~ Introduced at all 29 certified nursery schools to reduce the workload of caregivers and enhance naptime supervision of children
- The following is content from the press release -
Unifa Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasuyuki Toki; hereinafter "Unifa"), which solves social issues related to childcare and parenting through technology centered on Hoiku AI™, announced that its "LookMe Nap Check" service will be introduced simultaneously at 23 certified nursery schools operated by Poppins Educare Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of Poppins Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and Group CEO: Maiko Todoroki), a subsidiary of Poppins EduCare Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Poppins"). This brings the total number of Poppins certified childcare centers using the system to 29 facilities, including the 6 centers already using it.
We will continue to enhance the monitoring of children's naps with the new "Lukumi Noon Sleep Check," which will be renewed in June 2025, while helping to reduce the workload of childcare providers.
Background of Introduction
With the mission of "supporting working women with the highest level of edu-care and nursing care services," Poppins meets the diverse needs of working women through its nanny service, Poppins sitter, nursery and school-age children, and VIP care service for custom-made nursing care. Poppins, which currently operates 325 childcare facilities nationwide, has been actively involved in DX in its childcare operations since January 2020, when the Corona Vortex established a new DX Department, and has promoted support for all working women while expanding its service lineup.
In the past, in many certified nursery schools, the condition of each child was checked visually by the caregivers with great care during nap time, and the record keeping was done by hand.
Poppins, which has long been deeply aware of the importance of watching over children during nap time, has decided to expand the introduction of the "Lukumi Noon Sleep Check" to strengthen the system for watching over children during nap time and to reduce the psychological burden on caregivers.
The introduction of "Lukumi Noon Sleep Check" will reduce the burden of recording and sharing information, eliminate the impersonal nature of information, and improve the variation in standards for checking noon sleep among childcare providers. This will improve the quality of the noon sleep check operation and create an environment in which caregivers can watch over their children with peace of mind.
Lucumi contributes to the creation of an environment in which caregivers can concentrate on their primary duties of careful care and rich communication with children, while helping them to relax and improve the quality of their childcare services.
Installation Service
Lookmee Nap Check
A service that uses a nap sensor to detect the orientation of a preschooler's body during a nap (noontime sleep) and automatically records the orientation of the body via an app.
Time of introduction of additional 23 parks
From June 16, 2025
Introduced Childcare Facilities
Poppins Nursery School All 29 certified nursery schools
2. comments from Poppins Educare
Atsushi Tamura, President, Poppins Educare Inc.
In order to strengthen the monitoring of children during nap time, we have decided to introduce nap time sensors for all 0-year-old children in our certified preschools. By using the noon-sleep sensors in parallel with the visual observation of children every five minutes by nursery staff, we aim to protect children's lives and reduce the psychological burden on the caregivers who are watching over them. We will continue to promote cutting-edge infant and toddler care practices and measures to improve work efficiency in the childcare field.
3. about Poppins
Poppins Corporation
Company name: Poppins Co.
Location: 5-6-6 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative: President and Group CEO: Maiko Todoroki
Established: 1987
Business activities: Childcare support services, childcare support business consulting, nursing care support services, domestic and international training, etc.
URL:https://www.poppins.co.jp/hldgs/
4. about Lukumi's Noon Sleep Check
According to the "Summary of Accident Reports in Childcare and Education Facilities*1" published by the Child and Family Affairs Agency, fatal accidents have occurred in childcare facilities, especially during nap time. Therefore, in order to prevent accidents from occurring while children are sleeping, daycare facilities are required to check children's body orientation and breathing every five minutes, and to fill out a form. This is a high-stress task, as it involves watching over the lives of the children, and in some facilities, the work is done by hand in a darkened room, placing a high psychological burden on the childcare staff. A sensor attached to the child's abdomen detects body movements, and a dedicated app automatically records the direction of the child's body on a checklist, with an alert sounding if the child continues to sleep face down. The quality of monitoring is enhanced by double-checking with the visual observation of the child's caregivers.
