Dai-Ichi Cutter Implements Accountability and Trackability Using Keycafe

Dai-Ichi Cutter, meaning Number One Cutter in Japanese, was established in 1966 by three ambitious classmates aiming to be the industry leader in concrete flat sawing. They quickly expanded by importing automated concrete cutter machines from the USA, and eventually developing their own proprietary cutting machines. Today, their over 600 employees cover Japan’s major infrastructure construction projects by cutting, chipping, peeling, crushing, washing, and polishing up concrete and other materials.

Their 11-person Surface Processing Department focuses on preparing concrete walls for further construction stages and finishing up concrete floors by polishing them to look like mirrors. Technicians drive specialized trucks to transport necessary machines and tools, often for long hours depending on where the construction sites are located.

Keeping track of truck keys and gas station cards is an important aspect of assigning projects to technicians and managing their schedules. Dai-Ichi Cutter was using hooks on the wall and name tags on the keys. Management knew there must be a better, more reliable way to be accountable for their assets. After a short online search, they reached out to Keycafe.

“Due to our work environment, workers would come in day and night, weekdays and weekends. Everyone shares truck keys. I knew the way we managed keys was too lax, and we always had risks of losing keys and gas cards,” says the manager, Hiroshi Senda.

For Dai-Ichi Cutter, low initial costs, inexpensive running fees, plus easy setup of the SmartBox were all deciding factors in choosing Keycafe.

All technicians have their own Keycafe account, which allows them to pick up keys and accompanying gas cards they have permission for with an access code. Their employee numbers are set as their access codes so they have nothing extra to remember. Dropoffs are done by simply scanning the fob attached to each key for quick returns at the end of a shift.

Because each technician has their own access code, every key pickup is logged, allowing management to view when a key is picked up and by who. If a key is not returned or goes missing, they know exactly which technician last had the key. Additionally, the SmartBox enables technicians to self-manage the pickup and dropoff of keys without administration on-site, even on weekends and for night shifts.

Since technicians can now only pick up the keys they’ve been granted access to - and every key pickup is logged automatically - there is decreased risk for misuse and loss.

Keycafe has been simple and easy to use for the team members, and for management, increased peace of mind was a big merit. “Just like I expected,” says Senda.