Recently, with the rapid development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data have been increasingly adopted across various industries, including manufacturing, ...
Recently, with the rapid development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data have been increasingly adopted across various industries, including manufacturing, finance, and healthcare. However, the construction industry still shows a relatively low level of digitalization compared with other sectors, which limits automation and productivity improvement. The digitalization level of the construction industry ranks among the lowest of major industries, and its productivity growth rate falls far below the overall industrial average. In particular, the labor productivity of the Korean construction industry remains at about 70% of that of advanced countries, and its productivity growth is lower than, or even decreasing compared with, the manufacturing sector. These issues stem from the labor‑intensive nature of the industry, field‑oriented practices, rapid aging of the workforce, and the outflow of younger workers, all of which hinder smooth digital transformation.
In response, the Korean government is promoting the “Smart Construction Activation Plan (S-Construction 2030)” to accelerate the digital transformation of the construction industry through the introduction of advanced technologies such as BIM, OSC, ICT, robotics, and smart safety equipment. Furthermore, since 2021, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has implemented the Smart Construction Capability Index (SCCI) to assess the level of smart construction technology adoption in construction firms, thereby objectively evaluating the degree of technology utilization and digital transformation, suggesting improvement directions, and contributing to the overall smartization and competitiveness of the construction industry. However, there is still no independent evaluation framework for assessing the smart construction capabilities of Construction Management Companies, which play a key collaborative and managerial role throughout the entire project lifecycle and are expected to lead the effective implementation of smart construction technologies. To address this gap, it is necessary to develop an evaluation model that systematically measures the smart construction technology utilization level of Construction Management Companies by supplementing the limitations of the existing contractor‑oriented models and reflecting their unique managerial and coordinative functions as well as their digital transformation capabilities.
This study aims to develop an evaluation model that can systematically assess the level of smart construction technology utilization in Construction Management Companies as a means to enhance their smart construction capabilities. Based on prior research related to smart construction technologies and construction management, in‑depth interviews were conducted with practitioners involved in the introduction and use of smart construction technologies to derive evaluation items suitable for Construction Management Companies. The evaluation items were categorized into quantitative and qualitative factors, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to calculate the weights through pairwise comparison surveys of construction managers and contractor engineers. As a result of the analysis, an evaluation model was established with a total score of 100 points, comprising 52 points for quantitative evaluation and 48 points for qualitative evaluation. When this model was pilot‑tested on selected Construction Management Companies, their utilization level was found to be at grade B or lower, indicating that they are still in the early stage of smart construction technology adoption.
This study suggests that, in order to enhance the smart construction capabilities of Construction Management Companies, it is more effective to focus on qualitative performance strategies—such as operating dedicated smart construction organizations, strengthening internal capabilities, and clarifying work manuals and procedures—rather than simply increasing the number of adopted technologies. In addition, establishing a smart construction work system tailored to the unique managerial characteristics and roles of Construction Management Companies will enable them to perform advanced management functions differentiated from those of contractors.
The proposed evaluation index is differentiated from the existing SCCI framework, which is mainly oriented toward contractors, and is expected to contribute substantially to promoting the digital transformation and activation of smart construction technologies in Construction Management Companies. However, there are limitations in generalizing the findings due to the small sample size and the limited number of companies included in the pilot evaluation. Therefore, future research should accumulate additional data and conduct further analyses targeting Construction Management Companies of various sizes and types. Such follow‑up studies will help derive tailored smart construction strategies and policy directions, as well as internal capability enhancement measures for Construction Management Companies, ultimately contributing to improved productivity and safety across the construction industry as a whole.