Improved employee satisfaction with installation of capsule beds in the station for snow/ice removal staff

Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited's (NEXCO Central) Kanazawa Branch, which is responsible for construction, maintenance and service of the Hokuriku Expressway, Tokai- Hokuriku Expressway, and Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway, has made it its mission to ensure traffic safety on expressways. They work on snow and ice countermeasures in winter with the highest priority. The snow and ice base is the front line of snow and ice operations including removing snow and ice, and spraying antifreeze agents. At the Takefu IC Management Facility (Station for Snow/Ice Removal Staff) on the Hokuriku Expressway, a new station for snow/ice removal staff was built in December 2020, and capsule beds were introduced. The primary purpose was to improve the sleeping environment for snow and ice workers who have to work in a harsh environment day and night in heavy snow, and to improve employee satisfaction (ES).
We interviewed Mr. Takuya Omura, who was in charge of the construction of the new station for snow/ice removal staff at the Fukui Maintenance and Service Center of the Kanazawa Branch Office at the time, about how he came to consider the installation of capsule beds and his feedback after the installation.


Mr. Takuya Omura Facility Manager, Hashima Maintenance and Service Center, Nagoya Branch Office, Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited

Extensive facility improvement of the station for snow/ice removal staff was considered with the new construction work

――Could you tell us something about the station for snow/ice removal staff?

The station for snow/ice removal staff is a facility for snow and ice workers to meet, rest, and nap before going out for snow and ice removal work. Although it varies from place to place, the snow and ice work period over here is from November 15 to April 15. In order to ensure that commuters can use the expressways safely and securely during this period, the Kanazawa Branch Office places the highest priority on snow and ice countermeasures, and the station for snow/ice removal staff is an important facility that plays a leading role in snow and ice work.
The Takefu IC Management Facility (station for snow/ice removal staff, electrical room, storage room for antifreeze agents, and solution tank) would be hindered by the construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line between Kanazawa and Tsuruga stations, so the old facility was demolished, relocated, and newly built.

――What did you particularly focus on when the new station for snow/ice removal staff was built?

The heavy snowfall of 2018 (heavy snowfall in Fukui from February 5 to February 13, 2018) resulted in a harsh working environment where snow and ice removal workers had to work around the clock and squeeze in some nap time. In light of this, we are strengthening our snow and ice operations system, increasing the number of vehicles and personnel. We felt that we had to take measures to ensure that our snow and ice workers work in a satisfactory and comfortable environment, since in recent years the workforce has been aging and there has been a serious shortage of labor. The introduction of capsule beds is one of our efforts to improve employee satisfaction (ES).
The existing sation was deteriorating and the basic services such as heating, toilet ventilation, lighting were lacking in performance. In addition, since the station for snow/ice removal staff had been expanded twice due to increased staff, there were related drawbacks such as poor room layouts, long distance to traverse, and insufficient number of toilets and baths. All in all, in recent years, the amenities had not matched up to the reinforced personnel.

――I understand this is the first time your company has introduced capsule beds - did it pose any challenges for you?

Yes, that's right, this is the first instance of capsule beds being installed in a station for snow/ice removal staff on the Central Nippon Expressway. For some time now, with the incident of the heavy snowfall in 2018 coupled with the social scenario of decreasing snow and ice workers, there has been a sense of urgency to consider improving the ES of snow and ice workers in order to maintain sustainable snow and ice operations. Amidst all this, we managed to introduce the new system because the conditions and timing were right: the construction of the Hokuriku Shinkansen necessitated the rebuilding of the station for snow/ice removal staff.

――The heavy snowfall in 2018 had quite an impact on your company, didn't it?

Yes, indeed. In recent years, disasters have become more severe, and in the heavy snowfall of 2018, a large number of vehicles were left stranded on the Hokuriku Expressway. I believe this was an opportunity for us to focus on strengthening our snow and ice operations system, including reforming the work style of our snow and ice workers.

――Is reconstruction a prerequisite for installing capsule beds?

Bunk beds have long been used at stations for snow/ice removal staff, and capsule beds are more expensive than bunk beds. But with new construction, there are areas where costs can be reduced by using capsule beds.
Snow removal work is done by forming a division with four vehicles - three snowplows and one sign truck, with two people in each vehicle, so each echelon consists of eight people. The timing of taking naps differs for each echelon, so a nap room must be prepared for each echelon. In the case of bunk beds, a large number of rooms for eight people each will be built, and each room will require air conditioning and aisle space, as well as walls, doors, and equipment in proportion to the number of rooms. Capsule beds, on the other hand, are soundproof and can accommodate many people in a single room, reducing space, materials, and equipment, leading to lower costs for the building.
In the case of new construction or major renovations like this one, the introduction of capsule beds will result in the pro of lower facility cost and the con of higher building cost, so the cost difference will be narrowed and it will be easier to install. Based on this case study, the Kanazawa Branch Office intends to introduce capsule beds when it renovates or rebuilds its facilities.

Introduction of capsule beds - effective way of improving ES and preventing infections

――Have you ever slept in a capsule bed yourself, Mr. Omura?

In fact, I had never seen or slept in one before. However, when I looked at the case studies published on Kotobuki Seating's website, there were photographs of capsule beds from various angles and interview articles with different people, so it was easy to visualize the after-completion image, and I was able to install the capsule beds confidently. That said, I was quite nervous until the delivery was made. When we saw the installation, we were relieved to see that the capsule beds were well-organized and possessed finesse.
We heard about Kotobuki Seating from our design office. In addition to expensive products for capsule hotels, they also showcased relatively inexpensive products that could be retrofitted keeping focus on the functionality, making them suitable for businesses such as ours.

