'double entry,' i.e., 're-entering handwritten notes or data into a PC using Excel, etc.' (29.6%). Notably, the rate of double entry was 12 percentage points higher for site managers (38.7%) than for management and executives (26.7%).

Regarding the frequency and causes of rework, 46.7% experience it at least once a month. The most common cause was 'instructions/communications being given only verbally or by phone, leading to inaccurate transmission of content' (43.9%). This was followed by 'work stopping while waiting for approval or confirmation responses' (29.6%) and 'necessary information being scattered across multiple means (paper, email, database, etc.), making it hard to find quickly' (25.4%), highlighting issues in information transmission and sharing.

On the topic of information management and sharing, 63.7% responded that they 'have' felt that they 'don't know who has' or 'don't know where to find' necessary work-related information. This can be interpreted as more than half of the workers being in an 'information-lost' state, perceiving the scattered nature of information as a problem.

Regarding the risks caused by this 'burden of administrative work' and 'communication errors,' a majority of respondents indicated they 'have an impact' on multiple fronts, led by 'occurrence of mistakes' (60.8%), and including 'limits to adapting to work style reforms' (52.4%), 'turnover of young employees' (51.4%), and 'occurrence of construction delays' (50.9%), showing that the problem leads to multifaceted risks.

Looking at the utilization of IT tools, only 21.6% said they have 'introduced and are utilizing' them, while 28.3% have 'introduced but are not fully utilizing' them. When companies with IT tools were asked about their current challenges, the most common answer was 'the tool's utilization has not yet been sufficiently established in the field' at 42.5%, revealing that post-implementation adoption is a major hurdle.

Finally, many workers are placing their hopes on information centralization as a solution. When asked if they think 'rework would decrease if information related to the site were consolidated in one place,' 63.6% answered 'I think so.' This suggests a widespread recognition that scattered information is a contributing factor to rework.