Industrialization of construction explained

The industrialization of construction is the process through which construction aims to improve productivity through increased mechanization and automation. The process commonly involves modularization, prefabrication, preassembly, and mass production.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Background

Traditionally, construction has made use of manual labor such as tradesmen and subcontractors for tasks such as the installation of prefabricated elements. In the industrialization phase, construction uses manufacturing processes and technology to perform off-site prefabrication, assembling building components off-site rather than at the point of installation.^{[5] [6] [7]} Pre-assembled components are then sent to the building site in modular units.^{[5] [8]} This type of prefabrication done away from the construction site is often referred to as externalizing work.^[9]

The industrialization of construction also implements principles such as the Toyota Production System^{[6] [10]} and agile construction^{[4] [11]} 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.^{[2] [12]}

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.^{[13] [14]}

Lean Industrial Construction^[15] has far-reaching potential. Industrialized construction offers a framework for the fundamental shifts needed across the construction industry — moving from a disconnected design process to fully digital designs based on project data and from buying one-off projects to buying sustainable, productized buildings. 

Effects

Productivity in the construction industry has been far behind productivity in general manufacturing, due to the increased industrialization in general manufacturing and construction's continued reliance on field labor.^{[4] [16]} The main aim of industrialized construction is to increase productivity and reduce costs and project time through mechanization.^{[1] [2] [4] [17]} Industrialization makes production processes and methods more efficient and reduces loss of working hours due to adverse weather conditions.^[7]

The industrialization of construction can have positive or negative effects on subcontractors and construction workers based on how well they are able to adapt to off-site working opportunities.^[5] Increased mechanization may result in a shift from price to performance competition for contractors.^[7]

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.
• Industrialization of Construction: How it will happen, and how to stay ahead using Agile Construction (2024)^[18]
• Moore, D. H., and O'Dell, D (2022). Gang Boxes – Making them come alive with Agile Intelligence™. IEC, Insights Magazine.
• Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2021). How Will Working from Home Catalyze Industrialization?. CFMA.
• Moore, D. H. and Parvin, S (2021). How Industrialized are You? Measuring Your Company’s Progress. CFMA.
• Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2020). Jobsite to Garage: Changing the Mindset of Prefab & Modular Construction. CFMA.
• Daneshgari, D. P., & Moore, D. H. (2014). Is Prefabrication Making You Money?. EC&M.
• Daneshgari, D. P.(2013). The Industrialization of Construction. Dassault

Notes and References

1. https://damassets.autodesk.net/content/dam/autodesk/www/pdfs/autodesk-industrialized-construction-report.pdf Industrialized Construction in Academia
2. BorjeGhaleh. Reza Mohajeri. Sardroud. Javad Majrouhi. Approaching Industrialization of Buildings and Integrated Construction Using Building Information Modeling. Procedia Engineering. 164. 2016. 534–541. 1877-7058. 10.1016/j.proeng.2016.11.655. free.
3. https://www.bdcnetwork.com/blog/epic-rise-industrialized-construction The epic rise of industrialized construction
4. http://www.mca.net/media/PDF/industrialization-of-construction-architecture-whitepaper.pdf Industrialization of the Construction Industry
5. Goh. Edward. Loosemore. Martin. The impacts of industrialization on construction subcontractors: a resource based view. Construction Management and Economics. 35. 5. 2016. 288–304. 0144-6193. 10.1080/01446193.2016.1253856. free.
6. Tatsuhiko, Yoshimura (2002). "Mizenboushi Method. Japan". JUSE Press.
7. https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB6223.pdf
8. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2Gann199601049/FULLTEXT01.pdf Industrialization in Building Construction –Production Technology or Management Concept?
9. Daneshgari. Perry. Moore. Heather. Said. Hisham. Measuring and Tracking Externalized Work to Support Industrialized Construction. Modular and Offsite Construction (MOC) Summit Proceedings. 2016. 2562-5438. 10.29173/mocs17. free.
10. Gann. David M.. Construction as a manufacturing process? Similarities and differences between industrialized housing and car production in Japan. Construction Management and Economics. 14. 5. 1996. 437–450. 0144-6193. 10.1080/014461996373304.
11. http://www.mca.net/articles/profitability-of-agile-construction.htm Agile Construction
12. https://www.forconstructionpros.com/construction-technology/article/12169353/how-the-internet-of-things-is-impacting-the-construction-industry How the Internet of Things is Impacting the Construction Industry
13. https://electri.org/product/industrialization-of-construction-a-compilation-to-lead-the-way-book-four-efficiency-and-continuous-improvement-survival-of-the-unfits/ Industrialization of Construction a Compilation to Lead the Way-Book Four: Efficiency and Continuous Improvement: Survival of the Unfits
14. https://mca-soft.com/industrialization-of-construction/ Industrialization of Construction
15. Web site: Industrialized Construction . 2023-08-10 . Lean Construction Institute . en-US.
16. https://www.ey.com/en_us/real-estate-hospitality-construction/corporate-advisory-services/four-dimensions-of-industrialized-construction Four dimensions of industrialized construction
17. Web site: Construction Executive - October 2015.
18. Book: Daneshgari. Perry. Industrialization of Construction: How it will happen, and how to stay ahead using Agile Construction. 2024. KDP. 9798378615001. 278.