――I heard that you conducted a survey before introducing the capsule beds, what was the general response?

After telling the workers that we were considering the introduction of capsule beds along with the plan to build a new station for snow/ice removal staff, we conducted a survey. The results showed that 57% of the workers preferred a capsule bed and 17% were okay with either bunk beds or capsule beds, so we decided to introduce capsule beds on a trial basis.
We plan to increase the number of beds from the existing 34 beds to 52 beds for the maximum number of people in the snow and ice operations system, taking into account the increased number of personnel. In response to the percentage of requests in the survey, we allocated 34 beds as capsule beds and 18 beds as bunk beds.

――You said that all of the requests from the survey were incorporated into the design, so which areas were considered?

We also conducted a survey after the new construction to gauge employee satisfaction with the new installation, and found that satisfaction had improved in all areas. Most of the respondents said they were grateful that we even designed the building keeping them in mind.
The capsules beds were the biggest contributor in the increased employee satisfaction. Sense of privacy has improved, and soundproofing and sound insulation have increased so that sound and light are not a bother during sleep time. To cite an example, in a regular nap room, when someone goes to the washroom and turns on the light, the whole room gets illuminated and wakes up the other people, but in a capsule bed, you can sleep without getting disturbed by the light and sound from the surroundings. Thus, we believe that the sleep quality has significantly improved.
However, there are some people who would like to continue using bunk beds for communication within their echelon, and in light of this opinion, it is a good idea to prepare both capsule beds and bunk beds as we did in this case.

――I was wondering if capsule beds are overwhelmingly popular these days, especially among younger people.

Snow removal in an echelon usually requires close communication, and bunk bed rooms, where each echelon has its own room, are also popular. Capsule beds make it difficult to communicate in the nap room, so instead we have made the cafeteria in this facility larger than in the previous station. The workers can fully communicate with each other in the cafeteria and rest in the capsule beds when they need to rest. We have designed the building to meet a variety of demands, considering such a balanced use.
In addition, although there are currently no female workers, we have prepared a sleeping room, bathroom, toilet, and so on exclusively for women. It is a social requirement, and I believe that taking diversity into consideration makes it easier for everyone to work and improves the overall ES.

Feedback for the installation of capsule beds

――How did capsule beds fare in terms of preventing infection with COVID-19?

I believe that space separation is necessary as a measure for infection prevention. Each capsule bed is individually separated and has a ventilation fan inside the capsule, so that air is basically sucked into the capsule. We believe this will prevent any outbreak even if there is an infected person inside.
Conversely, bunk beds now only accommodate four people, half of the maximum capacity, in one room due to infection prevention measures. Since there was no spatial separation in bunk beds, new measures were needed, such as hanging curtains from the ceiling to separate the beds from each other. In that sense, the capsule beds did not require any countermeasures, so the Corona pandemic did not affect the continuation of operations, which was great!

Providing commuters with safe, secure, and comfortable expressways 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

――You mentioned that you would like to expand capsule beds in the area under the Kanazawa branch office, but how about implementing it company-wide?

Once a year, we have an opportunity to present the details of our business improvements. This is an initiative to present business improvements within the company, properly evaluate them, and horizontally deploy effective ones for further improvement.
When we created and published a paper on the consideration for installing capsule beds, cost comparisons, and the results of the satisfaction survey, we received high praise and were able to disseminate it throughout the company. Furthermore, the paper was also submitted to the "Yukimirai 2022 in Hakusan" research presentation for external dissemination.

――Your desire to spread word about this initiative both inside and outside the company must have spurred you on to give your best to it, but I guess the effort that went into compiling this material must have been humongous, right?

Well, you can say so. However, we believe that if we work on new things and check their effectiveness, we will be really appreciated as a company. This makes it easier for the workers to implement new initiatives, leading to this improvement in ES, and I feel a virtuous cycle has been created.
This has also been reflected in our internal regulations regarding the design of stations for snow/ice removal staff, facilitating the introduction of capsule beds that take into account the snow and ice operations system.

――That's really great. It means that your achievements have been recognized. Are there any plans in the pipeline to introduce capsule beds at other places after this project?

Plans are underway for constructing a new station for snow/ice removal staff in Toyama. Also, there is a plan to rebuild the maintenance and service center in Hashima, so next time we would like to consider the ES of our employees and think about installing capsule beds. In the event of a disaster or other emergencies, our employees will have to take naps and operate in a harsh working environment, and we would like to improve this situation.

――If you live in an area where it doesn't snow much, it's hard to appreciate the importance of snow and ice countermeasures. Listening to you today made me understand the gravity of the same.

We are unsung heroes. Mostly it is taken for granted that expressways can be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I think we are the ones maintaining this norm by giving it our all.
Recently, amidst disasters becoming severe and increasing instances of sudden snowfalls, we are working on various measures to prevent vehicles from being stranded. These measures include installing snow-melting equipment, increasing the number of snowplows, and preventing traffic closures among others. Having said that, it's still an uphill task as we are dealing with Nature. Although we are promoting labor saving and automation, snow and ice work and road maintenance operations still rely on human labor, and in heavy snowfalls, snow and ice removal work can continue for several days. That is why we wanted to provide an environment where people can rest as comfortably as possible when they can.
We believe that the introduction of capsule beds will contribute in the following two ways - in the disaster prevention aspect of continuing snow and ice work operations even when heavy snowfall continues, as well as in the safety aspect of preventing accidents due to workers' lack of sleep.

――I was able to understand that traffic safety on the expressways is maintained by the joint efforts put in by all of you. Thank you very much for your valuable insights today!