Lei, Z; Chen, Q; Altaf, M S and Cao, K (2024) Defining information requirements for off-site construction management: An industry case study from Canada. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(12): 05024014, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Off-site construction projects have demonstrated the potential to drive transformation in the construction sector to achieve better outcomes in terms of high precision and efficiency of deliveries through the collaborative design and fabrication processes, long-term stakeholder engagement and relations across projects, product standardization, risk-sharing strategies, and investment in a strong integrated supply chain. However, repeating the successful off-site construction projects to scale the benefits can be challenging considering that construction projects vary across regions and contexts. The streamlined processes and a consistent collection of information requirements should be leveraged to alleviate the challenge and help stakeholders effectively adopt the off-site construction approach. To achieve this goal, this study defines the information requirements across multiple stages of the off-site construction supply chain, using the case study approach to delineate the information requirements for an off-site construction company located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The evaluation and interpretation of the case study underscore the need for consistent collection, storage and utilization of logistics, construction, and postconstruction activities information to tie back to sales and design activities. To facilitate the activities integration, an information requirement framework is proposed for off-site construction processes based on the learnings collected from the case study and a digital twin technology platform. Although the reuse and interoperability of information among various systems remains a long-standing issue to prevent the wide adoption of off-site construction, the findings and the proposed information requirement framework can be an integral part of the potential guidelines for successful implementation of off-site construction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | efficiency, case study, platform, transformation, Canada, standardization, stakeholder engagement, off-site construction, implementation, interoperability, fabrication, strategy, integration, construction project, construction sector, collaborative design, digital twin |
| Subjects: | digital engineering, contractual arrangements, production management, Geography, digital design, manufacturing engineering, building construction, community and social dimensions, design methods, data collection methods, business, management, performance measurement, performance management, industry analysis, systems and processes, organizational analysis |
| Topics: | Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Procurement, Project Management, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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