• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.95-103
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• 2015

Purpose - The Visegrád Group cooperation of the past 14 years and that of V4 for the past 20 years has very important significance in the 21st century that must be maintained. This cooperation is valuable because of the trade routes that connect northern Poland to the Balkans in southern Croatia, which forman important basis for the resuscitation of Central European development. Currently, because of the European manufacturing base and industrial development, an energy supply and stable energy distribution networks have been introduced to secure cooperation and not competition within the Visegrád Group. This paper's research emphasizes the supply chain hub in neighboring countries. Although Central and Eastern European countries are small, they can provide a competitive response to Western Europe if they collaborate with the V4 group and other countries. Research design, data, and methodology - The subjects of this study in the Visegrád Group area are related to the development of Marketing and Distribution Sciences in the integrated European Union. In relation to the existing energy infrastructure, construction companies and financial institutions benefit from large-scale construction projects. Existing or new infrastructure facilities among the V4 must comply with the preconditions of regional energy markets. The network of emerging markets is changing into a European-logistics hub of new markets. This hub is closely associated with the economic development of European self-sustainment given that energy for distribution and consumption is imported from Russia. Therefore, this paper indirectly provides data on the regional distribution of energy as alternative bases in Europe for market expansion to Asia. Results - As a result, it appeared unlikely that V4 failed to implement homogeneity following the standards of Western Europe, as proposed by the EU. Throughout European history, individuals have gathered in Central Europe as an innovation hub. Currently, the region is being established independently for energy industrial development and not for tourism development, and is expected to play a central role in innovation and distribution consumption. Therefore, similar to Western and Northern Europe, V4 only appears to engage in distribution consumption on the basis of the identity that it formed for itself. This area is expected to either create a regional platform or a voice over a single economic policy. Conclusions - To this end, regarding the distribution of consumer groups within and outside the region, the V4 group is expected to be established for various policy areas and as a Eurasian outpost of trade and distribution logistics. In addition, given its purpose of engaging in the distribution of energy cooperation and trade clusters, the Visegrád Group will be in charge of the center axis of the bridge for distribution logistics trading partners from the Western Balkans to Caucasus and Eastern Europe. Thus, the Visegrád Group is entering this region as a platform for market share by enabling all or any investor can gain greater industrial benefits.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.116-125
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• 2018

With rapid economic development in Korea, interests in interior design have increased gradually. However, interior design markets were poorly evaluated from 2015 Korean Consumer Evaluation. It is necessary to identify what kinds of problems, defects, and consumer claims have arisen during interior design planning and construction procedures. Therefore the purpose of this study is to investigate claims and disputes in interior design project procedures and to find out when defects or claims take place in those procedures in order to reduce claims or defects. Email questionnaires were distributed to KOSID members (professional interior designers) using Google Survey. In addition, a focus group interview was conducted. A total of 54 responses were collected and analyzed using SPSS 19. As a result, in an agreement stage, alteration in materials is the major source of claim. More than a half of respondents addressed time shortage for programming and planning. During the construction stage, approximately 31% respondents experienced client dissatisfaction with materials and finishes. The reason for project completion delay was due to claims during construction. The claims most frequently appealed by clients were related to painting. The satisfaction with project quality is positively related to the quality and contents of design documents including design drawings and specifications. Regulations and communication with clients are important issues to reduce the gaps between interior designers and clients/ consumers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.111-118
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• 2019

Recently, a variety of special concrete structures have been designed in domestic and overseas construction markets and more advanced construction technology is required. Therefore, it is necessary to secure quantitative construction technology. For this purpose, it is essential to develop a standard reference material having a constant flow performance and quality to evaluate quantitative performance. On the other hand, the flowability of the concrete is greatly influenced by the flowability of the cement paste. Also, in consideration of design strength and workability, mix design is carried out at various mixing ratios according to the purpose of the site. Therefore, in this study, based on the derived components of standard reference materials for cement paste, we suggested mixing ratio of standard reference materials that can uniformly simulate the flow characteristics of cement paste according to W/C. As a result, it was found that the yield stress was determined by the ratio of water and glycerol but plastic viscosity was controled by limestone content. Finally, the ratio of standard reference materials to simulate the rheological range of cement paste by W/C was suggested.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.369-373
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• 2019

