• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.304-310
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• 2011

The populations of major cities in Australia are increasing rapidly and facing an acute housing shortage. Traditional apartment procurement techniques involve lengthy lead-times and factory-based, or offsite manufactured (OSM) multi-storey apartment buildings may offer the opportunity to help fulfill the need by significantly reducing build times. Other advantages of OSM may include superior quality, low weight ratios, economies of scale achieved through repetition of prefabricated units, use on infill sites, sustainable design standards and better occupational health and safety. There are also positive labour and training implications, which may help to alleviate an industry-wide shortage of skills through use of semi-skilled labour. Previous uncertainties about the adoption of offsite due to the high capital costs and perception issues were generally based on pre-cast concrete structures, which are quite a different building type in terms of flexibility, construction, delivery and finishes. Identification of drivers and constraints assists in the determination of current industry status, allows for a benchmark to be established and future opportunities and directions for OSM to be determined.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.236-237
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• 2019

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and modular construction are regarded as important technologies that address several issues faced by the construction industry. However, the application guidelines for BIM in current modular construction projects are insufficient. This paper presents the preliminary work on the analysis of BIM utilization in a modular construction project; a five-point likert scale questionnaire was conducted to assess the necessity of BIM applications by the Necessity Index(NI) of nine categories(U1~U9) across two construction phases (onsite and offsite). The survey results indicate that applications for BIM based quantity takeoff for offsite phase(U4) as well as BIM modeling for module joint details(U8) were deemed to be the most necessary in each phase. The results of this study can be used as detailed guidelines for the integration of BIM in modular construction projects.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.536-542
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• 2022

Cost overruns, schedule delays, and a shortage of skilled labor are common problems the construction industry is currently experiencing. Modularization and standardization strategies have the potential to resolve the various problems mentioned above and have been applied for various construction applications for a long time. However, the level of modularization remains low, and modular construction projects have not been getting the full benefits. Thus, this review investigated the cutting-edge technologies currently being utilized to develop the modular construction field. For this paper, qualified research papers were identified using predetermined keywords from previous related research papers. Identified literature was then filtered and analyzed. According to the included reviews, several technologies are being developed for modular construction. For example, automated design and monitoring systems for modularization were developed. In addition, research labs are utilizing robotic arms for modular construction to achieve a high level of completion in the construction industry, as is seen in the manufacturing industry. Despite these efforts, more research and development are necessary because some automation technologies still require manual activities. Thus, there is great potential for further development of modularization techniques, and further research is recommended to achieve high levels of modularization.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.336-343
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• 2022

Industrial robotic arms are widely adopted in numerous industries for manufacturing automation under factory settings, which eliminates the limitations of manual labor and provides significant productivity and quality benefits. The U.S. modular construction industry, despite having similar controlled factory environments, still heavily relies on manual labor. Thus, this study investigates the U.S., Canada, and Europe-based leading modular construction companies and research labs implementing industrial robotic arms for manufacturing automation. The investigation mainly considered the current research scope, industry state, and constraints, as well as identifying the types and specifications of the robotic arms in use. First, the study investigated well-recognized modular building associations, the Modular Building Institute (MBI), and renowned architecture design magazine, Dezeen to gather industry updates. The authors discovered one university lab and a few companies that adopted Switzerland-based robotic arms, ABB. Researching ABB robotics led to the discovery of ABB's competitor, Germany-based KUKA robotic arms. Consequently, research extended to the companies and labs adopting KUKA models. In total, this study has identified seven modular companies and four research labs. All companies employed robotic arms and gantry robot combinations in a production-line-like system for partial automation, and some adopted design standardization for optimization. The common goal among the labs was to achieve greater flexibility and full automation with robotic arms. This study will help companies better implement robotic arm automation by providing recommendations from investigating its current industry status.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-199
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• 2019

