[ How can we use the ever-increasing amount of data as useful information? ©GettyImagesKorea ]

With the advent of the digital age, large-volume of data is being constantly produced at an unprecedented level than ever before. The footprints we leave on the Internet, such as various figures, texts, images, and videos, are all automatically recorded and stored. The rapidly generated data have become more diverse in form and extensive in scale, exceeding our imagination. Digital humans, calling it “Big Data”, have long thought about how to make qualitative and good use of these data.

[ Data-trained AI is the key technology to increasing the utilization of big data ©GettyImagesKorea ]

There is an on-going development of technologies that can handle and process big data. In this process, a technology that can analyze data and create necessary knowledge by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) lending intelligence to machines or systems has also been introduced. AI provides clues to solving problems by understanding the current status and predicting the future directions through massive data analysis. Now, we can move away from the old way of relying on intuition and experience and apply more objective and convincing decision-making process using big data analysis to various fields, which ultimately allows for more effective use of needed time and cost.

[ Many industries are promoting R&D projects using big data and AI technology ©GettyImagesKorea ]

AI technologies using big data have already been integrated across various industries, with the development of real-time systems or creation of new business models. The construction sector has also made many attempts to utilize big data and AI as important technologies that can strengthen the sector’s future competitiveness. Hyundai E&C established an organization dedicated to big data and AI in 2018 and has conducted various studies and pilot projects that will promote the use of related technologies in the construction sector. Since 2020, Hyundai E&C has applied relevant technologies to on-site process, quality and safety operations to validate their effectiveness and plans to gradually expand its scope of applications in the future. Let’s take a closer look at the various use cases of Hyundai E&C that are gaining attention from the industry for having actively utilized relevant technologies.

| Disaster Prediction AI Model

[ Preemptive measure and management of high-risk operations on construction sites become possible thanks to AI prediction ©GettyImagesKorea ]

What if we can predict future accidents based on big data accumulated from the past? Hyundai E&C has leveraged 39 million data accumulated from various project construction experiences over the past and developed a proprietary “Disaster Prediction AI Model” that encourages preemptive safety management by predicting potential risks in operations. This helped to increase the disaster prediction accuracy based on extensive data analysis of not only the safety-related disaster information that actually occurred in the past but also quasi-accident information that have not yet caused any human damage. 

When scheduled construction information is entered into a separately developed site management system, the probability of safety accidents and related safety guidelines for each construction type are derived and sent via emails and text messages to site personnel on the day of operation. Hyundai E&C will continue to accumulate daily construction information at sites across the country and focus on related research and development to gradually improve accuracy through AI technology capable of learning real-time. 

| Progress Prediction AI Model

[ Big data and AI technologies are also useful for on-site process management ©GettyImagesKorea ]

Hyundai E&C has developed a “Progress Prediction AI Model” that prevents construction progress support risks and provides similar past cases in a timely manner, by analyzing with AI, the process data of the past public housing construction sites. It has developed its own AI model based on *Neural Net algorithm that combines numerical data and text data by utilizing about 700,000 track record data accumulated at public housing sites.

This AI model is trained on the causes of construction delay to quantitatively predicts progross delays, analyzes performance and cases of similar sites, and provides a quantitative basis for 'budget progress rate after three months' and 'similar on-site delay reasons and countermeasures” to allow for preemptive progress delay risk management.  Currently, Hyundai E&C has conducted pilot applications and technology sophistication for pilot sites and continues to develop additional features to predict the initial delay risks of projects.

*Nerual Net Algorithm: An algorithm based on the idea of actively imitating the function of the human brain. When a computer is trained on how to think like a human by seeing (input), recognizing (hidden) and acting (output), then it can constantly learn about the output based on massive input of data in order to assume the output result for arbitrary inputs.

| Improving CS business for public housing based on big data

[ Hyundai E&C is the first Korean construction company to manage cases of customer complaint through data analysis ©GettyImagesKorea ]

Hyundai E&C has begun "Improving CS business for public housing based on big data” to cater to the sophisticated tastes of customers following the successfully launching of its premium housing brand "The H." Hyundai E&C is the first Korean construction company to analyze defects and customer dissatisfaction using data. Millions of data obtained from building numerous apartments are analyzed with big data technology and problems are predicted in advance to derive countermeasures. It established a visualization dashboard so that 8 million data once scattered across different systems can be refined and analyzed in real time. The dashboard applies an algorithm to predict the timing and magnitude of problems at sites before completion. 

In addition, the analysis can be applied in the field to reduce the number of problems and make thorough preparations in advance, which will not only improve work productivity but also increase customer satisfaction. In the future, the company will create data input standards collaborating with housing sites, and in the long run, will upgrade the defect cause tracking system to provide an objective basis for selecting and evaluating partners. 

| AI-based 3D design solutions

[ Hyundai E&C plans an optimal complex design through big data analysis ]

Hyundai E&C plans to strengthen its competitiveness in designing and operating public housing apartments by making equity investments in Ten Eleven Co., Ltd., a company specializing in AI-based 3D design solutions. Ten-Eleven Co., Ltd. is a startup that provides AI architectural design services that analyze the topography, views, and building codes of the project site to derive optimal apartment layout designs and is currently expanding its business for construction companies, architectural design companies and project developers. 

Hyundai E&C will actively utilize the technology to win orders and engage in sales of "THE H" and "Hillstate" and secure technology for designing eco-friendly buildings such as optimal placement of photovoltaic generation within apartment complexes. In addition, in the modular housing sector, where housing materials and parts are manufactured in factories and units are assembled on site, it will seek to enter new businesses to secure future growth engines by promoting projects using automatic design solutions.

Hyundai E&C is trying to create new innovations such as using big data analysis for organizational decision making or systemizing them to improve productivity. By 2023, the company plans to establish an enterprise-wide decision-making system and expects to establish itself as a leading industry leader in digital construction technology by combining big data with AI technology.