PROFESSIONAL 2022.07.08

Customers and employees alike feel comfortable. ASNOVA's vision for the future equipment center

ASNOVA has 17 equipment center bases in 4 areas nationwide, from Miyagi in the north to Okayama in the south, and is managed by 4 Area Manager. With many points of contact with customers, equipment center is an important base that supports the core rental business. With the aim of further improving customer satisfaction, ASNOVA has launched the "Comfortable Equipment Center Project" to improve the working environment in equipment center. In this interview, we asked area manager, who will be promoting this project, to talk about their current challenges and what they are aiming for in the future equipment center.

Text: Yui Kitagawa Photo: Yuta Ogura

INDEX

PROIFILE

Toshiki Shinohara: Equipment Management Department. Joined ASNOVA in 2020. He has worked at the Fujisawa Center and the Sagamihara Center in Kanagawa Prefecture and has been in his current position since 2021.
Shuhei Fukano: Equipment Management Department. Joined ASNOVA in 2017. He has worked at centers in Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba, and has been in his current position since 2021.
Ken Nishiguchi: Equipment Management Department. Joined ASNOVA in 2009. He worked at the center at Kyoto Kyotanabe Center and has been in his current position since 2019.
Hirotsugu Uchida: Equipment Management Department. Joined ASNOVA in 2013. Worked in sales and center operations at the Yatomi Center in Aichi Prefecture, and has been in his current position since 2021.

From left: Toshiki Shinohara, Shuhei Fukano, Ken Nishiguchi, and Hirotsugu Uchida

The "Comfortable Equipment Center Project" has begun!

What kind of place is equipment center?

Uchida: Equipment center specializes in the rental and sale of temporary equipment at wedge binding type scaffold, with rental assets of approximately 9 billion yen as of the end of March 2022. In recent years, the company has been promoting the use of AI-based demand forecasting in rental operations to prevent lost orders without inventory and excess inventory so that the necessary quantity can be delivered at equipment center in the neighborhood when it is needed.

Nishiguchi: While working with headquarters to manage the numbers using AI, we also check inventory and receive incoming and outgoing orders for daily orders from customers, handle incoming and outgoing orders within the yard, prepare for outgoing orders, inspect and accept returned materials, and enter invoices.

What kind of customers are most likely to use this service?

Fukano: Our main customers are scaffolding contractors, who are called "scaffolding shops" and mainly do scaffolding payment work. Our main customers are scaffolding contractors with sales of 100 million to 300 million yen, but we also do business with local contractors, mid-sized general contractors, rental companies, and painting companies with sales exceeding 2 billion yen. There are many contractors who are constructing private houses and low-rise and mid-rise condominiums.

Wedge binding type scaffold You can also rent from one bottle, so there are individual customers, although the percentage is small.

Shinohara: There are fluctuations depending on the center and the season, but across the 17 equipment center sites, there is an average of 500 tons per week. Even if you do a rough calculation, it is equivalent to 50 large trucks. On some days, more than 20 trucks enter and leave the center.

Is there any memorable experience you had with a customer?

Uchida: Since everyone wants to use equipment that they are familiar with, it is a high hurdle to get people to use new products. However, I remember well the time when we proposed our new product, the wedge-tight next-generation morning glory sheet "SpeeK," which we developed independently at ASNOVA, and they used it. Some customers said, "I'll use it again next time," and I wanted to continue making better proposals in the future.

Fukano: I don't shy away from being a customer, and I tell them my honest feelings and thoughts, saying, "Why don't you use it this way?" and "This is more efficient." Many of our customers are professionals called "scaffolding shoppers". As professionals in the rental and sale of temporary equipment specialized in wedge binding type scaffold, we are also involved on an equal footing. On top of that, I would be happy if you could say, "Thank you" or "Thank you for your help."

Resolving issues to create a more "comfortable" center

What issues do you currently have in mind for the equipment center work environment?

Nishiguchi: I still feel very comfortable here. Every morning when I go to work, I feel positive and think, "I'll do my best today too!"

