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Ssangyong E&C Spearheads Innovation Via Drone-Based Construction

2020-09-16

Traditionally, construction has been a labor-intensive industry. Recently, however, construction sites are being revolutionized with the help of advanced IT technologies. Korea Business News will be reporting on a series of stories detailing how construction companies are adopting innovative technologies in the post-COVID-19 era. Today’s coverage is about Ssangyong E&C’s utilization of GPS-equipped drones for construction works, the first attempt of its kind in Korea. Our reporter Kim Won-gyu reports.

This is the construction site for Eulji University Medical Center and Campus.

A drone with four propellers begins to buzz and soon soars to a height of 150 meters. The images photographed by the drone are used for building information modeling (BIM), a method utilized in 3D construction design. This GPS-equipped drone, the first of its kind used by Korean construction companies, quickly and precisely produces data related to the coordinates, lengths and sizes of areas.

Kim Jae-jin / Site Manager, Ssangyong E&C

“Hospital construction is considered the most challenging type of construction. It requires the seamless integration of equipment, medical facilities and multiple construction processes. In particular, finishing work is when we end up wasting an additional 20-30 percent of our allotted construction time. However, by using BIM, we were able to minimize such losses.”

Indeed, thanks to BIM, Ssangyong E&C was able to shorten the entire construction period (3 years and 9 months) by more than a year (13.5 months), so the project is expected to be completed on the 31st next month.

GPS drones are also improving the safety of accident-prone construction sites. Generally, safety managers check risk factors on site. However, when blind spots exist, inspections have been difficult. But with drones, monitoring a wide expanse of land, including unpaved areas and slopes, has become much easier, which, in turn, can reduce risks for workers.

Kim Jae-jin / Site Manager, Ssangyong E&C

“Every week, by using drones, we were able to effectively calculate the amounts of construction materials required and efficiently manage construction processes, not to mention effectively managing the safety of our site.”

Ssangyong E&C has also enhanced work efficiency by introducing the Digital Construction Management Platform. Using QR codes placed on the exterior wall of a building under construction, workers can monitor in real time the relevant construction status (e.g. the previous and next construction processes). Such monitoring can prevent the unnecessary overlap of tasks, thereby reducing construction costs and time while enhancing work efficiency.

Gwon Dae-jung / Chief Director, Korea Real Estate Society

“This type of technological innovation is highly likely to change the variables surrounding the construction market. In the future, contractors spearheading such technological innovations will probably become market leaders.”

By utilizing drones, Ssangyong E&C has achieved efficiencies in design, construction and safety. Stay tuned to see how the company may emerge in the future as a new leader in the rapidly changing construction industry.