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- Research and Development
- R&D Investment Policy
R&D Investment Policy
History and current state of investments
In 1977, we established a development expense program that allocates two
percent of company-wide sales to R&D expenses. Since 2015, we have
invested over 900 million yen in research and development each year. In
2022, we will invest 1.1 billion yen.
As a global infrastructure group, the CTI Engineering Group is focusing
on the development of new technologies under the Group vision "SPRONG
2030," which is our vision for tackling new technologies and making
great strides as a professional group that provides the best infrastructure
services. For this reason, we set a basic policy for R&D investment
every year, taking into account the initiatives called for by changing
social conditions. This policy becomes our foundation for selecting R&D
topics to invest in and develop technologies around. Recently, in particular,
we have been promoting research and development on topics that address
social issues such as countermeasures for increasingly severe natural disasters
(building national resilience), digital transformation (DX), environmental
and global issues centered on the SDGs, and adaptations to the "new
lifestyle" triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
These R&D investments are divided into three categories: investments
in engineering R&D, investments in our people, and investments in CSR.
In the area of engineering R&D, we are aiming to further stimulate
research and development and increase its effectiveness. To this end, beginning
in 2020, we have reorganized R&D expenses into these categories: business
development (technology to expand business areas), technology development
(state-of-the-art technology to develop businesses), and quality and productivity
improvements (technology to improve quality and productivity). We have
also restructured the organization of the Research Center for Sustainable
Communities (Kokudobunka kenkyujo) in order to promote research and development.
In business development category, we will invest in expanding our operations
overseas as well as in Japan.
Next, we have been investing in our people, as more emphasis is being placed on the specialization and knowledge of our individual engineers. Not only do we provide support for obtaining the Professional Engineer, Japan (P.E.Jp) qualification, Japan's most prestigious national qualification for engineers involved in science and technology, but we have also established a university-level continuing education program for working adults and a training support program for the development of competence in other fields, through which we actively encourage our employees to pursue PhDs. We currently maintain the top position among consulting engineering firms with the greatest percentage of licensed Professional Engineers and number of PhD holders.
Furthermore, regarding investment in CSR activities, we have been engaging in various social contribution activities in accordance with our Guidelines for Social Contribution Activities. For example, we provide support for educational activities at elementary and high schools, participate in community revitalization activities as a corporate citizen, introduce technologies at civil engineering and construction-related events, and raise awareness of disaster prevention measures.
Diverse investments
The needs and technologies surrounding infrastructure are changing profoundly. These changes are particularly apparent in the promotion of disaster prevention and mitigation measures to protect people's lives from increasingly massive and frequent natural disasters; the reliable implementation of maintenance, management, and renewal of aging structures; the promotion of DX such as AI, i-Construction, AR/VR, and RPA; and the export of infrastructure systems overseas. We must take bold action in order to acquire new businesses, develop new technologies, and expand our international role to meet the needs of society. It is also essential for us to develop human resources who can take on these challenges. On top of this, it has become mandatory for us to achieve the SDGs through our corporate activities.
We are making diverse investments with a wide range of goals in mind, based on the future we envision for the company.
- 1. Promoting business development: Investments in technology to expand business areas
- While effectively utilizing our existing technological capabilities, we are working to develop new businesses that go beyond conventional boundaries. We are achieving steady results in the following areas: demonstration experiments for the commercialization of demand responsive transport services, renewable energy power generation, flood forecasting and information services (i.e., the water-related disaster risk mapping system), genetic analysis, new technology development through business alliances with venture-backed companies, and other businesses. We are also investing in expanding and strengthening our service areas, including Project Management (PM) and Construction Management (CM), client support, execution management, and public-private partnerships (PPPs).
- 2. Promoting technology development: Investments in state-of-the-art technology to develop businesses
- Through joint research with universities and other research institutions, as well as through independent research activities, we are acquiring knowledge on a variety of highly specialized technologies, including driving automation and new AI-based technologies, and are making use of such knowledge to promote technological development. This enables us to provide new technologies to meet the needs of society and to propose solutions to emerging social issues.
- 3. Promoting quality and productivity improvements: Investments in technology to improve quality and productivity
- In light of the revised Quality Assurance Act and the revised Labor Standards Act, both of which came into effect in 2019, consulting engineers, like other industries, are expected to further improve productivity and reduce working hours. For this reason, we are promoting productivity improvements through the development of technologies that actively utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) in order to improve work quality and the working environment.
- 4. Investments in overseas expansion
- There are growing expectations for the utilization of Japan's proprietary technologies in the international community. We are supporting the development of overseas locations and actively making proposals based on our proprietary technologies. We have also added engineering and consulting firms based in the United Kingdom and other countries to the Group and are expanding our infrastructure services to cover a wide range of areas and regions.
- 5. Investments in human resource development
- As a consulting engineering firm, people are our greatest resource. We have long positioned investment in human resources as a material issue and have continuously and proactively promoted such investments. In addition to holding rank-based training, overseas training, and company-wide technical training sessions, we are developing our own initiatives, such as investing in one-of-a-kind training programs by our engineering divisions (business division training).
- 6. Investments in CSR activities
- The corporate activities of a consulting engineering firm are directly related to CSR activities. We will make the necessary investments in producing business opportunities related to infrastructure development, which is the pillar of our corporate activities, and in utilizing our knowledge to support external education and participate in community activities. We will also make necessary investments in training and institutional development in areas that are fundamental to corporate management, such as governance, compliance, human rights, and the work and office environment.
Future investments and announcement of results
We believe that developing new technologies and expanding into new fields is essential for our future growth as a consulting engineering firm. Furthermore, we believe that it is essential to create value that can be shared with society through the development of infrastructure, and thereby achieve the SDGs. We will continue to secure a certain level of investment in research and development and make effective use of our investments, thereby contributing to the development of safe and secure infrastructure and increasing our corporate value based on our brand slogan "Creating Safety and Security for the Future."
We will also return the results of our investments to society by utilizing them in our corporate activities and business expansion, focusing on infrastructure development, and will actively disclose the outputs and outcomes of these activities.