Morrissey, D; Goodier, C and Demian, P (2024) Offsite construction in ireland’s hospitals: Unveiling the complexities of OSC adoption. In: Thomson, C (ed.) Proceedings of 40th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2024, London South Bank University, UK.
Abstract
Ireland’s construction industry has increasingly embraced Offsite Construction (OSC) in hospitals, moving away from more traditional methods. This pilot study explores the strategic decision-making process behind this shift, including the impact of digital technologies. Using a phenomenological research approach, 11 in-depth interviews were conducted with purposely selected industry professionals, revealing the complexities of Ireland's OSC market through Thematic Analysis (TA). TA unveiled a range of factors influencing the adoption of OSC; including, but not limited to, programme efficiency, cost, quality assurance and digital technologies. Indeed, notwithstanding digital technology benefits, findings indicate a plethora of dominant concerns, including standardisation, building regulations, procurement strategies, and skills shortages. A high degree of industry unpreparedness for the variety of challenges introduced when adopting OSC was identified. The study strongly suggests enhancing stakeholder collaboration, revising building regulations, and innovating procurement strategies will all be necessary to ensure the successful use of OSC for hospitals. This research contributes significantly to understanding the decision-making dynamics in construction method selection for Irish hospital projects, the role of digital technologies, and the sector’s readiness (or not) for OSC.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | digitalisation; hospital; offsite; offsite construction; thematic analysis |
| Index terms: | building regulation, interview, efficiency, digitalization, decision-making process, programme, procurement strategy, construction method, quality assurance, collaboration, dynamics, standardization, decision-making, thematic analysis, digital technology, construction industry, shortages, complexity, Ireland |
| Subjects: | Geography, methods and analysis, performance management, management, performance measurement, quality assurance, systems engineering, regulatory law, industry analysis, building construction, decision analysis, project controls, computing systems, data collection methods, economic analysis, contractual arrangements, digital technology |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Site Management, Time Control, Legal Issues, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Risk Management, Procurement, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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