Benefit evaluation for off-site production in construction

Evaluating to what extent a component or building system should be produced offsite is inadequate within the industry. The potential benefits of off-site production (OSP) are commonly cited when justifying an OSP approach, yet holistic and methodical assessments of the applicability and overall benefit of these solutions, to a particular project, have been found to be deficient. Common methods of evaluation simply take material, labour and transportation costs into account when comparing various options, often disregarding other cost-related items such as site facilities, crane use and rectification of works. These cost factors are usually buried within the nebulous preliminaries figure, with little reference to the building approach taken. Further, softer issues such as health and safety, effects on management and process benefits are either implicit or disregarded within these comparison exercises. Yet it is demonstrated that these issues are some of the most significant benefits of OSP. A series of case studies demonstrated that evaluation focus is almost solely on direct material and labour costs of components, without explicit regard for the wider cost or soft issue implications of OSP on a project. The paper argues that until evaluation is more holistic and value-based rather than cost-based, OSP uptake in construction will be slow

Towards economic sustainability through adaptable buildings

The existing building stock in most countries does not meet the parameters of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Physical, functional, technological, economical, social and legal obsolescence are the principal factors driving the decommissioning, refurbishment, alteration and/or adaptation of a building. In the UK the Government promotes optimum use of the existing building stock through mixed use in urban centers and encourages conversion of redundant office and retail space into leisure, service and/or residential uses rather than demolition and renewal. There is therefore a growing need to design new buildings that are adaptable and flexible over their life span whilst at the same time improving user satisfaction. A constraint to the implementation of a policy of life span adaptability is the difficulty of understanding the economic considerations over long time scales. This paper investigates the issues surrounding the economics of the life span of adaptable buildings, and establishes a conceptual framework for their economic sustainability. The investigation is based on a case study of how the uses and function of the built environment and its supporting infrastructure have changed over a period of 100 years undertaken within a semi-rural Borough in England, UK. This case study includes a trend analysis identifying the life spans (of buildings), the evolving planning policies and associated social and cultural issues. A conceptual framework is developed and the economic impacts of the changes are evaluated through Whole Life Analysis. The validity and reliability of proposed framework is yet to be tested

Towards economic sustainability through adaptable buildings

The existing building stock in most countries does not meet the parameters of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Physical, functional, technological, economical, social and legal obsolescence are the principal factors driving the decommissioning, refurbishment, alteration and/or adaptation of a building. In the UK the Government promotes optimum use of the existing building stock through mixed use in urban centers and encourages conversion of redundant office and retail space into leisure, service and/or residential uses rather than demolition and renewal. There is therefore a growing need to design new buildings that are adaptable and flexible over their life span whilst at the same time improving user satisfaction. A constraint to the implementation of a policy of life span adaptability is the difficulty of understanding the economic considerations over long time scales. This paper investigates the issues surrounding the economics of the life span of adaptable buildings, and establishes a conceptual framework for their economic sustainability. The investigation is based on a case study of how the uses and function of the built environment and its supporting infrastructure have changed over a period of 100 years undertaken within a semi-rural Borough in England, UK. This case study includes a trend analysis identifying the life spans (of buildings), the evolving planning policies and associated social and cultural issues. A conceptual framework is developed and the economic impacts of the changes are evaluated through Whole Life Analysis. The validity and reliability of proposed framework is yet to be tested

A paradigm shift towards Whole Life Analysis in adaptable buildings

Economic evaluation is a significant consideration in the initiation of a facility. This evaluation process should take into account all costs, benefits and performance associated with a facility in its through life cycle. There are a number of techniques available for economic evaluation, however, the practical application is poor in most of the techniques. Whole Life Analysis (WLA) is identified as a comprehensive approach for economic evaluation. At present there is a growing trend towards designing buildings to be more adaptable within the UK property market. Hence, economic evaluation of adaptable buildings needs to be undertaken as early as possible for appropriate long term decisions. This paper examines the paradigm shift required for a WLA approach for adaptable buildings while identifying the benefits and barriers of its practical application. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to analyse how WLA could be used as a decision support technique for adaptable buildings. Literature reveals WLA as one of the best decision support techniques for use in the building industry, and it seems logical to adopt it for adaptable buildings. However, detailed economic evaluation remains an untapped area within adaptable buildings. Being involved in the ‘Adaptable Futures’ research project at Loughborough University, the authors have blended their thoughts with available literature and attempt to identify how important in undertaking WLA is for an adaptable facility while identifying the barriers of current applications. Stakeholder input is crucial towards the betterment of WLA particularly concerning its understanding and application in adaptable buildings

Modular assembly with postponement to improve health, safety, and productivity in construction

