Meiling, J and Sandberg, M (2009) Towards a feedback model for offsite construction. In: Dainty, A R J (ed.) Proceedings of 25th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2009, Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
There is a need for efficient experience feedback in the construction industry, which encompasses companies that use a wide spectrum of on- and off-site production methods to produce (inter alia) roads, bridges and railways, as well as low- and high-rise buildings. The rationale for developing and implementing methods for experience feedback is well documented, and regardless of the choice of production strategy common denominators are needs to recognise defects and to apply a continuous quality improvement program that incorporates learning from mistakes. The purpose of this paper is to present ongoing work regarding experience feedback, with the ultimate aim to close the feedback loops in off-site housing sales, design and production. An indoor production process at a Swedish housing company is probed. The investigated company utilises off-site module manufacturing, a production form with a 15 % market share among professional clients in Sweden (recurrent clients purchasing commercial and multi-storey buildings). This production form appears to be well-suited for implementing experience feedback, since control is already required in the production process. Based on a literature review and case examples a model for experience feedback is proposed. The feedback model is executed in a logical control structure with four levels: (1) plan and learn, (2) capture and assign to targets, (3) analyse and prioritise, solve and assess, (4) implement and use feedback. Theoretical considerations and empirical data show how analysis of error-detection can enhance possibilities for prioritising improvement actions as well as identifying feedback targets.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | experience feedback; off-site manufacturing; knowledge management |
| Index terms: | literature review, purchasing, production process, quality improvement, Sweden, market share, production strategy, off-site manufacturing, prioritizing, high-rise building, construction industry, knowledge management, housing, program, off-site production, feedback loop, module |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, project delivery, construction type, control systems, market analysis, decision analysis, industry analysis, procurement strategy, architectural elements, manufacturing engineering, software systems, Geography, professional development |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Risk Management, Construction Technology, Procurement, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here