Study and Evaluation of Prefabricated Concrete Buildings Industry by SWOT Analysis: Sustainable Development Approach

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Considering the population growth and rapidly housing demands, it is inevitable to adopt industrial building systems for the purpose of raising the quality of industrialized building construction. Construction industrialization is an important factor in increasing production and striking the right balance between supply and demand in the market. There are multiple methods for industrialized building construction, the most common of which is the prefabrication concrete industry. An attempt has been made in this study to put forward the appropriate method for understanding the current status of this industry in developing countries and adapting it with economic, social and environmental criteria of sustainable development and to present suitable management methods for choosing and piloting the route toward sustainable development. The results suggested that when compared to the cast in place concrete, prefabricated concrete is of higher quality according to the sustainable development criteria. The results indicated that the order of desirability of prefabricated concrete in terms of different aspects of sustainable development is as follows: environmentally, socially and economically. According to the sustainable development criteria, prefabricated concrete could provide more opportunities to communication development. Moreover, there are more opportunities than threats in the industry of prefabricated construction. In this article, appropriate strategies were formulated by means of SWOT analysis for the purpose of developing and improving and expanding the prefabricated concrete industry

Keywords

Main Subjects


[1] R. Wong, J. Hao, C.M. Ho, Prefabricated building construction systems adopted in Hong Kong, in: Proc. of the International Association for Housing Science on Word Congress of Housing: Process and Product, Montreal, Canada, 2003.
[2] F. Moavenzadeh, Construction industry in developing countries, World Development, 6(1) (1978) 97-116.
[3] M. Downing, Prefabrication is the Way Ahead, Concrete Engineering International, 6 (4) (Issue No. 2) (2002) 283-290.
[4] S.-O. Cheung, T.K.-L. Tong, C.-M. Tam, Site pre-cast yard layout arrangement through genetic algorithms, Automation in Construction, 11(1) (2002) 35-46.
[5] L. Jaillon, C.S. Poon, The evolution of prefabricated residential building systems in Hong Kong: A review of the public and the private sector, Automation in Construction, 18(3) (2009) 239-248.
[6] Y. Chen, G.E. Okudan, D.R. Riley, Decision support for construction method selection in concrete buildings: Prefabrication adoption and optimization, Automation in Construction, 19(6) (2010) 665-675.
[7] L. Jaillon, C. Poon, Life cycle design and prefabrication in buildings: A review and case studies in Hong Kong, Automation in Construction, 39 (2014) 195-202.
[8] H.H. Ali, S.F. Al Nsairat, Developing a green building assessment tool for developing countries–Case of Jordan, Building and Environment, 44(5) (2009) 1053-1064.
[9] L. Jaillon, C.S. Poon, Y. Chiang, Quantifying the waste reduction potential of using prefabrication in building construction in Hong Kong, Waste management, 29(1) (2009) 309-320.
[10] U.G.B. Council, LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, version 3, in, 2009.
[11] O. Ortiz, F. Castells, G. Sonnemann, Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA, Construction and Building Materials, 23(1) (2009) 28-39.
[12] S. Vallance, H.C. Perkins, J.E. Dixon, What is social sustainability? A clarification of concepts, Geoforum, 42(3) (2011) 342-348.
[13] X. Zhang, M. Skitmore, Y. Peng, Exploring the challenges to industrialized residential building in China, Habitat International, 41 (2014) 176-184.
[14] C. Duarte, L.P. Ettkin, M.M. Helms, M.S. Anderson, The challenge of Venezuela: a SWOT analysis, Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, 16(3/4) (2006) 233-247.
[15] A. Björnfot, Y. Sardén, Prefabrication: a lean strategy for value generation in construction, in: Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction: 25/07/2006-27/07/2006, Catholic University of Chile, School of Engineering, 2006, pp. 265-277.
