• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.73-79
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• 2017

Rapidly expanding population in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a massive impact to put pressure on the shortage of housing and existing infrastructure. With average population growth rate of 1,9% yearly, the population in Saudi Arabia is projected to increase from 31 million in 2015 to 37 million in 2025. According to the housing ministry, Saudi Arabia needs to provide 3.3 million units to meet the demand in 2025, which is about 300,000 unit a year. In the past 40 years, using the conventional construction method, the Saudi construction industry was only able to build about 150,000 units per year. To meet the demand gap for the housing shortage, a new approach and innovation in construction methods are needed. Industrialized construction as an approach in construction methods has been studied and implemented in some countries that experienced similar corncerns. Industrialized construction can be defined as the implementation of manufacturing methods to construction-related activities to improve quality, reduce cost and project duration. Compared to the conventional construction method, prefabrication as industrialized construction methods has reduced construction labor on-site by 9.5%, construction project duration by 20%, and construction waste by 56%. It improves the quality, durability and cost saving not only for construction project owners, but also construction contractors. This paper discusses the possibility of 'industrialization' of building system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a solution for the housing shortage. It is an initial part of a study aims to develop a framework to develop industrialized building system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The is paper based on extensive literature review and case studies.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.12-22
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• 2014

Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia has experienced significant economic increases as evidenced by the 30% growth in its gross domestic product; furthermore, the construction industry has increased 10% in the same time period. Due to this significant growth, the construction industry is encountering issues related to construction quality resulting in significant waste and associated environmental impacts. In this research, we applied our previously developed framework that integrates three different methods-Lean, Green, and Six-sigma - to a residential construction complex in Saudi Arabia. Our aim of this case study was to explore the application of the framework in practice to glean quantitative results and further validate the framework. In the case study, we used the developed framework to identify a significant issue related to quality and delays - final completion of 53 residential units was delayed because of failed exterior buildings surfaces. We then used the framework to define the causes behind the defects via a field investigation of the 53 units. Of the defect, construction execution was responsible for 43% of the defect, 31% untrained workers, 19% unfavorable construction weather condition, with 7% accounting for other issues. A procedure was developed in concert with the construction manager and overall developer reducing the amount of rework and waste causes revealed by the field examination and the framework. Although two steps were added to the original construction process to overcome waste causes, still save a lot of resources and reduces environmental impact. In summary, we found that the Lean, Green, Six-sigma framework increased productivity, quality, and reduced waste.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.35-40
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• 2013

Currently, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is the epicentre of building services engineering encapsulating the construction industry. On rise of technological advancements, engineers have the ease to thoroughly investigate engineering aspects. Not only engineers, but other stakeholders, tender related people, financial analysts work in parallel as well. However, there are some factors that are stumbling blocks in the way of progression including delaying factors in the construction industry. The paper provides deep insights of delaying factors regarding public building projects of the KSA. Collection of primary data was carried out by conducting a survey which comprised of 63 chief delay factors. Professionals related to construction industry were asked for ranking the factors in terms of their frequency of occurrence and degree of impact. Seven groups of risk factors are categorized and a correlation analysis is performed by identifying the correlation amongst the variables. Finally, 31 leading delay factors are extracted and reported.