Lukumi Noon Sleep Check" is the subject of the "MIC IT Report Monthly" (October 2023 issue) published by Deloitte Tohmatsu MIC, "Comparative Analysis of Leading Vendors' Installation Results in the Noon Sleep Check Sensor Market (https://mic-r.co.jp/micit/2023/), the company has the No. 1 market share in terms of the number of sensors shipped, the cumulative number of preschools using these sensors, and the cumulative number of facilities using these sensors in fiscal 2022.
In addition, November of every year is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Prevention Month (see below), which is designated by the Administration for Children and Families.DetailsUnifa will continue its efforts to further promote and expand "Lukumi Noon Sleep Check" to ensure the safety and security of children throughout Japan.
Lukumi Noon Sleep Checkhttps://lookmee.jp/gosui/
*1: "Accident Reports in Educational and Childcare Facilities in 2023" (published by the Administration for Children and Families on August 2, 2024).
5. about Lukumi and Unifa
What is Childcare Comprehensive ICT Lukumi (https://lookmee.jp/)
The duties of childcare workers are extremely diverse, ranging from managing children's arrival and departure from preschool, watching over them during naptime (nap time), preparing daycare diaries and plans, preparing documents to be submitted to parents and the local government, and managing shifts of childcare workers.
The "Lukumi" series automatically collects data on attendance, temperature, sleep, meals, bowel movements, etc., as well as photos taken with Lukumi Photo, and automatically posts the data to forms and contact sheets. In addition, with Lukumi Noon Sleep Check, sensors detect body movements and the application automatically records body orientation. Lukumi Noon Sleep Check has the largest market share in the industry*1. With the "Lukumi" series, we aim to achieve DX (Digital Transformation) of childcare-related operations and a significant reduction in workload, thereby creating more time and energy for childcare workers. The time created will also allow caregivers to spend more time with their children, which is important for them, and the provision of a photo documentation function will create an environment in which caregivers can easily share their observations of children's growth with each other, thereby increasing rich communication. Through these efforts, the system will contribute to the creation of a rewarding work environment for caregivers and improvement of the quality of childcare services. To date, the "Lukumi" series has been installed in a cumulative total of over 20,000 cases, and has been introduced in approximately 70 municipalities*2.
1: From "MIC IT Report Monthly," MIC Economic Research Institute, Deloitte Tohmatsu, October 2023, "Comparative Analysis of Introduction Results of Leading Vendors in the Noon Sleep Check Sensor Market"; ranked first in terms of cumulative number of sensors shipped, cumulative number of children using sensors, and cumulative number of facilities introducing sensors in FY2022.https://mic-r.co.jp/micit/
*2: As of September 2024. In-house research.
Unifa Corporation (https://unifa-e.com/)
Unifa is a startup in the “Childcare-Tech” field aiming to solve social issues related to childcare and parenting. With the purpose of "Creating new social infrastructure that fosters family happiness worldwide," we develop and provide "Lukumi®," a comprehensive childcare ICT service utilizing cutting-edge technology centered around Childcare AI™. Through our "Smart Nursery® · Smart Kindergarten® · Smart Children's Center®" concept, we contribute to building a prosperous society where it's easier to work while raising children. Since being selected as the inaugural champion of the Startup World Cup in 2017, Unifa has won multiple prestigious awards. It was selected for J-Startup in 2021 and J-Startup Impact in October 2023. Additionally, Unifa serves as the Representative Director of the Impact Startup Association, established in October 2022, and as a Director of the Childcare DX Promotion Association.
*Smart Nursery School®, Smart Kindergarten®, and Smart Children's School® are registered trademarks of Unifa.
About Us
Company name: Unifa Corporation
Representative Director & CEO: Yasuyuki Toki
Established: 2013
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Nagatacho Building 1F, 2-17-3 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Company URL: https://unifa-e.com/