Construction industry is one of the largest markets for composite materials. Composite materials are mostly utilized as surface coatings or concrete reinforcements, and they can hardly be found as a load bearing member in buildings. The three-dimensional composite structures with considerable bending, compressive and shear strengths are capable to be used as construction load bearing members. However, these composites cannot compete with other materials due to higher manufacturing costs. If the cost issue is resolved or their excellent performance is taken into consideration to overcome disadvantages related to economic-competitive challenges, these 3D composites can significantly reduce the construction time and result in lighter and safer buildings. Sandwich composite panels reinforced with 3D woven glass fabrics are amongst composites with highest bending strength. The current study investigates the possibility of utilizing these composite materials to construct ceilings and their application as slabs. One-to-one scale experimental loading of these composite panels shows a remarkable bending strength. Simulation results using ABAQUS software, also indicate that theoretical predictions of bending behavior of these panels are in good agreement with the observed experimental results.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.305-316
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• 2022

Domestic construction companies have difficulty in establishing strategies when entering overseas markets because they do not have an overseas construction economic sentiment index to refer to for data on overseas construction prospects. Considering that the fluctuation of overseas construction orders over the past decade has been substantial and large companies and SMEs are actively advancing overseas, this study developed an evaluation model for an overseas construction business sentiment index to grasp the economic experience of overseas construction companies. In 2021 Korean companies earned 30.6 billion in overseas construction contracts, 87% the level of the previous year, despite difficulties such as COVID-19 and low oil prices, thanks to efforts by construction companies to strengthen their strategies for entry, such as regional diversification, and government support for winning orders. Since the overseas construction industry fluctuates greatly due to changes in the international environment, it is necessary to investigate and analyze the economic sentiment index of overseas construction companies. In particular, despite the increase in overseas expansion of small and medium-sized construction companies and engineering companies, the provision of information on the overseas construction market sentiment index is insufficient, limiting the establishment of strategies for overseas construction expansion. Therefore, this study intends to develop an overseas construction market sentiment index model that can understand the economic sentiment of overseas construction companies, provide a forecast for overseas construction, and use it to establish overseas construction strategies and policies.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.18-27
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• 2012

Despite the rapid development in the construction industry due to the changing new technologies, many projects still fail to meet target deadlines. Shortage in manpower and skilled laborers is one of the main reasons for such delays. Markets with high economic growth and economic expansion (such as Gulf Countries in the Middle East) may have pronounced labor the shortages. Labor subcontracting practices are used sometimes to increase production rates and meet project deadlines. This paper explains and analyses labor subcontracting practices currently being used in many places around the world (and especially in the Gulf Countries) and in particular defines a maximum overtime rate for laborers in the laborer-subcontracting method ensuring that the contractor gains both the time saved during overtime and also reduces the cost per unit produced. The mathematical model used formalizes a closed-form equation for overtime pay in similar situations and as such can be applicable worldwide. Data was collected from representative projects that employed such practices from various trades. Validation of the model and formula has been tested successfully by analyzing historic data. The results prove that contractors often do not reach the optimum use of their practices resulting in a higher cost per unit. The presented model and the analysis should be of interest to many contractors currently involved in the practice or considering its use and to those who wish to find new methods that would help in eliminating as much wastes as possible by allocating their resources in the most efficient way.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.652-655
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• 2007

Due to stagnation of domestic market, increasing number of domestic construction companies started to make inroads into foreign market recently. Yet compared to domestic market, there are much more risks in the foreign market which companies may confront. So deliberate and rational decision making skills are required. Accordingly, there has been many researches which analyzed the risk of individual markets and also studies covering decision support models. In this study, we suggest a model concerning financial issues when branching out into a new market, specially in the construction companies' point of view. For this we used a real options game which shows real competition status of a new market and deduced a feature of that market, Upon these results, we also suggest a model which helps firms to decide whether investing in the expansion is smart action or not. The model developed in this study is made in specific circumstances of limited conditions. The future study makes more realistic models considering subjects like disproportion in information and generalization of competing companies.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.425-432
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• 2020

