Sugiyama first fell in love with heavy machinery when she was a second-year student in high school. In her home economics class, she had to watch a video that explained how rice is harvested. Until then, her impression was that farming, as a primary industry, involved a lot of physical and manual labor, but the systematic aspect of harvesting with a single rice harvester completely changed how she viewed farming. Impressed by the fact that a single heavy machinery operator can manage vast fields, she started conducting her own research on heavy machinery manufacturers. By her third year in high school, she had developed a strong desire to join a heavy equipment club or a disaster volunteer organization that uses heavy equipment after entering university.

After entering Ritsumeikan University, Sugiyama began looking for an extracurricular organization that dealt with heavy machinery, but she could not find one. So, she changed her approach and decided to establish her own club. In the spring of her first year, she and three of her friends started the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club, but it was a lot more work than they had imagined. Initially, Sugiyama envisioned operating heavy machinery to support farmers and as volunteers in disaster-stricken areas, but these plans fell through. This is because advanced skills are required to operate heavy machinery for agricultural work and disaster prevention activities. Even if she obtained a license, it would take a lot of time to acquire a high level of skill, so she decided this was not feasible. This is when she and her clubmates decided to shift the focus of their activities to the three pillars of "research," "operation," and "communication," instead of focusing solely on operating heavy machinery.

In terms of research, the club actively participates in trade shows where heavy equipment manufacturers come together, but Sugiyama says they faced significant hurdles to participate these trade shows as a student organization. “Trade shows are places where companies that deal in heavy machinery go to sell their products, and many of them did not allow students to participate in the first place. Even when we were allowed to participate, we had a hard time gaining acceptance because our purpose for being there was different from that of the heavy equipment manufacturers. We had a very hard time getting people to understand the activities of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Equipment Club, especially in our first year when we had no track record yet,” explains Sugiyama. Nevertheless, the club persevered and continued to participate in trade shows, which led them to deepen their learning about heavy machinery by visiting the factories and paving and demolition sites of those heavy machinery manufacturers who understood what the club was trying to do.

As for "communication," the club, in cooperation with a heavy machinery manufacturer, held events where actual machinery was displayed on campus and at local events to convey their appeal. When the club first proposed this plan, they had trouble coordinating with the organizers because there was no precedent, and things did not go as planned. For example, when the club was planning to set up a booth at a university event in which local children could participate, safety concerns were raised about bringing heavy equipment on campus. After carefully coordinating with the relevant university offices, however, they were finally able to make the event a reality. These efforts by the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club were unprecedented, and everything they did was something new. Nevertheless, as a pioneer, Sugiyama felt a strong sense of satisfaction in learning about heavy machinery and conveying its appeal to as many people as possible.

Sugiyama's enthusiasm for heavy machinery gradually infected those around her. Professor Tetsuo Yoshimoto of the College of Business Administration, who had shown an interest in the efforts of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club since its inaugural year, became the club’s advisor in the second year. Thanks to a referral from Professor Yoshimoto, an internship was created at a company in Ehime Prefecture that engages in road pavement and other infrastructure maintenance. Three of the nine members of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club, including Sugiyama, participated. During the two-week internship, the students joined a special program for steamroller drivers and an operating training session, and they also tried their hand at machine maintenance and asphalt paving.

The members of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club learned a great deal from this internship, especially since “operation” is one of the club’s three main pillars. First of all, Sugiyama and the other members were surprised at just how skilled the heavy machinery operators were. Sugiyama says that even if she spends more than 10 years learning how to operate machinery, she would still find it difficult to reach the same level as them. “Even the basic task of unloading the shovel of a backhoe and bringing it back in line with the operator's cab is not easy. It may seem simple, but I realized just how difficult it is when I actually tried it myself. Whenever I have the opportunity to observe the maneuvering techniques of heavy machinery operators, I am overwhelmed by their professional skills," she said.
In addition to the highly skilled operators, Sugiyama says she and her clubmates were surprised by the significant progress being made in the use of information and communications technology (ICT). Japanese heavy machinery has evolved over the years in terms of autopilot and safety devices. Advanced operating techniques that have been left to the senses of individuals as a kind of craftsmanship have been systematized, and heavy machinery equipped with remote control and assist functions is now the mainstream at trade shows. “It was a great discovery for me to see how the technology of heavy machinery itself has improved to make it easier for people working in the agricultural and construction industries. These industries face social issues like worker shortages and the aging population. We want more people to know about the movement to solve social issues and usher in a brighter future by advancing various initiatives, including the use of ICT," says Sugiyama.

Thanks to her internship, Sugiyama was able to deepen her learning at a site where heavy machinery is actually used. She is putting her heart and soul into the activities of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Equipment Club, including exhibiting at events and visiting factories that manufacture heavy equipment. She says that now that the club is in its third year, it is often approached by heavy equipment manufacturers for sponsorship when it participates in trade shows. Viewing work sites from the perspective of students and demonstrating a willingness to enjoy operating machinery and convey its appeal have become the major strengths of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club.
“I think there is an appeal of heavy machinery that we, as university students, can convey to people who are difficult to reach using the traditional communication channels of heavy machinery manufacturers. At the events where we have exhibited, students our age and children in the community have excitedly told us about how it was the first time for them to touch heavy machinery and experience it up close. Even if you see heavy machinery in town, it is difficult to get close to the work sites. We hope that providing hands-on experiences at events will lead people to develop an interest in the industries in which heavy machinery is used and in heavy machinery itself," says Sugiyama.
Sugiyama also explained that the efforts of the Ritsumeikan Heavy Machinery Club are made possible by the support it receives from Ritsumeikan University as an official student organization.* “Thanks to the support of Ritsumeikan University, we have been able to conduct a wide range of activities related to the club’s three pillars of research, operation, and communication, such as visiting heavy equipment manufacturers to learn about them and setting up booths at events to communicate the appeal of heavy machinery. Because we are receiving support, we would like to expand our activities and convey the appeal of heavy machinery to many more people, thereby creating an opportunity to bring attention to the social issues facing the industries that use heavy machinery," says Sugiyama, who is planning more factory tours and sponsored events with heavy equipment manufacturers.

As a pioneer of getting students involved and interested in heavy machinery, we plan to keep an eye on Sugiyama as she continues to blaze new trails.
*Alumni Association Future Leaders Fund