U&C User Introduction


Users Report/Vol.144 Sakurai Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Companywide Initiative from a Need to Facilitate Communication in Design Work Building Up "Sakurai Collabo", a Unique Virtual Office Based on F8VPS Check F8VPS

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, Sakurai Kogyo Co., Ltd. was faced with the problem of how to facilitate communication between its design department and its head office and branch offices, as well as between the Department and remote sites or its customers. The Company approached Forum8 as a partner to help them solve this problem, and together started to explore the creation of functions that would later lead to virtual offices.

"The young employees, in particular, are inputting their data well, and they are having fun with it, using avatars as if they were playing a game. I think it was a good idea to introduce it."

To be honest, Mr. Hisayuki Kasajima, Director and Chief Marketing Executive of the Company, reveals that at first, he was somewhat skeptical about the necessity of such a system. After the COVID-19 pandemic, he recalls, he realized the benefits of virtual offices for various concerns that gradually became apparent, such as the loneliness that comes with remote work, employee health management, and limitation of telephone-based communication limitations.

In 2020, the Company established the Smart Work Project (SWPJ), and what started as an attempt by one department has expanded into a torrent involving the entire company. At the same time, new issues such as how to manage the physical condition of employees as a construction and equipment business under the COVID-19 pandemic were also incorporated and organized. During this period, the "Sakurai Collabo" with the Company's unique functions was also built up, linked with the FORUM8 virtual platform system "F8VPS" that was being developed in parallel. According to Mr. Koichi Takayanagi, Executive Officer and Tokyo Branch Manager, SWPJ was dissolved and since then, "ICT Promotion Office" has taken the lead in its operation and has been evolving to a new phase of virtual office, including functional integration with other existing systems of the Company.

The user introduced here is Sakurai Kogyo Co., Ltd., which boasts an extensive experience in construction work of building equipment, including tower condominiums. Through its design department, the Company has been an early user of our software products for structural calculations and such. Partly because of these connections, the two companies collaborated on a series of virtual office development efforts which was made before COVID-19 pandemic. Since the latter half of 2020, the Company has been working to build and improve the functionality of Sakurai Collabo, which is based on F8VPS.

　Over 80 Years of Experience in the Design and Execution of Building Equipment, Mainly in Eastern Japan

Sakurai Kogyo Co., Ltd. was founded in 1938 as Makotoya Sakurai Komusho. It was then incorporated in 1944, established as Sakurai Komusho Co., Ltd. Reflecting the founder's idea that he was reportedly inspired by the relationship with water, the Company has been engaged in the business of building equipment for more than 80 years, mainly in eastern Japan. Meanwhile, as the Company's business expanded along with its reorganization and improvement, it changed its name to the current company name in 1965.

The Company currently consists of five Departments: Administration, Cost Management, Construction, Project Promotion, and Sales. It has six branches and one division (Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo, Renovation Division, Tokai, Nagoya, and Osaka), and three satellite offices in Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa. They employ 244 people as a whole (figures as of May 2023).

Under this structure, the Company has steadily expanded its business performance in the design and execution of new buildings and renovations, ranging from condominium towers and other multi-family residential buildings to non-residential buildings, fire extinguishing equipment, and plants.


When an employee enters Sakurai Collabo, a screen appears on which he/she fills out a form regarding his/her current physical condition. This allows each employee to manage his/her own physical condition, and the manager can monitor the conditions of employees from the management screen and adjust their work. The form about one's current physical condition is filled in after entering the Sakurai Collabo (top). The face icon is clicked to check the individual's physical condition (bottom).


Managers keep track of employees from the management screen.

　Shift to Virtual Offices Accelerated by Covid-19 Crisis

"We started out by asking if it would be possible to manage whether subordinate employees in the design department were present, out of the office (at remote sites or customer sites), or working at home," said Mr. Tatsunori Ogawa, Executive Officer and Administration Department Manager. He says that while attempts were being made to meet these needs, Japan was hit by COVID-19 crisis in January 2020, with the first confirmed cases of infection in Japan, and the initial idea took on a new meaning. He also says that with social trends encouraging the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology), initiatives oriented toward later virtual offices began to take off.

Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the Design Department had been fostering a need for a web-based and videoconferencing system to keep track of employees' whereabouts in the course of their work, rather than checking their status by phone each time. Around 2019, when the department was looking for a new method of communication, the then department manager asked FORUM8 if it could develop such a function, as he was familiar with the structural calculation software products of FORUM8.

"At that time, it was usual for all parties involved to gather for face-to-face meetings. Health management was limited to general health checkups, etc., and there was no system in place to closely monitor daily health," says Mr. Kasajima.

Sakurai Kogyo Co., Ltd.

URL: https://www.skk-gr.co.jp/

Location: Koto-ku, Tokyo

Business: Design and execution of air conditioning and sanitation equipment, fire extinguishing equipment, and plants (including renovation)

The founder of the company, Shinpei Sakurai, decided to contribute to society through water-related business after he saw a statue of a child holding up a water bowl when he visited Shibamata Taishakuten Temple. He started the Company with this in mind.

As part of its commitment to CSR and SDGs, the Company places importance on its relationship with the local community. The Company participates in the Grand Festival of Tomioka Hachiman-gu Shrine as a local company and provides parking space for the festival.

Company employees

Sakurai Kogyo Provides the parking lot.

