An integrated approach to enhance sustainability in industrialised building systems

Building prefabrication is known as Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) in Malaysia. This construction method possesses unique characteristics that are central to sustainable construction. For example, offsite construction enables efficient management of construction wastage by identifying major causes of waste arising during both the design and construction stages. These causes may then be eliminated by the improvement process in IBS component's manufacturing. However, current decisions on using IBS are typically financial driven and hinder the wider ranged adoption. In addition, current IBS misconceptions and the failure of rating schemes in evaluating the sustainability of IBS affect its implementation. A new approach is required to provide better understanding on the sustainability potential of IBS among stakeholders. Such approach should also help project the outcomes of each levels of decision-making to respond to social, economy and environmental challenges. This paper presents interim findings of research aimed at developing a framework for sustainable IBS development and suggests a more holistic approach to achieve sustainability. A framework of embedding sustainability factors is considered in three main phases of IBS construction; 1) Pre-construction, 2) Construction and 3) Post-construction phase. SWOT analysis was used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in the IBS implementations. The action plans are formulated from the analysis of sustainable objectives. This approach will show where and how sustainability should be integrated to improve IBS construction. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methodology was used in this research to explore the potential of IBS in integrating sustainability. The tools used in the study are questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Outcomes from these tools lead to the identification of viable approaches involving 18 critical factors to improve sustainability in IBS constructions. Finally, guidelines for decision-making are being developed to provide a useful source of information and support to mutual benefit of the stakeholders in integrating sustainability issues and concepts into IBS applications

Simulation of Industrialised Building System components production

The construction of IBS building should starts with the production of the IBS components and the production process is the main activity concerned in the IBS production plant. Having an optimum production line to manufacture the required IBS elements within targeted time and limited number of reusable steel mould is very important. In this study, workstation organization method has been adopted in the production of IBS component of beam and column. Witness 2001 simulation software has been used to model and simulate the most optimum production line set up. Here, two production lines set up have been proposed to complete the production of IBS beam and column between two and three months time with limited number of reusable steel mould to supply for the construction of medium size single storey IBS housing project ranging from 100 to 300 units. A contingency production line set up which able to complete the production of required IBS components within a month time with increased number of reusable steel mould has also been proposed. Number of resources such as workstation, tool, storage area and labour has been determined from the proposal. The proposed production line can be applied in the planning and cost estimating of IBS production plant set up

The global adoption of Industralised Building System (IBS) : lessons learned

Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) is typically used interchangeably with other terms such as prefabrication, offsite manufacturing, offsite construction, and modern method of construction (MMC), industrialised building and industrialised construction. Nevertheless, the term modern method of construction (MMC) has been used to collectively describe both offsite-based construction technologies and innovative onsite technologies in the United Kingdom. It is evident that there exist a wide range of contextual issues which stems from the definition of these terminologies. However, lack of previous research has explored the relationship between these terminologies. Therefore, this paper emphasises the contrasting concepts of IBS and MMC, and concludes that ill-defining the MMC-IBS terms leads to misunderstanding, uncertainty and prejudice of the IBS concept and its benefits besides the adoption of IBS in global, which will be detrimental to efforts promoting the use of IBS in the construction industry

An investigation on benefits and future expectation of Industrialised Building System (IBS) implementation in construction practices

Industrialised Building System (IBS) is well known in many developing countries due to the benefits that can be derived from its applications in construction projects. However, the low percentage of IBS usage may be due to lack of awareness and knowledge about IBS among many professionals. There may be factors that contribute to a lack of interest from the client towards IBS. The aim of this study is to improve the application of IBS particularly in private construction projects in Malaysia by determining the benefits and expectation on application of IBS in private construction projects. This study adopts a quantitative method using questionnaires that were sent to 35 construction firms as a sampling frame. Finally, the finding of this study hopefully could assist professional parties in construction industry in providing a better ground knowledge for improving decisions making to achieve the success of IBS construction projects implementation and also this study will achieved the project objectives in terms of predetermined objectives that are mostly within the time, specified budget and standard qualit

Factors impeding the industrialized building system (IBS) implementation of building construction in Malaysia

In Malaysian construction industry, Industrialised Building System (IBS) has been introduced to replace the traditional construction method. While the government has been making significant efforts to encourage the IBS adoption, the uptake of IBS in Malaysia construction projects remains low. This study seeks to identify the barriers to the uptake of IBS and to propose the strategies to enhance the implementation IBS in Malaysian housing construction process from the perspectives of consultants. Interviews were conducted with five selected experienced individuals who were working with consultants (civil and structure engineer and quantity surveyor). The results revealed that, lack of knowledge and insufficient skilled workers are the main factors that impede the IBS uptake in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the most strategy proposed by the interviewees is to increase the facilities and incentives in order to expand research and development in IB

