Verburg, Willem Hendrik (2021) The development of a design-for-assembly method for construction and infrastructure projects. PhD thesis, University of Twente, Netherlands.
Abstract
Our built environment is no longer realised by processing materials at construction sites, but mostly by putting together elements on site that are produced elsewhere. When designing an object whose realisation is based on the use of construction parts that are produced off site, it is important to also consider the design for the assembly of the construction parts at the building location. The design of this assembly and its connections with other construction parts have a major impact on the efficiency with which it can be realised. Unfortunately, insufficient attention has been paid so far to the design of assemblies. This gap between construction designs and their realisation inhibits the full potential of using assembly processes. It manifests itself through issues such as deviations in dimensions between the original design and the assembled system, disappointing aesthetic results and construction times that are far longer than necessary. As a consequence, the potential increase in efficiency is not fully realised. The inability to fully achieve an increased efficiency also means that the use of construction parts produced off site continues to have to compete with onsite production in the construction sector. The above made considerations have led to the general conclusion that the design and realisation phases of construction processes are insufficiently aligned. The main goal of this PhD thesis therefore has been to contribute to the closing of the gap between the design and realisation phase of objects in the built environment which are realised through an assembly process. This has been realised by developing a design-for-assembly method for construction and infrastructure projects. Besides presenting the main findings of this PhD study, it also includes a discussion of the main scientific and managerial implications of the conducted study and it provides several recommendations that merit further study and action.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Halman, J I M and Voordijk, Johannes T |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | design for assembly; offsite production; prefabrication; construction efficiency; built environment; infrastructure; design management; assembly processes |
| Index terms: | construction process, design management, construction sector, construction site, built environment, construction time, prefabrication, dimension, infrastructure project, onsite, efficiency, deviation, aesthetic |
| Subjects: | performance management, infrastructure and transport systems, industry analysis, project controls, health monitoring assessment and metrics, financial and cost management, work location, design process, factor and component analysis, building construction |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Health and Safety, Quality Management, Construction Technology, Research Practice, Cost Management, Time Control, Site Management, Urban Studies, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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