Mr. Hisayuki Kasajima, Director and Chief Marketing Executive

Mr. Tatsunori Ogawa, Executive Officer and Administration Department Manager

Mr. Koichi Takayanagi, Executive Officer and Tokyo Branch Manager

However, with the COVID-19 crisis, how to facilitate communication between the head office and branch offices, as well as with work sites, and how to manage employees, including their physical condition, has been elevated to a company-wide issue to be addressed. In 2020, the SWPJ mentioned at the beginning of this article was established, and a policy was implemented to introduce a virtual office to centrally manage the health of individual employees, including mental health, not to mention whether they are infected or not with COVID-19 under COIVD-19 pandemic. Later that year, FORUM8 built a system to realize these functions.

At the same time, FORUM8, which was concurrently developing F8VPS, proposed the possibility of further extended functions, such as communication using 3D/VR space (Metaverse) and avatars linked with the 2D virtual office FORUM8 had delivered. In response, a scheme was drawn up to add new functions, such as webinars (online seminars) to aim at integration, while eliminating duplication with the company's various existing systems in the future," recalls Mr. Takayanagi, Branch Manager, who has been involved in virtual office development since SWPJ was established.

　Sakurai Collabo Connects Existing Core System and F8VPS Functions

In 2022, SWPJ was dissolved after two years of activities. Instead, the ICT Promotion Office established in the Project Promotion Department has been operating Sakurai Collabo, a unique virtual office built based on F8VPS reflecting the company's needs.

Initially, the Company used a core business system that had already been in use, making all invoices, time and attendance, and payroll management paperless. F8VPS's communication tools and other virtual office functions were linked to this system. As a technology company, current Sakurai Collabo is prepared under an environment that drives business efficiency, enabling the exchange of information and knowledge sharing anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Meanwhile, Mr. Takayanagi, the branch manager, says that they would like to establish Sakurai Collabo as a portal for all employees by adjusting duplicated functions and reducing the number of clicks required for each operation.

Therefore, the opening screen of Sakurai Collabo is first set up to allow employees to punch their timecards in connection with the existing core system. This allows each employee to check his or her own attendance and overtime status. The system is also designed to prepare for the "Overtime Limit Regulation," which is known as the "2024 problem in the construction industry" and will be legally enforced in April.

The user then selects whether he or she is in good, excellent, or poor physical condition on the physical condition input screen, and the icon's expression changes accordingly. The system is intended to allow employees to check their daily physical condition, including mental health, by providing input fields for body temperature, pulse, and blood pressure (high and low), as well as a comment field where detailed symptoms can be described using free words. If an employee forgets to enter information related to his/her attendance or physical condition, an e-mail notification is sent to the employee at a scheduled time.

A manager mode is also available to allow managers to view a list of information on the attendance and physical condition of employees under their supervision. This information can be checked as needed.

In addition, on the virtual office screen, firstly a user selects 2D or 3D mode. For example, the 2D screen shows whether respective employees are present or away from the office for each office, floor, and department to which each of all employees who belongs to the head office, branch office, or the department, using an avatar for every employee. Depending on the settings, the avatars move to the "on break" or "out of office" frame. This allows the user to check the whereabouts of all employees in real time. Also, by placing one's avatar in the meeting room frame and another employee's avatar in the same frame, you can start a video meeting or chat function.

What's more, the 3D screen displays them three-dimensionally and also reflects information such as the weather and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) for each region.

Through day-to-day operation, Sakurai Collabo has a team organization, led by the ICT Promotion Office and Director Kasajima, to add functions that reflect requests in the company, eliminate duplication, and improve the usability of the user interface (UI) through trial and error, explains Branch Manager Takayanagi.


It allows moving around and selecting floors in 2D and 3D. It is possible to visually know the whereabouts of all employees in real time by creating not only the virtual office but also spaces for work sites, out-of-the-office, break room, and others.


Using Web Conference function, avatars are put in the conference room to start a meeting. A full range of communication tools are available, including video calls, screen sharing, chat functions, and whiteboard display. This allows communication not only between individuals but also in groups.

The weather and WBGT at the work sites can be checked within the virtual office.

　Sakurai Collabo to be Functionally Improved and Enhanced

"Basically, "Sakurai Collabo" is the axis of the project, and if there are any functions that are not easy to use, various improvements will be made continuously in line with the company's internal needs." Director Kasajima describes the future stance like this and expresses his expectations for FORUM8 that supports the company constantly and proactively in dealing with difficult issues.

In this connection, Executive Officer Ogawa noted that the Company's overall awareness is changing towards the need to improve work efficiency and productivity. In this context, he mentions the need to reduce the number of clicks, considering that all employees use Sakurai Collabo as a start screen and then use it frequently as a communication tool while performing various input work.

"I guess the trend of utilizing virtual space for diverse purposes and having things done there will continue." Mr. Ogawa says that particularly from the perspective of the Company's administrative department, which is committed to putting employees first, the Company intends to focus on strengthening functions to support employees' health as well as labor savings.

On the other hand, Branch Manager Takayanagi noted Sakurai Collabo's functionality as a communication tool, as well as its wide potential for showrooms, exhibitions, webinars, and other events. He also mentioned the flexibility of the support from FORUM8 that the Company has experienced through the construction of this system in linking with other companies' software and in customizing its functions.


From left: Mr. Koichi Takayanagi, Mr. Hisayuki Kasajima, Mr. Tatsunori Ogawa, and Mr. Takashi Maruyama, who is in charge of practical work at the ICT Promotion Office.

(Written by Takashi Ikeno)
(Up&Coming '24 New Year issue)

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