Effective legal training in the transportation industry through e-learning to meet the increasing demand for hiring foreign human resources

Released on 2025.03.19

• Content sales (B2B)
• Employee training

Released on 2025.03.19

Nippo Kosoku Unyu Co., Ltd. has been transporting auto parts within Aichi Prefecture for about 50 years as a group of logistics professionals. In order to raise employee safety awareness, the company has consistently focused on in-house training for 50 years to ensure safe and secure transportation. The company's educational materials filled with its unique know-how have become a hot topic, and it has introduced learningBOX to launch an e-learning service specializing in truck driver training. In this interview, they talk about the background behind the launch of the service, the key points of the introduction, the results obtained, and multilingual support for foreign personnel, for whom demand is increasing.

High degree of freedom, easy-to-understand UI, low cost, and a system that meets all your needs

Tell us about your business

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:Our core business is the transportation of auto parts. Headquartered in Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture, we operate two sales offices, one in Kariya City and the other in Toyota City, to transport auto parts. Automobiles are made up of about 30,000 parts, and companies that manufacture parts, called suppliers, are scattered throughout Aichi Prefecture. We regularly transport various parts from suppliers to automobile assembly plants by large trucks.

We also operate a warehouse, where we store suppliers' products as inventory prior to delivery to the factory. Currently, the company has 130 employees, and including staff from subcontractors and outsourced suppliers, approximately 200 people work in the business.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:Ltd., an affiliate company for operating eDriver (read: eDriver), an e-learning program specializing in truck driver training, and I am in charge of eDriver's development, content creation, sales, and public relations.

Please tell us about the background of your need for an e-learning system.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:Aichi Prefecture has the second largest number of foreign residents after Tokyo. Among them, Brazil has the largest number of foreign residents by nationality (*1). Of the approximately 200 staff members in our company, 35 are foreign drivers, 30 of whom are Brazilian.

We have established a "Safety Training Center" where dedicated instructional staff provide face-to-face instruction to Japanese and non-Japanese drivers. We are particular about the quality of training in order to increase its effectiveness as safety training, but since some of the same content is explained to new staff each time, we started video production in areas where we could improve efficiency, and made improvements such as using AI voice.

There is training not only for new staff, but also for the 12 statutory items of the transportation industry (as described in the "Guidelines for Guidance and Supervision of Operators of Commercial Motor Vehicles by Freight Forwarders" ) (*2) that all drivers must undergo. Our guidance staff had developed in-house video materials on this subject as well, which became a topic of conversation among our peers, and we received requests to sell them.

For some time, we had heard from other businesses about the difficulties and challenges related to training for the 12 statutory items. Therefore, we decided to launch a new business by renewing the design and structure of our video materials and preparing them for external sales as an e-learning training program.

(*1) Reference:
Immigration and Immigration Control Agency, "Number of Foreign Residents as of June 30, 2024"
Aichi Prefecture, "Number of Foreign Residents in Municipalities in Aichi Prefecture"

(*2) Reference:
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "(Guidelines for Guidance and Supervision of Drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles by Freight Carriers)"

Can you tell us how you first heard about learningBOX and what made you decide to introduce it?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:We were looking for an e-learning platform because it is very difficult to develop a system from scratch. I searched for keywords such as "e-learning" and "platform," and learningBOX came up at the top of the list.
　
I made inquiries and consulted with your sales staff on various matters from the pre-introduction stage. We had the assumption that we would be able to improve the training content as we received feedback from our customers when selling the content externally, so we needed a system with a high degree of flexibility.

Of the several we looked at, learningBOX seemed to be the most likely to achieve what we wanted to do. We felt that not many people in our industry were familiar with IT, so a UI that was easy to view and operate was also essential. We also liked the fact that the fee was much lower than we had expected.

Did you encounter any difficulties from the introduction of learningBOX to the start of its operation? Please let us know if there are any points that are easy to use, or if there are any points that you would like to see improved.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:Although I found the operation itself to be easy, I learned quite a bit about what is feasible with learningBOX. Since the functions are so extensive, there are many options, and I sometimes had a hard time deciding which functions to use and how to assemble them.

The easy-to-use features are the intuitive operation and the ability to create with no code (development without writing source code). I felt it was very easy.

The only thing I wish I could improve on is "Grade ManagementI think it would be even easier to see if it is possible to hide functions that we do not utilize in our company in the "What is the function?

Thank you very much. We will consider it internally. How do you feel about the response of the sales and support team of learningBOX, which has accompanied you from the stage of considering the introduction of the system?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:I had consulted with them two or three times before the introduction of the system, but in a positive sense, I did not feel the pushy "salesmanship" that only salespeople can have. They were very easy to consult with because they made proposals and responses that were very close to our needs.