Modular construction is an emerging technology to accommodate the increasing restrictions in terms of construction period, energy efficiency and environmental impacts, since each structural module is prefabricated offsite beforehand and assembled onsite using industrialized techniques. However, some innate structural drawbacks of this innovative method are also distinct, such as connection tying inaccessibility, column instability and system robustness. This study aims to explore the theoretical and numerical stability analysis of a tenon-connected square hollow section (SHS) steel column to address the tying and stability issue in modular construction. Due to the excellent performance of composite structures in fire resistance and buckling prevention, concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) columns are also taken into account in the analysis to evaluate the feasibility of adopting composite sections in modular buildings. Characteristic equations with three variables, i.e., the length ratio, the bending stiffness ratio and the rotational stiffness ratio, are generated from the fourth-order governing differential equations. The rotational stiffness ratio is recognized as the most significant factor, with interval analysis conducted for its mechanical significance and domain. Numerical analysis using ABAQUS is conducted for validation of characteristic equations. Recommendations and instructions in predicting the buckling performance of both SHS and CFST columns are then proposed.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.199-212
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• 2020

In evaluating the competitiveness of construction companies and their development strategies, patents are a useful and objective source of technical information. In this study, the cutting-edge technologies of construction industries of China, Japan, and South Korea were investigated based on the data of patent applications filed by a total of 15 construction companies (five companies from each country). The related technologies were classified into six core technology groups based on their keywords. After that, we used four patent analysis methods: time series analysis, IP (Intellectual Property) emergence level analysis, spiral module analysis, and OS (Object-Solution) Matrix analysis, to identify the promising technologies/vacant technologies for global construction companies in China, Japan, and South Korea, and to analyze the technical competitiveness of the three countries. The findings of this study showed that each country can claim a relative technological advantage over the others. Overall, 3D printing and offsite construction technology, data acquisition technology, AR and VR technology are expected to be promising in the Asian region. The present study contributes to the body of knowledge by expanding our understanding of technological innovation for the competitiveness of companies and the technology development strategies pursued by the construction industries of China, Japan, and South Korea.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.343-352
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• 2020

Modular integrated construction (MiC) is an innovative construction method where components of a building are manufactured in an offsite factory, trucked to the job site in sections, set in place with cranes, and assembled together to form a whole building. Where circumstances merit, favorable conditions exist and implemented effectively; MiC improves project performance. However, several key factors need to converge during implementation to realize the full benefits of MiC. Thus, a thorough understanding of the factors which are critical to the success of MiC projects is imperative. Drawing on a systematic review of 47 empirical studies, this research identified 25 key success factors (KSFs) for MiC projects. Of these, the five topmost cited KSFs for MiC projects include effective working collaboration and communication among project participants; standardization, optimization, automation and benchmarking of best practices; effective supply chain management; early design freeze and completion; and efficient procurement method and contracting. The study further proposed a conceptual model of the KSFs, highlighting the interdependences of people, processes, and technology-related KSFs for the effective accomplishment of MiC projects. The set of KSFs is practically relevant as they constitute a checklist of items for management to address and deal with during the planning and execution of MiC projects. They also provide a useful basis for future empirical studies tailored towards measuring the performance and success of MiC projects. MiC project participants and stakeholders will find this research useful in reducing failure risks and achieving more desired performance outcomes. One potential impact of the study is that it may inform, guide, and improve the successful implementation of MiC projects in the construction industry. However, the rigor of the analysis and relative importance ranking of the KSFs were limited due to the absence of data.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.217-232
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• 2019

Modular steel buildings consist of prefabricated room-sized structural units that are manufactured offsite and installed onsite. The inter-module connections must fulfill the assembly construction requirements and soundly transfer the external loads. This work proposes an innovative assembled connection suitable for modular buildings with concrete-filled steel tube columns. The connection uses pretensioned strands and plugin bars to vertically connect the adjacent modular columns. The moment-transferring performance of this inter-module connection was studied through monotonic and cyclic loading tests. The results showed that because of the assembly construction, the connected sections were separated under lateral bending, and the prestressed inter-module connection performed as a weak semirigid connection. The moment strength at the early loading stage originated primarily from the contact bonding mechanism with the infilled concrete, and the postyield strength depended mainly on the tensioned strands. The connection displayed a self-centering-like behavior that the induced deformation was reversed during unloading. The energy dissipation originated primarily from frictional slipping of the plugin bars and steel strands. The moment transferring ability was closely related to the section dimension and the arrangements of the plugin bars and steel strands. A simplified strength calculation and evaluation method was also proposed, and the effectiveness was validated with the test data.