Do you know what a "formwork carpenter" is? no.1
Perhaps the term "formwork carpenter" is still rarely spoken of in loud voices.
Scaffolders, steel fixers, and plasterers. Those trades have higher name recognition, and their on-site aesthetics are easier to convey.
However, the skills of formwork carpenters, who support banks, home centers, stadiums, and city buildings, are completely foundational. No matter where you look at a completed building, you cannot see the traces of the formwork.
But without the formwork, that building would not exist.
That has always been a shame to me.
The slightest tilt of a panel. The length of a separator. Any deviation in horizontal or vertical alignment.
If any of those are off by even 1mm, the wall filled with concrete will have a "different face."
The formwork carpenter's site is always a dialogue with precision. They assemble while imagining someone spending time in that space after it is completed.
It is invisible, but it is there.
I have been involved in that work for over 20 years.
But lately, there are times when I feel afraid.
There are people who have quit. Veterans with overwhelming experience have retired.
A craftsman who supported us for many years has gone independent. That person was, above all, dedicated to their work.
They were strict. It was common for young people to be unable to keep up. But they learned the techniques faster than anyone else. They were the type to take the initiative on troublesome tasks, and they were good at looking after others, too.
However, they were feared and became isolated.
The skills, judgment, and speed of decision-making on-site that that person possessed.
That has disappeared from our company.
However, it hasn't all vanished.
There are young people that person raised. The techniques they learned while being strictly trained and scolded remain firmly within those young people's bodies.
I believe that, at least, is a salvation.
But that alone is not enough.
There are no records. No videos. It hasn't even been put into words.
What that person did on-site, the judgments they made, the sense of "it's better to do it this way" that they felt—we don't yet have a system to pass that on to the next generation.
That is why I believe we must seriously undertake the transfer of skills now.
It's not just a feeling. It's the sense that if we don't do it, there is no future.
I think the work of a formwork carpenter looks tough to young people.
It is tough, in fact. It's deathly hot in the summer. Precision is required. Planning is required. As long as you hold the title of professional, there is no room for mistakes.
But the feeling you get when you finish a site you were entrusted with is something you can't experience anywhere else.
We support buildings from places that cannot be seen. As long as that building stands for decades, the craftsman's work is there.
In this NOTE, I intend to leave behind in words the fun of such formwork carpentry work, the reality of the site, the growth of craftsmen, and what I think about as a manager.
I don't intend to wrap it up neatly, though.
It's just that there are things I don't want to disappear.
I hope that such thoughts are conveyed, even if only a little.
#FormworkCarpenter #CharmOfConstructionIndustry #CraftsmansWords #RealityOfSite #ForeignInterns #TownDevelopment #ConstructionIndustry #VoicesFromTheSite #Manufacturing #SkillTransfer
Katayan
"I read it again for the first time in a while, but no.1 feels incredibly heavy when you read it now."
Beniko
"It is heavy, isn't it? When we wrote the first article, we didn't think it would become such a deep story."
Ami
"I read it for the first time this time, and my heart tightened a little at the part about the independent craftsman."
Katayan
"That paragraph is a sentiment that only came out because the president wrote it now. It's something that couldn't have been written a year ago."
Beniko
"A year makes a difference in what you can see, doesn't it?"
Ami
"The depiction of being strict and isolated was very realistic. I have a somewhat strict senior at my workplace who always eats lunch alone, and it kind of reminded me of them."
Katayan
"Ami-chan, you should try talking to them (laughs)."
Beniko
"You should eat your lunch with them (laughs)."
Ami
"I'll try inviting them tomorrow. By the way, when it comes to technical succession, it really comes down to the importance of 'records,' doesn't it? Speaking of records, I record my weight every morning, but it's been increasing by 500 grams every month since last month."
Katayan
"Suddenly talking about your private life (laughs)."
Beniko
"Where did the talk about technical succession go? (laughs)"
Ami
"I'd like to see more of the work of formwork carpenters. Where can I see that?"
Beniko
"Videos are the easiest to understand."
Ami
"Videos, huh. I'm the type who watches videos while 'curing.' Just lying around."
Katayan
"That's not how you use the word 'curing' (laughs)."
Beniko
"That's just you lounging around (laughs)."
Katayan
"👉 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@kensetu"
Ami
"Where can I see the daily work site?"
Beniko
"On Instagram."
Ami
"Instagram, huh. I'm worried because my follower count isn't increasing with good 'alignment' (tori)."
Katayan
"Alignment, you made a pun on formwork alignment (laughs)."
Beniko
"You're even throwing in personal advice (laughs)."
Katayan
"👉 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mamitsuka_const/"
Ami
"Where can I check the company's philosophy?"
Katayan
"The official website has everything summarized."
Ami
"Thank you. This is a site where you can understand the 'foundation' of the company. I've actually been relearning the basics of English lately, starting from a first-year junior high school textbook."
Beniko
"From the first year of junior high? (laughs)"
Katayan
"How humble (laughs)."
Katayan
"👉 Official website https://www.mamituka.co.jp/"
Ami
"What should I do if I want to hear the story directly?"
Beniko
"LINE is the fastest way."
Ami
"LINE, I see. I've 'installed' so many LINE stickers that my monthly data usage is through the roof."
Katayan
"Installed—your usage is perfectly off-base (laughs)."
Beniko
"You're sending too many stickers (laughs)."
Katayan
"👉 Official LINE https://lin.ee/PHgidlL"
Ami
"Finally, where should people go if they want to learn more about President Mami's experience?"
Katayan
"It's a place where you can dig up the experience the president has built up."
Beniko
"The theme of this article, preserving things you don't want to disappear, is exactly that, isn't it?"
Ami
"It's the 'stripping' of experience. Taking what has hardened and properly removing it to pass it on to the next."
Katayan
"Oh, that one is actually correct."
Beniko
"Ami-chan, you say amazing things sometimes (laughs)."
Katayan
"👉 Mami Navi https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/dae0f71d-e472-431f-9cd2-a28f0d9b8251"
Katayan
"Ending with 'there are things I don't want to disappear' still hits home even when I read it now."
Beniko
"It's amazing how the weight of those words has changed after a year."
Ami
"I also decided to cherish the things I don't want to disappear. Tomorrow, I'll try asking my strict senior if they'd like to have lunch together."
Katayan
"Oh, it connected (laughs)"
Beniko
"You're really connecting the article to your own life (laughs)"
Ami
"That's all from me, Ami."
Katayan
"Back to being an announcer only at the very end (laughs)"
Beniko
"See you later, Ami-chan (laughs)"