• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Structure & Construction
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.175-184
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• 2019

To improve productivity in the architecture, construction and engineering industry, it is critical to understand both current and historic trends in construction productivity. This study analyzes and compares construction productivity trends of South Korea, the U.S., the U.K., and Japan 1995 to 2015 using the following three measures: construction labor productivity, construction duration per floor, and construction duration per 1,000 m2 floor area. As the results, the international competitiveness of each country varied according to which measures were used to analyze them. Among the four countries, the construction labor productivity of the U.S. was the highest, followed by that of South Korea. South Korea also had the second highest productivity growth rate, following that of Japan. On the other hand, when analyzed from the perspective of construction duration, the construction productivity in South Korea appeared relatively lower than those of other countries. There were differences in the location of construction competitiveness of each country analyzed by various measures. Therefore, to accurately diagnose and improve the construction competitiveness in South Korea, strategies based on various measures are need to established simultaneously.