Examination of Dietary Patterns and FODMAPs Intake in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Background: There is growing evidence that supports the efficacy of a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAPs) for symptom management in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Utilizing a food frequency questionnaire (FFQs) to determine current dietary practices of those with and without IBS allows the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) to understand usual dietary intake as it related to FODMAP ingestion. Objective: To identify the average lactose, fructose, and polyol intake in people with and without IBS to gauge if there are differences in usual dietary intake. Methods: VioScreenTM, a web-based FFQ, was offered to all patients in the outpatient Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (GHN) clinic at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to assess dietary patterns and lactose, fructose, and polyols intake. Those that completed the FFQ were stratified into those with and without IBS. Demographic data and health variables including age (yr), weight (kg), and BMI (kg/m2) were collected as part of the electronic FFQ. Results: Participants (N=140) were included in this study. Mean age was 43.0 ± 15.5 years with an average BMI of 28.2 ± 7.4 kg/m2. Those with IBS (n=24) were of similar age as those without IBS (41.9 ± 17.1 years vs 43.3 ± 15.2 years, respectively). No difference in the average fructose (36 g ± 38 vs 25 g ± 34; P = 0.156), lactose (14 g ± 10 vs 12 g ± 14; P = 0.655) and polyols (1 g ± 0.5 vs 1 g ± 0.6; P = 0.260) was detected between those with and without IBS. Conclusion: Patients with IBS do not consume significantly less fructose, lactose, and polyols compared to patients without IBS. Data suggests high- FODMAPs foods can trigger or worsen IBS symptoms. RDNs should evaluate the dietary patterns before the education of low-FODMAPs to ensure the education is targeting patient-specific high FODMAPs foods or potential trigger foods.Funding for this project supported by CTSA grant number (UL1TR002733)No embargoAcademic Major: Medical Dietetic

Migraine, Fibromyalgia, and Depression among People with IBS: A Prevalence Study

BACKGROUND. Case descriptions suggest IBS patients are more likely to have other disorders, including migraine, fibromyalgia, and depression. We sought to examine the prevalence of these conditions in cohorts of people with and without IBS. METHODS. The source of data was a large U.S. health plan from January 1, 1996 though June 30, 2002. We identified all people with a medical claim associated with an ICD-9 code for IBS. A non-IBS cohort was a random sample of people with an ICD-9 code for routine medical care. In the cohorts, we identified all claims for migraine, depression, and fibromyalgia. We estimated the prevalence odds ratios (PORs) of each of the three conditions using the Mantel-Haenszel method. We conducted quantitative sensitivity analyses to quantify the impact of residual confounding and in differential outcome identification. RESULTS. We identified 97,593 people in the IBS cohort, and a random sample of 27,402 people to compose the non-IBS comparison cohort. With adjustment, there was a 60% higher odds in the IBS cohort of having any one of the three disorders relative to the comparison cohort (POR 1.6, 95% CI 1.5 – 1.7). There was a 40% higher odds of depression in the IBS cohort (POR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3 – 1.4). The PORs for fibromyalgia and migraine were similar (POR for fibromyalgia 1.8, 95% CI 1.7 – 1.9; POR for migraine 1.6, 95% CI 1.4 – 1.7). Differential prevalence of an unmeasured confounder, or imperfect sensitivity or specificity of outcome detection would have impacted the observed results. CONCLUSION. People in the IBS cohort had a 40% to 80% higher prevalence odds of migraine, fibromyalgia, and depression

Exploring the genetics of irritable bowel syndrome: A GWA study in the general population and replication in multinational case-control cohorts

OBJECTIVE: IBS shows genetic predisposition, but adequately powered gene-hunting efforts have been scarce so far. We sought to identify true IBS genetic risk factors by means of genome-wide association (GWA) and independent replication studies. DESIGN: We conducted a GWA study (GWAS) of IBS in a general population sample of 11\u2005326 Swedish twins. IBS cases (N=534) and asymptomatic controls (N=4932) were identified based on questionnaire data. Suggestive association signals were followed-up in 3511 individuals from six case-control cohorts. We sought genotype-gene expression correlations through single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-expression quantitative trait loci interactions testing, and performed in silico prediction of gene function. We compared candidate gene expression by real-time qPCR in rectal mucosal biopsies of patients with IBS and controls. RESULTS: One locus at 7p22.1, which includes the genes KDELR2 (KDEL endoplasmic reticulum protein retention receptor 2) and GRID2IP (glutamate receptor, ionotropic, delta 2 (Grid2) interacting protein), showed consistent IBS risk effects in the index GWAS and all replication cohorts and reached p=9.31 710(-6) in a meta-analysis of all datasets. Several SNPs in this region are associated with cis effects on KDELR2 expression, and a trend for increased mucosal KDLER2 mRNA expression was observed in IBS cases compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that general population-based studies combined with analyses of patient cohorts provide good opportunities for gene discovery in IBS. The 7p22.1 and other risk signals detected in this study constitute a good starting platform for hypothesis testing in future functional investigations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions