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

Ontology-Based Information Integration and Decision Making in Prefabricated Construction Component Supply Chain

With rapid developments in cloud computing, the creation of a cloud based prefabricated component supply chain platform marks an important initiative signifying an industry breakthrough and innovation. The application of this cloud platform will effectively integrate the social resources of the prefabricated components supply chain and realize the reconfiguration of distributed resources. In order to facilitate this, much research is needed to develop a flexible prefabricated component data integration model using ontologies and semantics. Such a model can support adaptive heterogeneous system integration and interaction based on dynamic process optimization. In addition, this cloud platform can be used to support coordination within the supply chain using ontology rules. This can greatly enhance managerial decision support. This paper proposes a flexible distributed information integration mechanism and develops an ontology-based management support application, which will play an important role in resource integration and the optimal allocation of prefabricated components within the supply chain

Application and integration of BIM and ERP systems in civil engineering

Neprestani razvoj Building Information Modeling (BIM) sustava, koji omogućuju stvaranje baze podataka pojedinog projekta, te Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) sustava, koji omogućuju upravljanje bazama podataka svih projekata u kojima poduzeće posluje, pridonose njihovoj širokoj primjeni. Kontrola izvedbe projekta često se obavlja na temelju procijenjenih podataka iz projektne dokumentacije koji nisu jednaki naručenim, ugrađenim te naplaćenim količinama. Dakle, podaci unutar projekta neće biti ažurni niti točni ako se ne povežu s računovodstvenim podacima unutar poduzeća. Problem je prepoznat i u praksi te se razvijaju modeli integracije sustava BIM i ERP koji su u ovom radu analizirani i uspoređeni. Rezultati pokazuju da su trenutni modeli integracije vezani za specifične sustave te da se BIM tehnologija ne primjenjuje u punom obliku. Buduće će istraživanje stoga obuhvatiti određivanje varijabli projekta i poduzeća koje utječu na modeliranje standardnog protoka informacija među sustavima.Continuous development of Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems, which enable the creation of a single project database, and Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems, which enable database management of all company’s projects, contribute to their wide application. Project execution control is often based on estimated project documentation data which are not the same as the ordered, built and charged quantities. Hence, the data within the project will not be accurate if they do not correlate with the company's accounting data. The problem has also been recognized in practice why integration models of BIM and ERP systems have been developed which are analysed and compared in this paper. The results show that current integration models have been related to specific systems and that BIM technology has not been fully applied. Future research will, therefore, include the determination of project and company variables that influence the standard flow information modelling between systems

Literature Review of Areas of Application of Supply Chain Management in Construction Industry

Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex and the conventional methods of managing them have plateaued over the years. The complexity could be traced to the complexity of designs, which requires inputs from different suppliers/contractors. This has led to fragmentation where suppliers/ contractors specialize in a given project and are contracted to deliver only on their area of expertise. The aim of this paper is to produce evidence of the areas of application of supply chain management (SCM) in the construction industry. The aim was achieved by a thorough literature review of works done in the area. The results showed that all the selected research on the SCM falls within eight major areas. They are procurement, logistics, models application, information, performance evaluation, customer relationship, environmental management and sustainability. Other subfields can be derived from the areas

Research in the Field of Prefabricated Building Management: A Case Study

Due to its low energy consumption, short construction period, low labor cost, and great construction efficiency, prefabricated buildings have garnered extensive interest from scholars worldwide as a novel production method. Nevertheless, research on prefabricated houses is not yet thoroughly analyzed. This study summarized the existing state and research hotspots of prefabricated building research by thorough study and summarization of research on prefabricated buildings. According to the findings, there are five key areas of study within the prefabrication field: the sustainability of prefab structures, their meaning and current state of development, the development environment, project lifecycle management, and organizational management. Finally, offer some recommendations for future theoretical and practical work on prefabricated structures based on where the industry is at the moment in terms of development.&nbsp