This paper presents the outcome of an engineering study as part of the design and development of a lean and agile construction system and in particular its supply chain component. This combines modular assembly with a postponement function to be tested on a case study project (not reported here), the objective of which is to improve health, safety, and productivity for the company sponsoring the research. The contribution to research is the combination of countermeasures described in this paper that have been developed and incorporated into a wider construction system, in the same way that manufacturing has used this strategy with great success. A further output is the development and use of an innovative method for assembling, transporting, and installing mechanical and electrical modules, whereby modularization can be achieved with or without offsite manufacturing capability. The research forecasts a reduction of onsite labor of 35% compared to using traditional methods of construction, with less onsite operatives at risk of injury carrying out simpler assembly tasks within ergonomic mobile work cells. Further research is proposed to measure the benefits of the construction system following its implementation on a case study project

Construction management and lean thinking in highways maintenance

To realize the benefits of BIM in construction management using (4D and 5D applications), it has to be implemented first. There are various BIM implementation plans to select from; with BIM features and guides, companies better understand BIM concepts and can easily choose a plan to apply in their operations. A literature review was conducted and 15 different definitions of BIM were encountered. Twelve different BIM implementation plans were found in publications by academics, software vendors and Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry professionals. Those implementation plans were compared using a matrix which covers the complete building lifecycle. This research concludes that out of the 12 implementations plans, three were equipped with additional guides attached to their plans, simplifying project data collection; namely those by Autodesk, Penn State University and Indiana University. One implementation plan that scored very highly (based on 16 key issues identified from the three categories of stakeholders specified in this project) was the implementation plan proposed by a major software vendor. BIM is poised to solve many of the shortcomings reported in the construction industry. However, before realizing the full potential of BIM in construction management, it needs to be systematically implemented

Builders quantities for contractors' management

It was shown that much compensating work was undertaken by personnel of contracting organizations during the management of construction projects when they used measured quantity data prepared by the Clients' Quantity Surveyor. It was further shown that a standard method for preparing measured quantity data which reflected contracting management and construction methods could be developed if the amount and type of compensating work was identified. This method for measuring construction work would consequently find a use in the increasingly popular Design and Construct procurement method resulting from the swing in investment in construction work to the private sector which eroded the existing four-cornered Client: Designer: Quantity Surveyor: Contractor relationship. This swing allowed entreprenurial contracting organizations to by-pass the middle men (Designers and Quantity Surveyors) and liaise directly with the Client, adopting the traditional design team's role in the process. This situation effectively removed the centralised and controlled production of measured quantity data at pre-tender stage (i.e. Bills of Quantities prepared by the Quantity Surveyor) leaving the contractor to prepare his own measured quantity data ad-hoc. The main objectives included researching within contracting organizations to defme the use to which measured quantity data was put within the management functions of estimating, purchasing, surveying, planning and site management. Determining what quantity data should be measured for the benefit of these management functions. Field testing the determined measurement rules with upto three live specification and drawing contracts, in order to show that improvements could be made in the data flow and efficiency of data management. Publishing the fmdings of the research. Case studies within three contracting organizations were undertaken and interfaces between and within the management functions where compensating work was undertaken were identified. The measured quantity data required by contracting personnel for management tasks was defmed. A set of measurement rules for Builders' Quantities was compiled and tested on five projects, each of which was supplied by a different contractor. Some work was published and more publications were planned at the time of submission. It was shown during the field tests that savings of up to 50% in management staff time could be made using a prototype set of measurement rules. It was thought that the use of Builders' Quantities would also result in saving in construction costs and had implications for use in decision making by higher management. The work was documented in report form and submitted to the Science and Engineering Research Council who awarded the project a grade of excellence, the highest possible category

Buildoffsite business case study 001: pipe modules for a commercial office building

Buildoffsite business case study 001: pipe modules for a commercial office buildin

Path dependency to path creation: enabling strategic lean implementation

those changes are driven by external forces such as market conditions or client demands, or are instigated by the business itself. However, path dependencies exist within businesses that entrench ways of working which can influence their ability to respond to change. Path dependency refers to the idea that events and decisions that have taken place in the past continue to influence current decisions and ways of working. This paper proposes that path dependencies inhibit lean change and that only when they are identified and understood can they be overcome, enabling new paths to be created and organisational lean strategies to be implemented effectively in practice. Building on Morrey et al (2010), the paper describes action research carried out in a case study company which evidences that path dependencies have inhibited the implementation of their lean strategy. These path dependencies are identified therefore as either enablers or barriers to lean change. It therefore follows that lean strategies cannot be implemented effectively unless these path dependencies are understood and accounted for, and that taking account of path dependencies needs to be foregrounded in the lean debate. Had these path dependencies been understood at the time of the implementing the lean strategies, rather than retrospectively in order to understand why they had not played out in practice as planned, the lean strategies could have accounted for these entrenched ways of working and been more effective. Further to this, the paper suggests that it is only when path dependencies are understood that path dependencies can be overcome/capitalised upon, or new paths can be created. Proposals to overcome and capitalise upon the path dependencies uncovered in the case study company are discussed, with acknowledgement that these new paths could become the path dependencies of the future