In selling content externally, "theeCommerceI thought that signing up for the "EC" option was mandatory, but was unsure due to concerns about commissions. When I consulted with them, they told me that the "EC" option is for payment functions, so it is not mandatory as long as it is possible to sell through invoicing and other procedures. It was a surprise to me that they were so honest with us. I feel that we can trust them very much, as they are able to suggest how best to operate from the customer's point of view.

All training courses, from enrollment to history management, are completed on the system, making annual training for the 12 statutory items easier.

Please give us an overview of eDriver, an e-learning program specializing in truck driver training.

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:The program specializes in the 12 statutory items described in the "Guidelines for Guidance and Supervision of Operators of Commercial Motor Vehicles by Freight Forwarders". The program is currently available in Japanese and Portuguese.

In addition, records of training on the 12 statutory items must be kept for three years, and the records can be checked as well as output. (See CSV export(e.g. "I'll be back")

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:The advantage of e-learning is that you can take the course anytime, anywhere, not only on a computer, but also on a tablet device or smartphone.

We have carefully selected and incorporated the contents of the service that are truly necessary from the viewpoint of the field after repeated interviews with our drivers as well as other companies in the industry during the development stage. One of our selling points is that the service was developed by a transportation company from the user's perspective, and we will continue to proactively incorporate the opinions of our competitors into our service.

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:Since all 12 statutory items must be taken over the course of a year, schedule management is extremely important. The pace of attendance is flexible, such as one item per month or three items every three months, but the attendance rate must always be 100%.

Therefore, when there are employees who have not yet taken the course, managers need to repeatedly call on them to ensure that they take the course. This is a huge burden on the field, but the learningBOX's "NotificationThe use of "Remind me to take the course" can greatly reduce the amount of time and effort required to take the course. Drivers will be able to take the course more smoothly because they are sure to receive it via e-mail and can check the contents on the screen, rather than verbally.

Can you tell us about the origin of the name "eDriver"?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:The concept is "Easy training, e-learning, for e (good) drivers! but we came up with the keyword "e" to lighten the burden of training for managers and trainees, to make training easy, to make training available anytime, anywhere through e-learning, and to make high-quality, good (e-)drivers.

In addition, "eDriver" aims to provide a service that both managers and drivers (trainees) feel is "e (good)" training, and that both parties are glad to have introduced the service. For this reason, we designed the logo with "e (good)" from two different perspectives. The line in the middle of the "e" represents a straight road, and also incorporates the element of "∞ (infinity)," in the hope that the logo will show the transportation industry the way to a bright future and that the industry will continue to grow and develop permanently.

The eDriver content features characters, which I found very easy to understand, as if we were learning together.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:In fact, the characters are one of the points of particular interest, so I am very glad that you paid attention to them. Since we place importance on enjoyment and ease of understanding in "eDriver," we increased the amount of illustrations and used similes to break down difficult words. If the content has a narration tone or a lot of text, the participants will get bored, and this will not be effective as a safety education.

I also produce the videos in the contents, but in the future I would like to upgrade them to incorporate more animation and other features to make learning even more enjoyable and effective.

Can you tell us about the sales channels for eDriver?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:In the first few months after our release, we actively engaged in PR activities to increase our name recognition; we have gradually increased the number of accesses and inquiries through SNS and exposure in media such as industry newspapers. Recently, we have been invited to more study groups and seminars, and we have been conducting PR activities there.

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:Thankfully, we have an increasing number of companies cooperating with us as sales partners. There are several IT services for the transportation industry, and we would like to collaborate with these providers to add value and enhance the strength of our products. We are in the process of developing business alliances, collaborations, and other measures.

We have heard that you are planning to increase the number of languages supported by "eDriver" from the current Japanese and Portuguese.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:Yes, we do. As I mentioned earlier, there are more than 60,000 Brazilians in Aichi Prefecture, a very large number (see *1), and since we also have many Brazilian staff, we only offer Japanese and Portuguese language services, but we are now working on English language services in-house.

In addition, we are working with foreign staffing and human resource development companies to provide support for Indonesian, Myanmarese, and Nepali languages. To prevent mistranslations (especially of technical terms), we work with native speakers with industry experience, rather than relying on AI or other means.

In March 2024, it was decided that the "automobile transportation industry (trucks, buses, and cabs combined)" will be added to the specified skill fields, and the government expects to accept 24,500 foreign drivers in the next five years starting in FY2024 (*3), mainly in Southeast Asian languages. The demand for such services is expected to increase.

