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

Technology acceptance : Malaysian industrialised building system (IBS) case

In embracing globalisation, it is necessary for all industries, including the AEC/FM industry, to be equipped with relevant technology. One such technology available for the sector is the industrialised building system (IBS). Since 1998, a substantial work of campaign in order to encourage the use of IBS in Malaysia has been done by Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). For example providing large funds for research, creating standard through various training and promotional programmes. Previous studies have shown that using IBS can enhanced the management of project quality, automatically save cost and led to less rectification work of construction project. However, result revealed the adoption of IBS in Malaysia construction industry is still far from government desired. Disintegration among stakeholders during the design stage has been identified as one major barrier for implementing IBS. As such, this paper explores the potential solutions to reduce disintegration. The research presented uses focus groups to obtain qualitative data. It was found that increased collaboration and team integration, such as team accountability, structural organisation and operation in terms of work processes and environment will enhance the IBS adoption in the Malaysian construction industry

A cause of communication failure in managing industrialized building system (IBS) projects : a perspective view from project managers

An effective communication process is an important element in distributing information to various project teams. The previous study demonstrates the importance of communication in the project management process in order to encourage project delivery processes successfully. Unfortunately, the issue of communication still dominates Industrialization Building System (IBS) because the project development process are still based on traditional methods. This research aims to explore the cause of communication challenges between construction players in managing IBS projects. The research methodology implemented for this paper was a semi-structured interview approach used to investigate the communication problem. Five experienced project managers were chosen from across the industry. The findings of this study are valuable for improving the communication level of project teams, which will indirectly increase the level of the IBS project delivery process and strengthen team integration on IBS projects in Malaysia

Factors influencing project delay : a case study of the Vale Malaysia Minerals Project (VMMP)

Delays are one of the biggest problems faced by the construction industry. The delays in construction projects have significant financial and social impact to parties involved in the projects. The main objective of this study is to explore the causes of delay in the Vale Malaysia Minerals Project (VMMP) in Lumut, Perak. This study was conducted by using a qualitative approach. A series of face to face interviews were conducted with an expert from construction organization and VMMP staff. Responses were analysed qualitatively using content analysis and a comprehensive interpretation was developed. The results revealed that several factors that contribute to the delay in VMMP completion, i.e. communication, delayed in material delivery, and poor management on site, etc. Time and cost overrun were the common effects of delays in construction project. The findings of this study will help the project manager or the client to take necessary measures and to use of supply chain management to avoid delays of project completion in a construction project

Traditional versus technological based surveillance on construction site : a review

The negative impacts of construction activities can be controlled and reduced through identification of environmental aspects and impacts of construction activities, implementation of the mitigation measures and site monitoring on a regular basis e.g. through surveillance in the framework of the Environmental Management System (EMS). Continuous improvement efforts towards traditional methods and increased needs for factual information and productivity in the environmental monitoring field have been met with latest innovations in mobile information and sensory technology options. This paper through literature aims to review the characteristic of both traditional and technology based surveillance while highlighting the on how those methods complement each other

A critical review of fragmentation issues in the construction industry

The construction industry has generally been regarded as one of the least productive sectors worldwide, with issues ranging from the more common problems, such as delays and cost overruns, to more inter-connected and complex, such as conflicts, safety, client satisfaction, quality, value for money and many more. These poor performances have been closely attributed to the fragmentation that surrounds construction industry practices, whereby construction processes often take place in a sequential manner, and parties typically work in isolation with minimal interfaces between them. This fragmented scenario has ensued the industry as unable to perform efficiently and as being synonymous with problems. This paper therefore aims to critically review past research and literatures towards identifying the fragmentation issues that have been surrounding the construction industry worldwide. The result: 46 factors were compiled from 27 sources, thus indicating that fragmentation is indeed a significant and universal problem within the construction industry. The findings in this paper is expected to provide a platform for effective solutions to be strategized in future towards improving productivity rates in construction

Development of Web-Based Real-time Energy Monitoring System for Campus University

This study presents development of real time energy monitoring system installed in Level 17, Tower 2, Engineering Complex, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. The device and programming uses microcontroller board Arduino, ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, sensors and Emoncms.org web server to record and display the real time power and energy consumption, energy cost, energy index and CO2 emissions. The device allows 3 phase measurement of energy use in the building level where the main power source has been divided into several loads such as lighting, power plug, and Air Conditioning (AC) fan. The device is capable to transmit the data at set time interval using Wi-Fi communication and logging directly to local SD card for further analysis. The device was calibrated using FLUKE 485 power meter concurrently to meet a good reliable result with lower tolerance. The device was installed and tested during testing period including weekdays and weekend to see hourly energy performance in the particular building level. It is found that the device provides reading with average error of 2.04% as compared to commercial meter during one week testing period

Development of a framework of critical success factors (CSFs) for effective integrated design team delivery in Malaysian IBS projects

Malaysia, like any other developing country, considers the construction industry as one of the maincontributors to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is currently facing a housing shortfall crisis. Due tothe combination of infamous problems associated with the construction industry, such as fragmentation,lack of productivity and quality, cost and time overrun etc, the Malaysian Government proposedindustrialisation technology 40 years ago as a solution, more commonly referred to as IndustrialisedBuilding System (IBS). However, the level of implementation of IBS is still below government target. Alack of integration among IBS stakeholders during the design stage has been identified as one of the maincontributory barrier. Many industry-led reports suggested that the transformation process of the traditionalmodus operand! towards an integrated approach is pertinent. As a response to this challenge, andconsistent with the needs of the construction industry to be capable of delivering predictable and qualityprojects, therefore, this research aims to develop a framework of critical success factors (CSFs) foreffective integrated design team delivery in Malaysian IBS projects.In doing so, this research identified the problems and gaps in current practice and knowledge ofMalaysian IBS projects (Chapter 2), followed by the identification of best practice of frameworks, tools,principles and concepts towards effective integrated team practice (Chapter 3). A series of industryworkshops with multidisciplinary Malaysian IBS experts have been conducted purposely for datacollection and validation process guided by the research design and methodology approach of this thesis(Chapter 4). The analysis of data from Workshop 1 (Chapter 5) has been combined with factors identifiedin the literature review in order to develop a framework of critical success factors (CSFs) for effectiveintegrated design team delivery in Malaysian IBS projects (Chapter 6). Finally, the framework of CSFs isvalidated by further Malaysian IBS industrialists during a Validation Workshop. The final framework canbe used as a term of reference for both Malaysian IBS practitioners and academics towards achievingintegrated IBS design team practice