[16] R.P. Bligh, N.M. Sheikh, W.L. Menges, R.R. Haug, Development of low-deflection precast concrete barrier, 2005.
[17] J. Cuadrado, E. Rojí, J.T.S. José, J.P. Reyes, Sustainability index for industrial buildings, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Structures and Buildings, 165(5) (2012) 245-253.
[18] L.Y. Shen, J. Li Hao, V.W.Y. Tam, H. Yao, A checklist for assessing sustainability performance of construction projects, Journal of civil engineering and management, 13(4) (2007) 273-281.
[19] W. Wong, Prefabricated construction in Hong Kong, Constr. Contract News, 3 (2000).
[20] S. Cook, A Field Study Investigation of the Time-Value Component of Stick- Built vs. Prefabricated Hospital Bathrooms, Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2013.
[21] H. Alwaer, D. Clements-Croome, Key performance indicators (KPIs) and priority setting in using the multi-attribute approach for assessing sustainable intelligent buildings, Building and Environment, 45(4) (2010) 799-807.
[22] E.I. Antillón, M.R. Morris, W. Gregor, A Value-Based Cost-Benefit Analysis of Prefabrication Processes in the Healthcare Sector: A Case Study, in: Kalsaas, BT, Koskela, L. & Saurin, TA, Proc. 22nd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction, Oslo, Norway, 2014, pp. 25-27.
[23] S.K. Lachimpadi, J.J. Pereira, M.R. Taha, M. Mokhtar, Construction waste minimisation comparing conventional and precast construction (Mixed System and IBS) methods in high-rise buildings: A Malaysia case study, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 68 (2012) 96-103.
[24] J.T. San José, I. Garrucho, J. Cuadrado, The first sustainable industrial building projects, in: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Municipal Engineer, Thomas Telford Ltd, 2006, pp. 147-153.
[25] M. Pulaski, The alignment of sustainability and constructability: A continuous value enhancement process, 2005.
[26] A.W. Abbood, K.M. Al-Obaidi, H. Awang, A.M.A. Rahman, Achieving energy efficiency throughindustrialized building system for residential buildings in Iraq, International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 4(1) (2015) 78-90.
[27] A. Dimoudi, C. Tompa, Energy and environmental indicators related to construction of office buildings, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 53(1) (2008) 86-95.
[28] M. Hook, L. Stehn, Connecting Lean Construction to Pre-fabrication Complexity in Swedish Volume Element Housing, in: 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference: Proceedings, International Group on Lean Construction, 2005, pp. 317.
[29] D.A.C.O.f.E. Co-operation, Development, The DAC guidelines: Strategies for sustainable development: guidance for development co-operation, OECD, 2001.
[30] A.M. Omer, Energy, environment and sustainable development, Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 12(9) (2008) 2265-2300.
[31] J.-T.S.-J. Lombera, I.G. Aprea, A system approach to the environmental analysis of industrial buildings, Building and environment, 45(3) (2010) 673-683.
[32] D. Chen, S. Heyer, G. Seliger, T. Kjellberg, Integrating sustainability within the factory planning process, CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, 61(1) (2012) 463-466.
[33] R. Richard, Five degrees of industrialized building production, New Perspective in Industrialization in Construction-a State of the Art Report, (2010) 15-27.
[34] W. Lu, H. Yuan, A framework for understanding waste management studies in construction, Waste Management, 31(6) (2011) 1252-1260.
[35] C. Poon, A.T. Yu, A. Wong, R. Yip, Quantifying the impact of construction waste charging scheme on construction waste management in Hong Kong, Journal of construction engineering and management, 139(5) (2013) 466-479.
[36] L.J. Cronbach, R.J. Shavelson, My current thoughts on coefficient alpha and successor procedures, Educational and psychological measurement, 64(3) (2004) 391-418.
[37] J.J. Vaske, Survey research and analysis: Applications in Parks, Recreation and Human, 2008.
[38] PMI, A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide), Project Management Institute, 2017.
[39] P.M. Institute, Practice standard for project risk management, Project Management Institute Newtown Square, PA, 2009.