In Indonesia, roadways are driven on the left side of the road, the same as in Japan, and right-hand drive is used, among other points. Furthermore, since the establishment of the Specified Skill System in April 2019, the number of Indonesians, Myanmarese, and Nepalese working as Specified Skill Foreigners has increased rapidly, and the number of people coming to Japan as Specified Skill Foreigners is expected to increase in the future (*4).

In the future, we would like to establish a system whereby "eDriver" can handle everything from recruiting to post-employment training.

(*3) Reference:
Immigration and Immigration Control Agency, "Reestablishment of the estimated number of applicants for the specified skills system (Cabinet decision on March 29, 2024)."

(*4) Reference:
Immigration and Immigration Control Agency, "Statistics on Foreign Residents (formerly Statistics on Registered Foreigners)"
With the Number of Foreign Residents as of June 30, 2024"

Thank you very much. 18 languages are available for display on the learningBOX, and each user can choose the language he/she would like to use.
I understand that "eDriver" is being used internally for training on the 12 statutory items prior to its sale, how is the response within the company?

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:The training did not go smoothly from the beginning. Although it was not difficult to operate, the administrator had to explain the outline of the program to the participants and take the time to register them before the program started. Once those tasks were completed, the training operation proceeded smoothly. Drivers have also been able to attend the training smoothly.

Starting in April 2024, the transportation industry will be subject to an annual overtime limit of 960 hours. If we have employees come to work on non-business days, such as Saturdays and Sundays, just for group training, overtime hours will increase. e-learning has reduced the number of days off work, which has been a benefit to both the company and the drivers.

The introduction of e-learning has also reduced holiday work and administrative man-hours for training.

What kind of results have you obtained from the introduction of learningBOX?

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:Many staff members find it convenient in that they can take the course anytime, anywhere. Since it is a legal training course, it is necessary to take the course and keep a record of the training, so we feel that we are able to manage the training efficiently.

The "eDriver" program was just launched in July 2024, so it is difficult to say at this stage whether it will have any effect on reducing the accident rate, but we would like to follow up on this in the future. As I mentioned earlier, the reduction in the number of days off to attend training has led to cost savings. Considering that we have to pay holiday work allowance, the cost has been sufficiently reduced even though the development cost of "eDriver" has been incurred.

Some training other than the 12 statutory items can only be conducted in person, so in the past, group training would have been conducted once a month on a Saturday for half a day (4 hours) throughout the year, but now attendance has been reduced by half. Since it is half, we have been able to cut down on holiday pay for drivers and management staff for 6 x 4 hours per year, as well as the man-hours required for further management.

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:As a customer example, a carrier that has to work on holidays three times a year for one hour each time for training on the 12 statutory items has eliminated all the holiday work by introducing e-learning. The customer was pleased to hear that holiday pay and man-hours for training management were also reduced, and that the training itself went smoothly.

What impact has the introduction of the learningBOX had on your company in terms of time, cost, etc. saved?

Dear Tatsuya Deguchi:The quality of training has improved. Training at transportation companies includes not only classroom lectures (12 legal requirements), but also practical training on driving techniques, onsite rules, and a wide range of other topics. However, the time available for training is limited, so it is necessary to train employees to a level where they can be immediately effective in the field in a short period of time.

Therefore, by streamlining the areas that can be streamlined through e-learning and ensuring sufficient time for practical skills training, we were able to make the content denser, even though the training time was the same as before. However, I believe that the essential merit of e-learning is the ability to allocate training time in an appropriate manner and increase learning effectiveness.

What is your vision for the future?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:We would like to further expand the contents of "eDriver". By making the 12 statutory training courses available in multiple languages, we will ensure that "eDriver" can also be used to train foreign personnel.

In addition to the 12 statutory items, we also plan to enhance the contents with other useful contents such as road traffic laws and safety awareness contents using actual drive recorder footage.

In addition, since its release, we have received many requests from customers for educational courses on forklifts. Since we are also focusing on forklift education, we have purchased new equipment for education and are developing this while utilizing our in-house training facilities.

Could you give a message to those who are considering implementing learningBOX?

Mr. Koushi Deguchi:I think a big advantage of learningBOX is that it is easy to use, even if you are not familiar with IT. The labor shortage is becoming more serious not only in the transportation industry, but also in other industries. When it comes to hiring inexperienced or foreign personnel, I think the importance of training will increase greatly, and the e-learning system will be very useful in such cases. The less confident you are in creating your own e-learning training system and content, the more you may want to consider learningBOX.

Thank you for your participation
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