[2024 Graduates] [Shikoku Office] We tried office relocation work [Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture]

2024.07.03

table of contents

1 Introduction
2 overview
3 Advance preparation
4 Day 1
5 Day 2
- 5.1 Work2-1: Assembly
- 5.2 Work2-2: Drain all the water from the pond
6 Final day (third day)

Introduction

I'm Okarin from the Systems Solutions Department, and I joined Beyond this year as a new graduate.
I was assigned to the Shikoku office, and the first thing I did was this office relocation.
This time, I'd like to write about the office relocation process from the perspective of a new graduate who doesn't know anything.

overview

This relocation involves moving belongings from the old office, Seikai Ryokan, to the new office, which is about a five-minute walk away, and doing some light DIY work.
The new office is a calm and relaxing space that has been renovated from an old traditional Japanese house.

*For more information about the old office, please see previous articles written by other members

[Business Trip Report] Infrastructure Engineer Visits Shikoku Office (Miyoshi City, Tokushima Prefecture)

[Welcome] We went on a business trip to the Beyond Shikoku office 🏕️!!! [Awa Ikeda]

, excluding the initial preparationsthree daystook
In addition to myself and two other members from the Shikoku office,Osaka and Yokohamaseveral members came from
This blog post is written from the perspective of a new graduate.

Advance preparation

As part of the preparation, we moved some of the items to a more convenient location for carrying them.
We didn't move large items like desks that required several people, and mainly moved out spare monitors and chairs.

It didn't take long to transport and sort each item

If I had to name one thing that took a long time to prepare,
it would be "mental preparation."

As a new graduate, I joined Beyond and spent three months undergoing training in Osaka.
Then, in mid-June, after my training was mostly complete, I moved to Miyoshi City, where the Shikoku office is located.

I arrived in Miyoshi City two business days ago.
Before I knew it, the date for the move had arrived, and I was completely clueless. I had
been told in advance that "there will be moving work" and "people will be coming from Osaka and other places for the move."

The people being sent to my location were all my superiors, one after another.
Some of them were people I had worked closely with during my training.
I spent my days unable to sleep at night due to the pressure I felt for some reason, and then
that day finally arrived.

Day 1

The first day started under unfortunately cloudy skies, as it was the rainy season.
We began working in the afternoon when everyone from Osaka joined us!

Work1-1: Carrying out

The morning began with moving belongings out of the old office.
Of all the things we moved, the hardest was the long table. It was obviously impossible to move it alone. Even with two or three people, we could only lift it slightly; that's how heavy it was.
However, the power of numbers is great. Working together with senior employees, we were able to move it from the second floor to the first floor.

As I carried my belongings and worked up a sweat, the question sometimes crossed my mind: "Am I really a recent graduate at an IT company?" However, I didn't let that stop me; rather, I decided to work even harder

After moving out most of the belongings, the old office became a clean and uncluttered space with almost nothing in it. The only
regrettable thing was that I had only worked in the old office for three business days.
However, thisto have been at the new office from the very beginning. At this point, I resolved to put even more effort into the relocation work.

Work 1-2: Assembly

The next task was assembling chairs and vacuum cleaners for use in the workplace

I had a realization while assembling chairs purchased from a certain furniture store with a senior employee

Before the relocation, I was assigned the task of creating a work procedure manual as part of my training. During the process, I received a suggestion to "write it clearly, describe what the results will be, and make it easier to understand."

How will making the instructions easier to understand affect users and subscribers?

I was extremely lucky to realize this while working in a completely different field

Work 1-3: Weeding

Once we had assembled the structure to a certain extent, the next task was weeding.
The area to be weeded was mainly the parking lot behind the office. It
was extremely overgrown with greenery, and
"It would be faster to just burn it if it's grown this much," and
"Wouldn't it be better to spray herbicide?"
I started working while thinking,

The fact that the parking lot was gravel rather than dirt
was, I think, fortunate in this matter.

Because it was gravel, the plant roots didn't extend that deep.
...If it had been soil, I don't even want to imagine how difficult the work would have been. I
probably would have spent all three days weeding.

The weeds were pulled out quickly and easily.
Any that wouldn't come out or were too long were cut with a sickle.
I continued working until it was time to leave, chatting with the senior members of the team.

And so, when the time came and the work was finished, all
that remained was an idyllic scene of piles of weeds and an indescribable smell of plants.

After washing our hands, the first day of the relocation work was over

Afterward, they held a drinking party to thank us for our hard work.
There was some tension, but I think it was a very enjoyable gathering.

Day 2

, it was another cloudy day.
Despite the disappointing weather, the second day of work began.

Work2-1: Assembly

The first task on the second day was assembling the remaining items.
The first thing we did was assemble the kitchen rack.
This was relatively quick to complete.

After finishing the trash collection from the other work areas,
the next thing we did was assemble the tent.

Tents in IT company offices?

"What are you suddenly talking about?"
I think it's understandable that you might think that.
I certainly thought the same thing while I was assembling it.

