• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.213-216
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• 2015

Despite the significant increase of Korean contractors in the international construction market, many SMCCs (Small & Medium Construction Companies) have suffered in the global financial crisis, and some of them have been kicked out of the international market after experiencing huge losses on projects. SMCCs face obstacles in the international market, such as an insufficient ability to gather information and inappropriate management of associated risks, which lead to difficulties in establishing effective business strategies. In other words, making immature decisions without an effective business strategy may cause not only the failure of one project but also the bankruptcy of the SMCC. To overcome this, the research presented herein aims to propose a decision support system for SMCCs, which would screen projects and make a go/no-go decision at the early stages of international projects. The proposed system comprises a double axis: (1) a profit prediction model, which evaluates 10 project properties using an objective methodology based on a historical project performance database and roughly suggests expected profit rate, and (2) a feasibility assessment model, which evaluates 17 project environment factors in a subjective and quantitative methodology based on experience and supervision. Finally, a web-based system is established to enhance the practical usability, which is expected to be a good reference for inexperienced SMCCs to make proper decisions and establish effective business strategies.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.427-437
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• 2010

The Korean Government is trying to construct an ocean research station in Dokdo's water. The station would be the third ocean research station following the Ieodo station and the Gageocho station. Although the new station would served as a scientific research base for peaceful and academic purposes, the construction of the station will almost certainly lead to a diplomatic dispute between Japan and Korea in the near future due to the disputed ownership of the island. In light of the diplomatic protests against the construction of the Ieodo station by the Chinese Government, various domestic and international legal issues which could be raised regarding the construction of the Dokdo station need to be reviewed. Therefore, this article reviews the international legal status of the station and the rights and duties pertaining to its construction, investigates the domestic legal grounds relating to the construction and operation of the marine scientific installation, evaluates the international legal impacts of the construction on the expansion of maritime jurisdiction, the effective control on Dokdo and the negotiations on maritime boundary delimitation, and finally draws conclusions on the future activities of the Korean Government for the construction and operation of the Dokdo Ocean Research Station.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4D
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• pp.635-647
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• 2006

Korean construction companies first advanced to the international markets in 1960's and so far have brought more than 4,900 projects which account for 193 billion dollars approximately. With the large increase of national employment and income being followed by the achievement, Korea's construction industry has made an enormous contribution to the improvement of domestic economy for the last 40 years. However, recently the increased risk in international markets as well as the sharpening competition with foreign companies promising in terms of advanced technologies and low labor cost have been driving Korean construction away from the market shares. According to ENR (Engineering News Record, 1994~2003), it is revealed that 15.1% of top 225 global contractors are suffering from loss in international construction markets. This phenomenon is largely due to the highly uncertain characteristics of international projects, which are inherently exposed to various and complicated risky situations. Furthermore, especially for Korean construction companies, it is often the case that the failure in an international construction project cannot be offset by even a sufficient number of successful domestic achievements. Therefore, not only the selective screening among the nominated projects which have strong possibility of collapse but the systematic strategies for controlling potential risk factors are also considered indispensable in international construction portfolio management. The purpose of this study is to first analyze the causal relationships of the profit-influencing variables and the project success, and develop the profitability forecasting model in international construction projects.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.75-83
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• 2008

In the previous comparative studies of international competitiveness conducted before 2003, Korean construction productivity had been estimated to be lower (or poor) than that of developed countries such as US, UK, and Japan. However, the amount of international contracts Korean has won increased substantially, and Korean construction has progressed with creating two skyscrapers such as Petronas Tower and Burj Dubai. At this point we need to reevaluate what we are capable of. In this paper, we evaluated international competitiveness of our construction industry comparing to advanced countries by analyzing labor productivity. For evaluating construction competitiveness we measured labor productivity using the value of construction work in US dollar per hour based on domestic and foreign statistical data and analyzing completion days per a story and the ratio of underground floors to ground floors of buildings in Korea and Japan. As a result, although our construction productivity is not yet competitive with the US and Japan yet, we excel the UK.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.143-145
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• 2012

