Nadim, W and Goulding, J S (2011) Offsite production: A model for building down barriers a European construction industry perspective. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 18(1), pp. 82-101. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose - Recent calls were launched worldwide for the "revival" of offsite production (OSP) (under numerous nomenclatures) in order to improve the construction industry, meet market demand; and furthermore, overcome the dependence on skilled labour. Despite the well-documented benefits of OSP, the construction industry seems to be somewhat hesitant in effectively responding to those calls. Forming part of a triangulated research, this paper aims to explore the European Union (EU) construction industry main patterns of concern with regard to OSP. The findings from this paper are set to guide the development of an OSP training and education model (not reported in this paper). Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative approach using the content analysis technique was employed to analyse secondary data (transcripts) from 54 open-ended questionnaires carried out under the Manu Build EU research project, to deeply explore the EU construction industry main perceptions/concerns which may represent a barrier to the wider uptake of OSP. Findings - The EU construction industry reluctance to embrace OSP practices is largely attributable (amongst others) to the unsuccessful past experiences associated with this approach. While the findings were in line with extant literature "hard" issues/concerns such as cost and productivity, additional findings revealed "softer" issues/concerns such as the flexibility of the OSP approach, preservation of the identity of cities, and the ability to adapt OSP buildings to older generations' needs and requirements. Originality/value - This paper condensed and synchronised all OSP-related patterns of concern in a conceptual model. The model expanded on the well documented triad model of "people", "technology", and "process"; and further added the "product" and "market" pattern to it. Should all these main five OSP patterns of concerns be addressed, it is postulated that this would help support the wider uptake of OSP within the EU construction industry; and furthermore create a shared understanding between industry and training/education institutions to enable an OSP knowledgeable industry. 0969-9988.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; Europe; production methods |
| Index terms: | Europe, productivity, qualitative approach, secondary data, European Union, identity, construction industry, skilled labour, content analysis, methodology, questionnaire, education institution |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, data analysis and analytics, research methods, physical geography and landforms, management, industry analysis, educational institutions, sociology |
| Topics: | Education, Human Resources, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context |
| 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