[Provided by Kolon Global]
[Provided by Kolon Global]

Kolon Global is accelerating its push to transform construction operations by actively adopting AI and a proprietary digital platform.

The company announced Wednesday that it has developed KNIT (KGC Nexus Integrated Technology), an integrated platform that consolidates its internal work systems into a single interface. The platform drew industry attention for having been built entirely by in-house staff, with no outside contractors involved.

KNIT brings together the databases and infrastructure of five systems previously managed separately across departments: a marketing intelligence dashboard, a site-by-site daily construction log monitor, an AI-based recommendation tool for unregistered subcontractors by work type, a raw materials price monitor, and a contract review voting system. Staff previously had to log into each system individually, but KNIT has significantly improved workflow accessibility and data efficiency. When new features are added, they can be incorporated as modules without building separate systems, cutting both development costs and time.

AI adoption is also delivering measurable productivity gains. The task of selecting subcontractors for unregistered work types — which amounts to roughly 700 cases a year — once required staff to manually review project names, regions and credit ratings for each case. AI now learns from past records and criteria to automatically recommend the best-fit vendors. The company is also developing the second phase of KO.PLAN.AI, its AI-based cost estimation support system, and expanding the learning scope of its AI chatbot KOAI.BOT.

The digital transformation of on-site safety management is also notable. The company has linked real-time temperature readings, fire detectors and tower crane collision alarms to the dashboard of its integrated control center, which monitors closed-circuit television feeds across all sites, allowing hazards to be identified instantly on a single screen. By unifying the entire process — from detecting non-conformances to issuing notifications, taking corrective action and confirming completion — the company has achieved a 100 percent resolution rate.

The company has also deployed automatic alert systems and monitoring equipment at all sites to prevent heat-related illness during summer, and has completed proof-of-concept testing for an AI-powered automatic translation system to support communication with foreign workers. Vision AI, co-developed with Kolon Benit, completed its patent application in March and is currently undergoing third-round field verification.

The use of drones and smart equipment has also become routine. Kolon Global has formalized drone use for site assessment at the bidding stage and for collecting completion records, and is conducting field verification of autonomous drone stations. The company is also expanding the on-site application of various smart technologies linked to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Smart Construction Alliance project, including 3D excavators, finishing robots and smart hot-air blowers for concrete curing.

"Starting with KNIT, we plan to progressively restructure our systems to encompass an integrated control platform and project management system," a company official said. "We will embed AI and digital technology across all operations to raise both productivity and on-site safety standards at the same time."

Meanwhile, Kolon Global last month won a contract worth 126.5 billion won ($88.6 million) to build a facility supplying industrial water to the Yongin semiconductor industrial complex.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com