A domestic construction engineering firm is attracting attention for investing in ICT development on a scale fundamentally different from its competitors. Hanmac Engineering has been making investments in ICT for several years. The technology development center, which initially started with around 50 employees, is now known to have well over 150 employees. This center is currently working to introduce the latest, cutting-edge construction-related ICT technologies into practical work. Already, the development of CAD and BIM programs is nearing its final stages, and thousands of employees from affiliated companies like Saman and Jangheon Engineering & Construction are applying them in their work.

Hanmac started as a civil engineering design firm, but it has since established or acquired construction companies such as Jangheon Engineering & Construction, PTC, and Halla, making them affiliates. As a result, Hanmac's challenge goes beyond simply developing design software; it is creating a comprehensive system that spans design, construction, and maintenance. This system is capable of designing without the need for commercial software, equipped with not only road design capabilities but also structural analysis capabilities. The introduction of Hanmac's Technology Development Center on its website provides insight into the goals behind this system. The introduction states the following:

“The Technology Development Center participates in projects across various fields of engineering and provides the necessary technologies. It is engaged in establishing a knowledge-based management system for design technologies and management methods through the research and development of core design technologies, development of new technologies and construction methods, adoption of advanced international technologies, design VE, and the development of design automation software”

In addition, it states, “At the same time, we are making efforts in research and development in future growth areas in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as eco-friendly and renewable energy, facility maintenance and safety assessment, and convergence design technologies combined with IT technologies such as U-City.”

While other construction engineering companies also invest in ICT, Hanmac's investment is on a fundamentally different scale. Other companies primarily utilize existing commercial software; however, Hanmac is developing all of its programs in-house, enabling design work to be performed without reliance on external commercial solutions. The scale of investment is just as significant. Within the industry, it is estimated that the labor costs alone for operating the Technology Development Center over the past four to five years amount to more than 30 billion KRW.

Why is Hanmac investing so aggressively in ICT? According to Hanmac officials, the goal is to secure “efficiency” and “competitiveness.” Their aim is to improve work efficiency through software and use that efficiency as a source of competitive advantage. For this reason, an official noted that Hanmac has no intention of selling the programs it develops. The strategy is not to compete in the software market—where most design software fields, including CAD and structural analysis programs, are dominated by global corporations—but to secure engineering competitiveness by using the software internally, thereby reducing software costs and enhancing work efficiency.

Meanwhile, Hanmac's strategy seems to be the result of a confluence of long-standing issues in the construction engineering industry—such as ongoing declines in profit margins and challenges in hiring—and the government's strong push for the digitalization of construction. Hanmac Engineering’s actions are attracting greater attention because the government, clients, design firms, and construction companies are all struggling without a clear vision or understanding of smart construction.

Source: Reporter Lee Seok-jae, Technology Daily
(translated from Korean article)