A Physical Internet-enabled Building Information Modelling System For Prefabricated Construction

Prefabricated construction is believed to be energy conserving though opportunities for achieving higher energy efficiency have yet to be fully harnessed. From investigation of a prefabricated construction project in Hong Kong, two main problems have been revealed relating to energy consumption, including: i) inefficient management of resources such as labours and machines, and ii) inefficient production, transportation, and on-site assembly of prefabricated components. These problems are primarily caused by lagged information communication and human errors. This paper seeks to offer a solution by developing a Physical Internet-enabled Building Information Modelling System (PI-BIMS) that integrates Auto-ID technologies, BIM, and cloud computing. The PI-BIMS enables real-time collection, communication, and visualization of information across the processes of production, transportation, and on-site assembly. Practical issues of the system implementation are provided through a pilot prototype. It is found that the PI-BIMS helps enhance the resource allocation efficiency and decrease human errors. Thus, an alternative opportunity to improve energy efficiency in prefabricated construction has become possible

Mapping the knowledge domains of emerging advanced technologies in the management of prefabricated construction

Emerging advanced technologies (EAT) have been regarded as significant technological innovations which can greatly improve the transforming construction industry. Given that research on EAT related to the management of prefabricated construction (MPC) has not yet been conducted, various researchers require a state-of-the-art summary of EAT research and implementation in the MPC field. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review by analysing the selected 526 related publications in peer-reviewed leading journals during 2009–2020. Through a thorough review of selected papers from the state-of-the-art academic journals in the construction industry, EAT is recognised as the key area affecting the development of the MPC discipline. This study has value in offering original insights to summarise the advanced status quo of this field, helping subsequent researchers gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying structure of this field and allowing them to continue future research directions

Optimization of the supplier selection process in prefabrication using BIM

Prefabrication offers substantial benefits including reduction in construction waste, material waste, energy use, labor demands, and delivery time, and an improvement in project constructability and cost certainty. As the material cost accounts for nearly 70% of the total cost of the prefabrication project, to select a suitable material supplier plays an important role in such a project. The purpose of this study is to present a method for supporting supplier selection of a prefabrication project. The proposed method consists of three parts. First, a list of assessment criteria was established to evaluate the suitability of supplier alternatives. Second, Building Information Modelling (BIM) was adopted to provide sufficient information about the project requirements and suppliers’ profiles, which facilitates the storage and sharing of information. Finally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank the importance of the assessment criteria and obtain the score of supplier alternatives. The suppliers were ranked based on the total scores. To illustrate how to use the proposed method, it was applied to a real prefabrication project. The proposed method facilitates the supplier selection process by providing sufficient information in an effective way and by improving the understanding of the project requirements

Barriers to Building Information Modeling (BIM) implementation in China's prefabricated construction: An interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach

It is widely recognized that Building Information Modeling (BIM) can facilitate the delivery of prefabricated construction. Nevertheless, the actual practice of BIM faces several barriers. A range of existing studies and literature have discussed these barriers extensively, but two research questions remain unanswered. First, what are the unique barriers facing the use of BIM in China's prefabricated construction? Second, how do these barriers interrelate with one another? This research aims to address these two questions. Conducting a two-round literature review and a questionnaire survey ascertained twelve barriers acutely affecting the Chinese experience of applying BIM to prefabricated construction. In addition, Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) was used to identify interrelationships among these barriers. The exercise found that, compared with the cost-related issues suggested by previous studies that focused on general BIM implementation barriers, the lack of research about BIM in China and the absence of standards and domestic-oriented tools are likely the biggest hindrances to the practical application of BIM in China's prefabricated construction. This study contributes to the knowledge body by revealing major barriers to BIM implementation in China's prefabricated construction and crafting a corresponding three-level strategy to facilitate the possible implementation. The findings of this study can thus act as a practical reference for future research attempting to provide technological and managerial solutions to improve BIM implementation in China's prefabricated construction

Use cases for Internet of Things (IoT) in the construction sector: Lessons from leading industries

