The construction industry has mainly relied on financially focused performance measurements, and studies on performance measurement systems ͑PMSs͒ have been carried out at the project level. However, recently, the demand for performance evaluation and management at the company level has increased. A few previous efforts have aimed to develop a conceptual framework for company performance, but there have been few follow-up studies. From this perspective, we have developed an implementation model and practical methodology to measure and compare the performance of construction companies. First, our thorough qualitative and quantitative analysis was used to develop a set of indicators for performance measurement, and an analysis of the relative weightings of the indicators was carried out. Second, we calculated the performance score of construction companies using a study of 34 Korean construction companies. Finally, we carried out a performance evaluation and system analysis using the calculated performance scores and identified practical issues for the implementation of our PMS. Using the results of our analytical processes identified in this work, further research is suggested.

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In modular construction—a type of industrialized construction—production planning is very important, as it is closely related to the project’s duration, quality, and sustainability. The constraints (production area, delivery due date) often differ for each project, yet production planning in modular construction has failed to change with the project characteristics. As a result, bottlenecks and construction delays are common problems seen in modular construction, which, in turn, decreases the production ratio, causing the production to be inefficient. To this end, this paper applied a prefabricated component in the modular production process. The paper developed a process analysis model considering constraint factors (production period, production area) to derive the optimal configuration of the prefabricated components in various alternatives. The developed analysis model was then applied to a virtual case to analyze the productivity improvement and select the optimal process. The optimal production process was derived by simulating the possible production planning within a limited production area and production timeline. The result of a simulation indicates that the production period has been halved by optimizing the process. Furthermore, by applying prefabricated components, the production efficiency was further increased because the existing linear production process’s bottleneck disappeared. The model is deemed to have the potential to optimize various production methods across production facilities or modular factories that simultaneously perform multiple projects.

It is normally recognized that information systems ͑IS͒ in the construction industry have not been sufficiently used in the era of information. However, so far no serious comprehensive effort has been made to measure the degree of informatization at the industry level. In order to address this problem, in this paper we propose an informatization assessment methodology for the construction industry. An informatization index for the construction industry ͑IICI͒ is developed based on specifics of the construction industry. A survey using IICI was conducted among general contractors in Korea, and the results are analyzed in terms of the measure of assessment, IS phases, construction business functions, and size of the firm. It is found that the proposed methodology can provide meaningful indicators that can be used in quantitative comparative assessment from many different perspectives. Details and implications of the case study are briefly presented.

After the first modular construction project in Korea in 2003, the scope and demand for modular systems have gradually increased. However, modular producers in Korea utilize spreadsheets to manage the process, manpower, and materials required for modular construction. This is inadequate compared to other countries that are more advanced in modular construction such as Japan and the United Kingdom. The management system in Korea decreases the effectiveness of modular construction in reducing construction time and cost. There is no formal system for managing modular production in Korea. Although some construction management programs utilized in the traditional construction industry are available, they do not reflect the flow of modular production, that is, to simultaneously produce several types of modules in accordance with demand in a factory. This research develops a modular-construction-specific production management system that has three overall functions: factory setup, project creation, and result analysis. These functions can link all the relevant data for managing modular production and can help manage several types of modules. The production management system is verified through simulation of the existing processes observed for a completed project and comparing the results to an alternative process. Through such comparisons, an optimized process design can be achieved.

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