Evaluation of BIM-based LCA results for building design

Digital tools based on Building Information Modelling (BIM) provide the potential to facilitate environmental performance assessments of buildings. Various tools that use a BIM model for automatic quantity take-off as basis for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been developed recently. This paper describes the first application of such a BIM-LCA tool to evaluate the embodied global warming potential (GWP) throughout the whole design process of a real building. 34 states of the BIM model are analysed weekly. The results show that the embodied GWP during the design phase is twice as high as for the final building. These changes can be mainly attributed to the designers\u27 approach of using placeholder materials that are refined later, besides other reasons. As such, the embodied GWP is highly overestimated and a BIM-based environmental assessment during the design process could be misleading and counterproductive. Finally, three alternatives to the established automatic quantity take-off are discussed for future developments

Smart technologies: Enablers of construction components reuse?

Purpose: The exploitation of smart technologies such as, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) for tracking and archiving the properties of structural components, is an innovative disruption in the construction sector. It could stimulate reuse of construction components, rather than their wastage addressing a serious pressing problem. Methods: This study explores the potential of smart technologies to facilitate construction components reuse, and develops a guidance list for promoting their redistribution back to the supply chain. A preliminary assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the RFID technology is presented in order to depict its current and future potential in promoting construction components’ sustainable lifecycle management, and in capturing and creating value. Results: For both RFID and BIM technologies to operate successfully, the right amount and flow of information at each stage of the design-construction-deconstruction-reuse-disposal process is a prerequisite. Although a number of limitations related to the technical operability and recycling of RFID tags currently withhold its roll-out, technological innovation may provide solutions for the future, enabling it to become mainstream. Conclusions: the use of RFID in the construction sector can create the right conditions for the development of new business models based on the reuse and lifecycle management of components, unlocking multiple technical, environmental, economic, and social benefits. With technological innovation enhancing the capabilities of RFID, and with policy interventions controlling and managing its uptake at all stages of the supply chain, its use as a construction components reuse enabler might soon become realised

Literature Review of Areas of Application of Supply Chain Management in Construction Industry

Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex and the conventional methods of managing them have plateaued over the years. The complexity could be traced to the complexity of designs, which requires inputs from different suppliers/contractors. This has led to fragmentation where suppliers/ contractors specialize in a given project and are contracted to deliver only on their area of expertise. The aim of this paper is to produce evidence of the areas of application of supply chain management (SCM) in the construction industry. The aim was achieved by a thorough literature review of works done in the area. The results showed that all the selected research on the SCM falls within eight major areas. They are procurement, logistics, models application, information, performance evaluation, customer relationship, environmental management and sustainability. Other subfields can be derived from the areas

Improving Tolerance Control On Modular Construction Project With 3D Laser Scanning and Bim: A Case Study of Removable Floodwall Project

Quality control is essential to a successful modular construction project and should be enhanced throughout the project from design to construction and installation. The current methods for analyzing the assembly quality of a removable floodwall heavily rely on manual inspection and contact-type measurements, which are time-consuming and costly. This study presents a systematic and practical approach to improve quality control of the prefabricated modular construction projects by integrating building information modeling (BIM) with three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning technology. The study starts with a thorough literature review of current quality control methods in modular construction. Firstly, the critical quality control procedure for the modular construction structure and components should be identified. Secondly, the dimensions of the structure and components in a BIM model is considered as quality tolerance control benchmarking. Thirdly, the point cloud data is captured with 3D laser scanning, which is used to create the as-built model for the constructed structure. Fourthly, data analysis and field validation are carried out by matching the point cloud data with the as-built model and the BIM model. Finally, the study employs the data of a removable floodwall project to validate the level of technical feasibility and accuracy of the presented methods. This method improved the efficiency and accuracy of modular construction quality control. It established a preliminary foundation for using BIM and laser scanning to conduct quality control in removable floodwall installation. The results indicated that the proposed integration of BIM and 3D laser scanning has great potential to improve the quality control of a modular construction project