This study conducts a cross-sectoral comparative analysis of academic and industry literature to determine the use cases of the internet of things (IoT). Specifically, the research seeks to explore digital applications (e.g., building information modeling (BIM), radio frequency identification (RFID)) within the construction supply chain – a sector berated for its lack of innovation. An interpretivist epistemological lens provides the overarching methodological approach adopted in which the literature constitutes units of analysis. Ensuing discussion defines the architecture of proposed real-life scenarios and provides a description of an IoT layout for these scenarios. In practical terms, the study contributes to the field by raising awareness of potential use cases of IoT for construction practitioners as ‘proof of concepts’. For researchers, the findings provide a blueprint template layout of suggested use cases to be tested in future research studies hence, offering a sound basis and a fertile ground for advancing the body of knowledge on this topic area

A scientometric review of management of prefabricated construction from 2011–2021

Prefabricated construction (PC) is an increasingly popular method of construction utilized globally due to its high productivity and efficient performance. PC as an advanced building technique is susceptible to problems such as the immaturity of the PC industry’s development, inability to realize production benefits, and application-related risks and uncertainties. The management of PC (MPC) can be applied to resolve these difficulties and generally enhance performance. Reviews pertinent to the MPC are scarce, making it challenging to concentrate and comprehensively summarize the research situation of the MPC. The MPC review was conducted by Li et al. in 2014. However, there has been a lot of change in the MPC research field. Therefore, this study is an extension of the work of Li et al. (2014). This article aims to analyze and summarize the current research situation and future trends of the MPC, employing a bibliometric search and scientometric analysis from MPC-related publications between 2011 and 2021. This paper outlines current research topics, gaps, and future development from four perspectives based on publications gathered: (1) PC development, (2) PC performance management, (3) PC life cycle management, and (4) technological applications in the MPC. Based on the discussion of these four performance indexes, the following future research directions are proposed: (1) PC industry development considering a combination of Industry–University–Research, (2) the performance impact of management methods and technologies, (3) the rationality of management methods and technologies. This study is vital for scholars to understand MPC research and to conduct further research

Robotization and digitalisation in the construction industry

Abstract. Industry 4.0 has emerged as a famous concept in the last few years to describe the significance of digitisation and robotization in the smart manufacturing environment. The advancements in robotics, digital software, and smart technologies have allowed a new wave in the construction industry. The construction industry is the major economic pillar and provides a significant impact on the overall GDP of the country. Despite the predominant pillar, it is considered as the poor innovator and late adopter of new technologies, which ends up with delays and cost overruns in their construction projects. Considering this aspect, the research emphasises the importance of adopting the latest technologies in the construction industry in order to enhance the productivity and efficiency of various processes. This study seeks to examine existing robotization and digitalisation practices in the leading construction companies and intends to provide the required improvement ideas in this research domain. The empirical results revealed that the majority of the case companies lack basis to implement the latest technologies in their construction activities. They believe that effective use of the available technologies is an asset, but it is a long process to be achieved. Thus, the thesis is concluded by providing the critical information regarding the adoption of latest technologies and proposes a framework that can help to enhance the robotization and digitisation practices to improve the performance of the construction activities. The mentioned framework mainly focusses on elements that this research found as a potential need for companies to implement. This framework has a future scope for validation and also key elements of the framework can be utilised for further research

DfMA: Towards an integrated strategy for a more productive and sustainable construction industry in Australia

Design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) is an important part of the future of the construction industry due to the promise of speed of project delivery, quality control, worker safety, and waste minimization onsite via the purposeful design for manufacture and assembly offsite. However, the adoption of DfMA in Australia has been slow. This paper investigates the barriers prohibiting widespread uptake and how digital construction will be a catalyst for improving use on commercial-scale projects. A total of six leading experts were interviewed to elicit their opinions, and seven recent case studies of high-rise modular apartment and hotel buildings constructed by Hickory were cross-referenced as evidence of DfMA capability. The experts suggested that the reasons for slow adoption in Australia were community mindset, government regulations and incentives, planning and building codes, unionization and business politics, finance, and supply chain management. The case studies suggest that compatible building type and transportation distance are also factors. These barriers can be addressed by the clever integration of building information modelling tools with lean construction processes as part of a proposed strategy leading to smarter (more productive) and better (more sustainable) outcomes predicated on growth in digital construction practices. The paper concludes with a proposed framework for change that conceptualizes the ‘ecosystem’ needed to support widespread DfMA in the Australian context, including the paradigm shift from building to manufacturing/assembly, the displacement of workers from onsite to offsite activity, and the expansion of interdisciplinary design and construct collaboration