The tent and camping chairs were set up in no time

These structures appear to have been created as rest areas for outdoor work.
The tents provided shade from the harsh sunlight that had begun to break through as the weather cleared, and chairs were placed where there had previously been no place to rest.
The result was a wonderfully chill space, unlike anything you'd expect to find behind an IT company.
However, I had another task to complete, so I simply enjoyed the space visually and then moved on.

Work2-2: Drain all the water from the pond

The part of this relocation project that I enjoyed the most and put the most effort into
cleaning the pond.

To our surprise, the new office had a tranquil veranda and a pond, creating the ultimate chill space.
This area would later be transformed by the hands of skilled craftsmen, but that's another story.
For now, we were tasked with some preliminary work.

The team started with the large pieces of trash that had been floating on the surface of the water the previous day already having been removed by another member of staff

I had ordered the previous week a pair of waterproof pants, similar to overalls, that could withstand getting wet up to my waist.
With rubber gloves on my hands, I was ready to go.

The water was about knee-deep.
There was a stench, but the accumulated sludge at the bottom was sandy. My feet didn't sink in at all, and it didn't hinder my movement.

He was armed with a bucket.
He started by using it to drain all the water from the pond.

Unfortunately, this project was far from the glamour of that famous scene from The Karate Kid.
It turned out to be quite a workout.

At first, the machine didn't work very well, but it gradually became more optimized with each attempt.
The collaboration with the senior employee who helped me also became smoother, and we were able to drain the pond faster than expected.

The next step is to remove the sludge that has settled at the bottom of the pond.
Using a large shovel held in both hands, the sludge from the bottom of the pond is scooped up and removed.

This time, the sludge wasn't the usual muddy kind, but rather a fine, sandy consistency like sea sand.
"I've seen
this before in Spirited Away," I continued to move my shovel and remove the sludge.

I was able to spot dragonfly larvae (nymphs) in the sludge.
Feeling the essence of summer, I continued working silently for several tens of minutes.

The sandy sludge had been removed from the bottom of the pond, and the water that couldn't be scooped up with a bucket had also been removed.
...It somehow reminded me of cleaning a swimming pool.

After cleaning up and receiving praise from my senior colleagues, my work for the day was finished.
On the second day, I was able to sleep well, although I was annoyed by the muscle soreness that would likely appear in the days to come.

Final day (third day)

Today was the final day of the relocation work.
The new office is almost completely tidied up and looks completely different, but there was still work to be done.

Work3-1: Varnishing

On the final day, the first task was to varnish the front entrance.
After removing dust and cobwebs, the work involved applying the varnish.

At first, my varnishing speed was slow, and I struggled to keep up with those who had been in charge the day before and were more experienced.
However, I gained experience in a variety of tasks over these three days.

It wasn't immediate, but I was able to improve to a reasonably good level in a relatively short time.
Then, by repeatedly applying varnish with a brush to the wall, the varnishing work on the front entrance was completed.

While I was painting, I kept wondering, "Is this color going to be okay?" But once it dried, lo and behold, it
had been transformed into a beautiful wooden entrance hall.

Work3-2: Moss removal

Yesterday, we literally drained all the water from the pond and removed almost all of the sludge, but there was still work to be done.
That was removing the moss growing along the edge of the pond.

Using the force of the water overflowing from the hose, I used a deck brush to gradually remove the moss from the edges.
Some of the moss was growing in hard-to-reach places, and I often struggled to apply the right amount of force.
It was difficult to remove, and I had a tough time.

However, someone else who had some free time offered to help.
I handed the hose with the running water to that person, and I focused on the deck brush and continued working.
We divided the tasks and polished the pond in a few minutes.

The wabi-sabi pond has now become as beautiful as if it had just been built

After thoroughly removing the moss that floated on the water during the rinsing, the work related to the pond was temporarily finished.
Later, medaka fish were released into the pond.

Work 3-3: Weeding

The next task is a continuation of the first day's work:
dealing with the weeds that were removed during the weeding process.

It may seem like a simple task of simply putting the pulled weeds into bags, but it wasn't as easy as it seemed

As I wrote in my reflections on each day, the weather was unfortunately bad on the first and second days.
The weeds I pulled were saturated with water and quite heavy.
On top of that, although the ground was gravel, it had turned into mud due to the rain.
As a result, it took more effort than when I pulled them out.

If it had just been the kind of weeds you typically imagine, I don't think it would have been so difficult.
However, among the weeds I pulled out this time, there were several that had grown very well, were so large they could be mistaken for shrubs, and had sturdy, impressive stems.
When I put them into bags, I had to break the tough stems to put them in, but the rebound from the break caused them to spray water and mud.

The final number of bags was more than we could count on both hands.
Seeing the bags bulging and about to burst, I think everyone who was in charge of weeding felt a sense of accomplishment and exhaustion.
And so, the three-day relocation work came to an end.