Bao, Z; Laovisutthichai, V; Tan, T; Wang, Q and Lu, W (2022) Design for manufacture and assembly (dfma) enablers for offsite interior design and construction. Building Research & Information, 50(3), pp. 325-338. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Interior design and construction (IDC) is a sophisticated and often prolonged process that delivers a building to occupation. Traditional practice is rather unproductive, involving the work of several different trades crowded in situ and delivered sequentially one after another. To enhance productivity in IDC, offsite practice is receiving increasing attention as a process innovation along with Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), an emerging concept in the industry. This paper aims to investigate offsite IDC practice and develop a set of DfMA enablers for better achieving this building process. It undertakes a literature review, case study, and 18 semi-structured interviews. To support the offsite IDC and its production line, standardized procedure, automated machinery, and supply chain, 10 DfMA enablers are adopted, such as early collaboration, design standardization and simplification, and light material selection. These findings indicate a paradigm shift not only in interior design methodology but also in IDC professional practice process. This research enriches the literature on DfMA and IDC, in particular their synergy, and offers a new model for interior designers and offsite IDC practitioners.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | design for manufacture and assembly; enablers; interior design and construction; offsite construction |
| Index terms: | paradigm, automated machinery, standardization, in-situ, synergy, simplification, case study, design for manufacture and assembly, designer, productivity, practitioner, methodology, collaboration, professional practice, building process, interior design, interview, occupation, literature review |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, profession, practitioner, building construction, sociology, specialized design, partnership management, research methods, education and knowledge transfer, manufacturing engineering, management, performance measurement, professional development, automation and robotics |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Quality Management, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Site Management |
| 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