Overseas construction industry has performed the leading role in the economic development. In this study, effect of international oil prices, GDP and price index, on the regional international construction contract amount is compared and analyzed. Overseas construction market received a devastating effect due to the 1997's economic crisis. However, the market has remained stable since 1998, and since 2005, the trend has been a surge in new orders.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.39-40
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• 2015

As international construction market increases, the importance of risk management in international construction project is emphasized. Unfortunately, current risk management practice does not sufficiently deal with project risks. Although a lot of risk analysis techniques have been introduced, most of them focus on project's external unexpected risks such as country conditions and owner's financial standing. However, because those external risks are difficult to manage and take preemptive action, we need to concentrate on project inherent risks. Based on this premise, this paper proposes a project-oriented risk mining approach which could detect and extract project risk factors automatically before they are materialized. This study presents a methodology regarding how to extract potential risks which exist in owner's project requirements and project tender documents using state of the art data analysis method such as text mining. The project-oriented risk mining approach is expected to effectively reflect project characteristics to the project risk management and could provide construction firms with valuable business intelligence.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2013.01a
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• pp.451-458
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• 2013

This research documents the initial findings and recommendations for developing a risk management tool to assess and quantify the risks associated with the construction of the next generation of nuclear power plants. The proposed tool builds upon the Construction Industry Institute's International Project Risk Assessment (IPRA) Best Practice. This paper provides an overview of the investigation to assess the unique risk elements pertaining to nuclear power plant construction and documents the preliminary findings from historical project performance data to better understand the function and use of the IPRA's Relative Impact value.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.459-462
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• 2015

Korean construction industry made a huge growth over several decades. However, domestic construction market has shrunk in recent years due to the domestic political environments and global economic crisis. Today, the international construction markets become more important to be investigated, and demands for international construction study have risen. The purpose of this study is to search for measures to compare the potential of Southeast Asian countries' construction markets and select strategic target countries where the Korean construction companies pursue to explore for future investments. The research team investigated a range of selection factors which can represent the construction market condition of each country. These factors included the size of the construction industry, economic growth potential, current relationship with Korea, the level of infrastructure development, political situation, etc. After collecting data, each selection factor was scored by experts' analyses and the total score was given to each country. As a result, the rating identified attractive countries for future investments: Myanmar, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. For the target countries, analytical methods were used for in-depth market analysis that can provide comprehensive insight and strategic clue for development of short-/mid-/long-term roadmap and action plans. The research findings would be used to support rational decision making of construction investment advancing to the Southeast Asian economic growth.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.1340-1345
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• 2009

Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs has implemented Construction CALS project for improving informationization level of construction industry and for making construction production system efficient. Although an importance of evaluation on level and performance of construction informationziation projects has been emerged, Construction CALS hasn't been evaluated so far. In this study, the performance indicators of construction CALS as the most important base in creating a performance management system were deduced. For this aim, this study reviewed the former researches on system construction for managing performance, analyzed current status of Construction CALS, arranged the relationship between upper strategies and ISP, developed pools of performance indicators, and this study followed IT BSC methodology. As a result, this study developed performance indicators of Construction CALS through four strategies such as globalization and activation of Construction CALS standards, research & development for reaching to international level in construction informationization technology, stabilization of system operation and distribution by publicizing Construction CALS and improving its functions, and policy implementation for managing and coordinating Construction CALS projects. These indicators will be applied to build a system of performance management.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.477-480
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• 2015

Construction projects are high-risk activities. When undertaking such projects in an international setting, it can be complicated by foreign exchange (FOREX) fluctuation risk. This affects the construction business performance in various ways, namely its progress due to delays, which in turn create further problems, specifically cost overruns as a result of price increase in raw materials, disputes, arbitration, litigation and even, total abandonment. Thus, the effective management of FOREX fluctuations is crucial. Previous studies have focused on the need for contract safeguards, adequate insurance, careful planning and management, as well as foreign exchange futures hedging to address some of the risks triggered by FOREX fluctuations. An analysis of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry revealed that more often it was focused on project-specific issues. Currently, there is a relative lack of awareness on Organizational Capabilities (OC), the abilities that owned by the organization, which is essential in managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations. Where research has focused on OC, these are viewed in isolation. Therefore, this study attempts to close the gap by proposing a framework on managing the impact of FOREX fluctuations in the international construction industry, employing the OC perspective.