Uchida: It's an environment where it's easy to take on new challenges. Even in our daily work, if we suggest something like, "Maybe we should do it this way," or "Wouldn't this method be more efficient?", the headquarters creates an environment where we can keep experimenting.

However, if there is an issue, it is that we want to create an environment where women can work more comfortably. Currently, there are only 17 equipment center sites, and there is only one woman. The scaffolding industry has a strong 3K image of being “hard (Kitsui), dirty (Kitanai), and dangerous (Kiken),” so I would like to improve the work environment so that both men and women can work comfortably.

Shinohara: If that happens, it will lead to solving the problem of the shortage of human resources. Because of the image of 3K, the current situation is that there are few applicants for joining the scaffolding industry in the first place. Therefore, in this project, we would like to approach people inside and outside the industry and improve the image of the industry itself.

So, what does "comfortable" look like for equipment center customers?

Nishiguchi: For our customers, we believe that a service that allows them to rent at any time, nearby, and with peace of mind is what makes them comfortable. In the future, we will promote the expansion of existing businesses and the launch of new businesses, such as the new business "ASNOVA STATION" that allows ASNOVA scaffolding equipment to be rented from partner companies even in areas where there is no sales office / equipment center, the "matching service" that allows general users to make a lump sum estimate to multiple scaffolding construction companies, and "new store openings". We will strive to improve customer satisfaction.

Fukano: That kind of improvement in service is important. Also, paradoxically, I think it's important that we, the employees, feel comfortable first. If someone who feels uncomfortable provides service, there's no way customers will be pleased. So in this project, we're starting with an initiative to improve the working environment for employees.

Two systems introduced to create a comfortable working environment

What specific initiatives have you undertaken to make your workplace more comfortable?

Shinohara: There are two. The first is the introduction of "shift-based vacations." This was conceived with the aim of balancing work and life at area manager, and has been implemented since June 2022. The aim is to improve the environment in which it is difficult to take leave due to the shortage of human resources, and center manager and employees at each site can now take up to eight consecutive days of leave. By being stimulated by unknown experiences, housework and childcare, hobbies, etc., I hope that they will develop new perspectives and a spirit of challenge that will create the uniqueness of ASNOVA in the future.

Fukano: This system was born out of an in-house workshop held by area manager in the fall of 2021. We came up with ideas for what we could do to improve comfort, and we proposed them to the headquarters, which led to their realization.

Shinohara: The second is the introduction of a "management education system." By seeing and hearing about how other centers do things and broadening their knowledge, they will use the PDCA cycle to find ways to tackle the issues at their own centers. The way in which work is carried out, such as receiving and unloading goods, and inspection methods, varies more or less between each base center. Therefore, the purpose is to deepen their insight through training and education, and to use it not only for their own growth, but also to improve the work efficiency at their own centers.

Nishiguchi: Center manager communicate with each other on a daily basis by phone and chat, but we rarely have the opportunity to visit other bases. By going to the site, we are able to exchange detailed opinions at a practical level. This program also started in June, and we plan to incorporate the opinions and improvement measures that have emerged in the future at each center.

Area manager As a member, please tell us about your future plans and initiatives that you would like to achieve.

Uchida: ASNOVA's mid-term goal is to achieve rental sales of 3 billion yen in three years' time. We believe that improving customer satisfaction is an urgent task for promoting future sales. In addition, as we move forward with opening new stores, we will promote the training and education of young talent and provide an environment in which employees can work comfortably.

Nishiguchi: In response to these goals, in addition to this project, equipment center will promote a "web ordering system," "demand forecasting using AI," and "new store openings" to improve customer satisfaction and create a comfortable working environment for employees while successfully incorporating new technologies.

Fukano: I think that "comfortable" means that there is no anxiety. In addition to the hardware and systems, I would like to create an environment where employees working at equipment center can work with peace of mind while communicating with them in detail as a area manager before anxiety arises.

Shinohara: That's right. Since they joined ASNOVA through fate, I want to work hard to make them feel truly glad to have worked here.

Uchida: For me, ASNOVA is all about having employees who are willing to take on challenges, and an environment that makes it easy to take on challenges. We will always keep our original intentions in mind, approach our work with humility, and look to the future as we take on new challenges every day.