INDUSTRY DAY

The IGLC33 Organising Committee is working on an interesting and diverse programme for the Industry Day that will consists of a combination of invited speakers and submitted proposals. The programme will look as follows:

Welcome & Introduction to Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan
10:00-10:15     Welcome to IGLC33 & Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan - James Smith & Rafaella Broft, IGLC33 Organising Committee
10:15-10:35     The concept of an Expo - Rafaella Broft, BlueDot MGT
10:35-10:55     The construction of Expo 2025 Osaka - Hirooka Atsuko, Expo 2025 Association
10:55-11:15      A sneak peak of the Expo 2030 Masterplan / The magic behind designing pavilions
11:15-11:35      The future of Lean construction - Glenn Ballard, University of California Berkeley
11:35-12:05     Panel discussion

12:05-13:30     Lunch

Lean in Japan vs. the world
13:30-13:50   TPS translated to a contractor - Virginia Cosgriff, McCough
13:50-14:10    Lean architecture - Andrew Burgess, Auckland University of Technology
14:10-14:30    Developing team cultures which enable decision making at the right level - Chris Dierks & Paz Arroyo, DPR
14:30-14:50    Lean construction practice in Japan - Kaori Nagai, Nihon University 
14:50-15:20    Panel discussion

15:20-15:50    Coffee break

Shaping the Future of Construction
15:50-16:10     The future of construction (and building regulations) in Japan - Imamura Takashi, Cabinet Secretariat/Prime Minister’s Office
16:10-16:30     The evolution of progressive Design-Build - Ryan Louie, SFO
16:30-16:50     The future of construction - Marton Marosszeky, BCRC
16:50-17:20     Panel discussion

17:20-18:00     Closure

18:00-20:00     Industry networking event



We are proud to announce the following speakers:

The journey of liaising between cultures and delivering an Expo in Japan

Description will follow soon.

With her journey acting between the different countries and the delivery of an Expo in Osaka, Atsuko Hirooka-san will also be in the panel of the second session.

Atsuko HIROOKA
Executive Liaison Director / Acting Director General Extraordinary
International Relations Bureau, Expo 2025 Association.

The future of construction (and building regulations) in Japan

Takashi Imamura-san is an expert when it comes to the building regulations in Japan. Based on the country’s ‘unique’ characteristics he will be able to outline what distinguishes those regulations from the rest of the world. He will then continue to explain how these regulations have affected and challenged the construction at Expo 2025 Osaka, and vice versa – how do these regulations apply during a temporary event? During his presentation Imamura-san will also focus on how regulations can be used to shape the future of construction in Japan and promote the reduction of embodied carbon of buildings, the use of wood, recyclability and circularity. What does this mean for the current standard (and regulations)? What is the objective of the new rules? And what would need to change in the Japanese mindset?

With his extensive knowledge of construction, and international involvement, Takashi Imamura-san will also be in the panel of the second session.

Takashi IMAMURA
Councilor/Deputy Director-General
Cabinet Secretariat/Prime Minister’s Office 

After joining the Japanese Ministry of Construction in 1992, Mr. Imamura has mainly served in the housing and city bureaus. He was seconded to UNESCO in Paris from 2007 to 2010 to deal with disaster risk reduction and was in charge of “Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution” at the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan from 2016 to 2018. He also worked at Takarazuka municipal government and the Secretariat for Regional Development Promotion at the Cabinet Office of Japan. Until recently, as the Director of the Building Guidance Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan, he supervised building regulations, including the structural and fire safety regulations. He also supervised the energy efficiency standards and reduction of embodied carbon of buildings. Currently, he serves as the Councilor at the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan from July 2024. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1990 and Harvard Kennedy School in 2001.

The future of lean construction

Glenn Ballard's presentation explores the future of lean construction, highlighting the inefficiencies and challenges of the so-called ‘current state’, such as environmental harm, resource waste, and dissatisfaction among customers. It envisions a future where the construction industry thrives by leveraging key lean theories. The presentation emphasises the importance of research, education, capability building, and strategic alliancing in overcoming traditional paradigms and fostering a more sustainable, innovative, and psychologically safe industry. Key strategies for achieving this future include challenging outdated assumptions through rigorous research, educating future generations, and developing a strong, capable lean construction workforce. Through these efforts, the industry can build better projects, improve collaboration across stakeholders, and ultimately create a more effective and responsive construction environment.

Glenn BALLARD
Research Associate, Project Production Systems Laboratory, University of California Berkely, USA

Glenn entered the construction industry as a pipefitter’s helper in 1976, transitioned to construction engineering, and in 1980 was named Manager of Productivity Improvement for a construction division of Brown and Root. He subsequently became an internal management consultant with Bechtel Petroleum, working on all aspects of project delivery, and supporting projects in other Bechtel divisions, such as the South Texas Nuclear Plant. He began a management consulting business in 1987.  In parallel, he began lecturing on productivity and quality improvement at the University of California Berkeley in 1989, and completed the transition from industry to academia in 2005 when he was named Research Director for the university’s Project Production Systems Laboratory. He co-founded the International Group for Lean Construction in 1993, the Lean Construction Institute in 1997, the Project Production Systems Laboratory in 2005, and Lean in the Public Sector in 2007. His primary contributions are the Last Planner System and Target Value Delivery, which is a process for setting project value and cost targets, then steering projects to deliver them. Glenn retired from his position as Research Director in 2018, but continues in a supporting role as a Research Associate for the Project Production Systems Laboratory.

Lean construction practice in Japan

The construction industry made significant progress during the 1964 Olympics in Japan. Although development has progressed since then, there have been no substantial changes in many on-site construction practices for about 50 years. In recent years however - with the national policy of i-Construction, digitalisation, and technological advances - the work site is undergoing significant changes. From the perspective of lean construction, traditional Japanese technology has been built and maintained based on the Japanese people's ethics. Nagai-san believes that today's construction sites are changing education due to the introduction of information technology, which used to be a different field, and an increase in the percentage of non-Japanese workers. A site management system with a global perspective will be required in the future. Furthermore, she advocates Green Lean Construction, which adds perspectives such as improving the working environment for workers to the basic concept of Lean Construction. How did we come up with this idea? She will explain by introducing the situation of construction sites in Japan.

Kaori NAGAI
Professor, Laboratory of Material Design and Construction Strategy, Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, College of Industrial Technology, Nihon University
Director of the Japan Society for Finishing Technology
Director of the Japan Painting Contractors Association

After graduating from university, Prof. Kaori Nagai worked as a researcher at the Technical Research Institute of Taisei Corporation, where she was involved in durability evaluation of building materials, effective use of wood, carbon neutrality, deterioration evaluation of high-rise buildings, and development of laser processing equipment for on-site use. Later, as an associate professor at Nihon University, she continued her research while developing sustainable materials, thermal insulation coatings, on-site laser survey and construction methods, and standard specifications for the construction of noncombustible wood. She has surveyed over 30 super high-rise buildings and wrote “Concept of Large-Scale Repair of Super High-Rise Buildings” as the lead author. She is studying the concept of circular economy based on the process from material manufacturing to construction, demolition, and disposal, as well as improving the environment of the construction site together with general contractors and material manufacturers.

EXPECTATIONS

Participants to the Industry Day can enjoy a full-day event at the Czechia Pavilion. Registration includes the entrance to the Expo 2025 site, and access to venue. This ticket will be shared via e-mail a few days before the event.