In order to improve the sustainability and smart construction, it is discussed arguably that developing and applying consistent "standard model" to plan business, design, construct and operate a building is considered to be one of the effective and efficient approach. The scope of this article is to examine, from the international developer's perspective, the "standard model" approach of a hotel brand to building projects in the UK, and also to explore potential role of project team to mitigate any local difference at the project level. These projects are developed by the same developer adopting the same business plan, design and operation to each project. In order to clarify the actual and likely difference in construction results, reference is also made to those building projects located in other geographical markets including Japan, Germany and USA, and focus is given on the analysis of its programme and cost. Principle findings are that there exists geographical difference especially in environmental and planning system, and that major local difference is found at least in the programme at the design stage. In contrast, the difference in the building cost itself may not be necessarily considered major if currency exchange rate being taken into account appropriately. It is also observed that there were cases where any difference in the programme was mitigated by taking different approach to procuring and defining roles of management and professional team at the project level. In conclusion, from the international developer's perspective, the geographical difference of the "construction system" surrounding building projects can typically lead to major prolongation of programme, however, these different construction results could be mitigated at least to a certain extent by introducing appropriate changes to the role of project team.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.1279-1279
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• 2024

Managing investments in renewable energy (RE) in developing countries is essential for reducing environmental pollution, meeting the growing energy demand, and avoiding the risk of stranded assets. Establishing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) is necessary to address budgetary and technical issues in developing countries. PPPs recover investments through long-term operations. Risks from external political, social, and economic environments during both the construction and operational phases of PPP projects affect the stability of investment recovery. Although various support systems are in place to mitigate investment risks for investors, these systems can pose risks to the public sector. Therefore, this study identifies common risks, including construction and operational risks, as well as political, financial, and social risks, for sustainable renewable energy PPP operations. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and MICMAC (Matrix Impact Cross-Reference Multiplication Applied to a Classification) analyses were conducted to understand the interrelationships among these risks. The ISM and MICMAC analysis results showed that construction phase risks have high dependence power and driving power. In contrast, operational phase risks exhibit low driving power but high dependence power. This indicates that managing construction phase risks is effective for the sustainable operation of renewable energy PPPs. Based on the analyzed ISM and MICMAC results, preventive measures for sustainable operations of renewable energy PPPs were proposed.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.23-35
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• 2013

Purpose - This paper attempts to identify the problems and limitations of a market maintenance project conducted according to the 「Special Act for the Development of Traditional Markets and Shopping Street」 and to present a revised direction for the special law and lay the groundwork for market maintenance projects to be promoted smoothly. Research design, data, and methodology - The revised direction for the legislation and the proposal were written based on an investigation of the problems and the legal system, and proposed measures for market maintenance operation and system improvements to derive the improvements needed for market maintenance projects. Results - A market maintenance project has been conducted as a means to reinvigorate traditional markets that are economically depressed, and to revive the local economy. It was largely conducted in the form of reconstruction and redevelopment and represents the interests of landowners and merchants. Thus, it is most likely to contribute to the gradual disappearance of traditional markets. First, as part of a market maintenance project, many companies are building multipurpose buildings or high-rise residential buildings to increase profits. In these high-rise buildings, they can raise rents, which may not be affordable for some existing small businesses. To solve such problems, the large-scale store registration requirement needs to be relaxed or abolished once the market maintenance project is completed. If the large-scale store registration requirement is to be abolished, the term 'large retail store' should be changed in the 「Special Act for the Development of Traditional Markets and Shopping Street」. After registration, the Small and Medium Business Administration should train merchants, offer consultations, and support events, to the extent that the existing traditional market management modernization project permits, and further continue to manage and support its ongoing activities. However, unless large-scale store registration is abolished, adding an exception clause in the special law to relax large-scale store registration criteria, and permitting changes to building use is another option. At the end of a market maintenance project, empty stores should be purchased by the Small and Medium Business Administration, and local government, etc., at the actual construction cost, to utilize them as public rental shopping areas, which in turn may be re-utilized as a temporary market for another market maintenance project. The second problem in market maintenance projects is merchant-protection. Currently, the special law prescribes that a temporary market be created for merchants to conduct business during the rental period of a market maintenance project. Conclusions - In reality, a market maintenance project is conducted usually in big metropolitan cities with 500,000 residents or more. The main building type created under these projects is a multipurpose building. For this reason, it is very difficult to secure a location for a temporary market in the surrounding area of such a project. To solve this problem, this study suggests 'public rental shopping areas' as mentioned above.