When a worker falls, AI sees it first: Daewoo E&C reshapes construction sites with smart technology

When a worker collapses on a construction site, an AI system detects the anomaly first and sends an alert to the control room. Safety instructions delivered in Korean by a supervisor are translated in real time into the worker's native language and relayed through both audio and on-screen text. Tablets and AI solutions are replacing the paper training logs and checklist binders that once defined the job site.

The look of construction work is changing. Daewoo Engineering & Construction is accelerating its AI transformation by deploying real-time AI translation, smart safety training and an integrated quality management solution across its sites. Technology partnerships with outside startups are also expanding. The company's ambition goes beyond adopting individual tools — it aims to drive a full digital transformation of on-site operations, spanning safety, communication and quality management.

Daewoo E&C has been rolling out AI-powered real-time translation and tablet-based smart training systems across its sites. Since last month, the company has standardized and deployed the systems at all of its domestic construction sites, converting communication, training, administrative work and site monitoring into a digitally based work environment.

The flagship achievement is an AI real-time translation system supporting 16 languages. The system uses AI to recognize a supervisor's spoken Korean instructions and converts them into text and audio in the worker's native language on the spot. In a pilot run, Korean speech-recognition accuracy reached 94.6 percent.

The digital transformation of on-site training is also under way. A tablet-based smart training system has computerized new-hire and recurring training sessions, worker information registration, health status checks and training-result report generation. The system links data with SMARTy, Daewoo E&C's integrated safety and health management platform, enabling systematic information management and reducing the administrative burden on site managers by cutting repetitive training and reporting tasks.

Site monitoring has also grown more sophisticated. In June, Daewoo E&C unveiled an AI-based smart integrated control system at its Gwacheon G-TOWN development project site. Using AI video analysis, the system detects in real time situations such as unguarded sections, workers not wearing protective equipment, fires and worker collapses, while supporting restricted-zone access control and location monitoring. The company plans to expand the technology further — adding AI-enabled CCTV and smartphone-based location tracking — to build a framework for faster identification and management of on-site safety information.

Digital transformation is also accelerating in construction quality management. Q-Box, an integrated quality management solution developed in-house by Daewoo E&C, uses a mobile app and tablet PCs to enter and manage site quality data in real time. Developed in 2024 as part of a national research and development initiative called the Smart Construction Technology Development Project, the system was validated through a 2025 pilot that confirmed a reduction in paperwork time of more than 90 percent.

Q-Box also improves the efficiency of on-site quality management by linking and accumulating quality data. The system automatically registers quality test results with the Construction Safety Information system, reducing manual entry errors and omissions. It also allows quality data from individual sites to be compared and tracked against similar construction methods, defect records and inspection histories. A three-dimensional digital cabinet built in a metaverse environment lets users store and retrieve related documents intuitively.

Daewoo E&C is broadening the scope of its digital innovation through Barodap AI, a construction-specific AI solution developed in-house. Barodap AI upgrades the company's existing rule-based knowledge management system — built on accumulated expert knowledge and experience — into a large language model-based platform.

Barodap AI analyzes construction terminology and complex contract language, and uses retrieval-augmented generation technology to rapidly compare and review large volumes of invitation-to-bid documents and overseas project contracts. The system consolidates contract terms scattered across multiple documents, identifies key issues such as payment conditions and extension-of-time claim procedures, shortens review time and enables early identification of potential risks.

Daewoo E&C plans to expand Barodap AI beyond contract document analysis into AI agent territory, including drawing analysis. Through this expansion, the company aims to support decision-making from bid review to contract management on overseas projects and strengthen its overall project management capabilities.

The company is also scaling up open innovation efforts to bring external technologies to its sites quickly. At the 2026 Daewoo E&C Hyper Safety & AI Open Innovation event, co-organized with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, promising startups in five fields — smart safety and quality, AI, robotics and automation, ports and airports, and innovative ideas — presented their technologies and services directly to company employees.

The competition drew 164 technology submissions in total, and nine innovative technologies were selected as finalists through a multi-stage evaluation. The selected companies will conduct proof-of-concept trials at Daewoo E&C construction sites to verify their safety and quality improvement effects and assess their applicability to real projects.

Daewoo E&C's strategy is to combine its own technology development capabilities with innovative ideas and technologies from outside the company to improve on-site applicability and set new standards for the construction sites of the future.

"The essence of introducing AI and smart technology is not to put technology on display, but to protect the safety of workers on site and meaningfully improve operational efficiency," a Daewoo E&C official said. "We will continue to lead the digital transformation of the construction industry through site-centered digital innovation and mutually beneficial collaboration with outside startups."

Meanwhile, Daewoo E&C has set a goal of achieving an "AI-native" environment by 2028, in which AI and core business functions work together organically across the entire construction lifecycle.