POSCO E&C ensures consistent concrete quality with AI

A POSCO E&C employee monitors the quality of ready-mix concrete by using the company's new artificial intelligence system. Courtesy of POSCO E&C

POSCO E&C said Tuesday it has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that predicts the quality of ready-mix concrete and automates its production, ensuring consistency in product quality.

Construction firms have long struggled to maintain consistent concrete quality, due to factors such as operator skill, material characteristics and ambient temperature.

To tackle the issue, the construction arm of POSCO Group partnered with SHLab, a technology firm specializing in ready-mix concrete automation, to create a system that enables real-time monitoring and automatic quality adjustments.

According to POSCO E&C, the new AI analyzes video footage of concrete during mixing to assess the its condition and automatically adjusts the mix ratio in line with the Korean Industrial Standards.

The system can also predict compressive strength in advance by analyzing mixing conditions and batching data, helping reduce the uncertainty that typically requires a 28-day wait after casting. In addition, it detects residual water inside mixer trucks to maintain the concrete’s strength.

“Ready-mix concrete is a crucial material that determines the structural safety of buildings, so we carefully manage every stage from production to delivery to the construction site,” a POSCO E&C official said. “We will continue improving our AI technology to achieve even higher quality standards.”

POSCO E&C won an innovation award for this technology from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport at the 2025 Smart Construction Challenge.

The company plans to build cooperative networks with public institutions such as the Korea Land and Housing Corp., along with major domestic construction firms, and gradually expand its businesses based on its AI technology.

It also intends to work with the government to incorporate a digital verification process for ready-mix concrete production data into construction quality management guidelines.