The industrialization of construction is the process through which
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...
aims to improve productivity through increased
mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
and
automation
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
.
[ The process commonly involves modularization, prefabrication, preassembly, and mass production.][Industrialized Construction in Academia]
[The epic rise of industrialized construction]
[Industrialization of the Construction Industry]
Background
Traditionally, construction has made use of manual labor such as tradesmen and subcontractors for tasks such as the installation of prefabricated elements.[Tatsuhiko, Yoshimura (2002). "Mizenboushi Method. Japan". JUSE Press.][https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB6223.pdf ] Pre-assembled components are then sent to the building site in modular units.[Industrialization in Building Construction –Production Technology or Management Concept?]
This type of prefabrication done away from the construction site is often referred to as externalizing work.Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that comprises its management philosophy and practices. The TPS is a management system that organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile m ...
[Agile Construction](_blank)
for developing work information systems. These systems and information technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT) create real-time feedback loops for improved decision making.[How the Internet of Things is Impacting the Construction Industry](_blank)
Scholars name five stages for the industrialization of construction: management of labor, management of work, lean operations, modeling and simulation, and feedback of the source based on the study of industrialization in other industries.[Industrialization of Construction a Compilation to Lead the Way-Book Four: Efficiency and Continuous Improvement: Survival of the Unfits](_blank)
[Industrialization of Construction](_blank)
Effects
Productivity in the construction industry has been far behind productivity in general manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
, due to the increased industrialization in general manufacturing and construction's continued reliance on field labor.[Four dimensions of industrialized construction]
The main aim of industrialized construction is to increase productivity and reduce costs and project time through mechanization.[
The industrialization of construction can have positive or negative effects on ]subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.
Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor f ...
s and construction workers based on how well they are able to adapt to off-site working opportunities.[
]
Further reading
*''Industrialization of the Construction Industry'' (2013) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore With Contribution from Greg Bau.
*''Winds of Change: Industrialization of Construction'' (2017) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore With Contribution from Phil Nimmo.
*''Applying Scalable Prefabrication to Industrial Construction Work'' (2015) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore.
*''The Profitability of Agile Construction'' (2006) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore
*''Prefabrication Handbook for the Construction Industry'' (2019) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore
*''Agile Construction for the Electrical Contractor'', 2nd edition, 2020, Dr. Perry Daneshgari, and Dr. Heather Moore.
*Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2020). INDUSTRIALIZATION: Is Construction Next? ''CFMA'', 43–49.
*Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2020). ''THE OPERATIONAL MODEL FOR Modular Construction''. CFMA.
*Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2020). JOBSITE TO GARAGE: Changing the Mindset of Prefab and Modular Construction. ''CFMA'', 35–43.
*Taiichi, O. (1988). ''Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-scale Production''. New York: Productivity Press.
*Taiichi., O. (2009). ''Workplace Management''. (J. Miller, Trans.) Makilteo, WA: Gemba Press.
*''Winds of Change: Industrialization of Construction'' (2018) by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore With Contribution from Phil Nimmo.
*Taylor, F. (1911). ''The Principles of Scientific Management''. Harper & Brothers.
*Shewhart, W. A. (1923). ''Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product''. ASQ Quality Press.
*Shingo, S. (1987). ''Non-Stock Production the Shingo System of Continuous Improvement''. Productivity Press.
*Shingo, S. (1989). ''A Study of the Toyota Production System''. Productivity Press.
*Sloan, A. P. (1972). ''My Years with General Motors''. Doubleday.
References
{{Reflist
Industrialisation
History of construction
Economic history