Patent analysis for forecasting promising technology in high-rise building construction

For last 15 years, the market size of high-rise building construction has rapidly increased by four times. Many global contractors are investing in the development of high-rise building construction technology, which needs more advanced construction technology than ordinary building construction to secure competiveness in the market. It is significant for contractors to prospect the promising field of technology for strategic investment. Therefore, this study analyzed patents to forecast promising technology fields in future high-rise building construction. 2875 patents related to high-rise building construction that were applied for in the US, Europe, Korea, China and Japan during 1995–2013 were analyzed for market prospect and promising technology. As a result of the market analysis, Korea and China are in the developing phase of the technology market; and in particular, the Chinese market is showing the most drastic growth. On the other hand, the analysis of technology suggests the following technologies offer promising technology: 1) monitoring technology to enhance the efficiency of high-rise building construction; 2) information modeling technology and energy reduction technology in the construction phase based on information modeling technology; and 3) safety management technology based on information modeling technology. This study is intended to provide directions for high-rise building construction technology investment, and objective data for decision making for future global contractors.