Preview

construction science prefabrication

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
665 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
construction science prefabrication
October 18, 2013

Prefabrication doesn’t mean Old School

Modular construction has been around since the early 1900’s in the form of prefabrication but the way it is used has changed. Modular construction uses many trades to build a portion of the entire construct off site, such as complete walls with insulation, sheet rock and electrical compared to the traditional prefabrication that utilized only one trade. Due to the repetitive nature in commercial buildings, these are the most desired for this form of construction. Based on a survey of contractors in Contractors Magazine concerning modular construction 77% reported a decrease in waste, 65% reported a decrease in the project budget, and 66% reported a decrease on project time schedules. There are also benefits to modular construction concerned with the speed of the production for these units at the factory where they are made. The units are made almost at the level of a production line and unlike out in the field the workers can build the units at a comfortable level along with enjoying a controlled environment. The factory style of building these units allows for employees to enjoy less stress on their bodies, minds, and personal vehicles which allows the employee to have a longer career. The benefits for the client include enjoying dictation of scheduling, a safer environment at the job site with less debris, and higher quality product.
What are the problems with this form of construction which have led to it not being more widely used? The main problem with modular construction is the perception that these prefab units are only temporary and not structurally sound. We-as contractors-need to learn about new processes like modular construction, implement them, and then inform others in our fields on the advantages and ways of implementation. We can learn a lot from the European and British construction industries since they have been using this process much longer and have been enjoying greater



Cited: Jackson, Sheryl. "It 's not your grandparents ' mail-order home." Constructor Magazine. March 2013: 27-34. Print. Kaye, Leon. "Modular building could lead the way in China 's commercial construction." the guardian. 26 Jul. 2012: n. page. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. . Ribenstein, Dana. "New York moves into a modular construction phase." capital New York. 05 Aug. 2013: n. page. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The two main nano-sized particles that may be applied to construction materials in the future are titanium dioxide (TiO2) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (Smith, 2012)…

    • 2077 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hnc Forms of Construction

    • 3301 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Methodology 3.0 Inception 4.0 Feasibility 4.1 Overview of stage 4.2 Assessing the feasibility 4.3 Site investigation 4.4 Effects on design 5.0 Then brief 5.1 Overview of stage 5.2 What the brief should cover 5.3 What the brief should include 5.4 Consultants at this stage 6.0 The concept/outline proposals 6.1 Overview of stage 6.2 Requirements to proceed with concept design 6.3 Developing the brief into concept design 6.4 Planning permission 6.5 Building regulations approval 6.6 Achieved at this point 7.0 The design development 7.1 Overview of stage 7.2 Developing the design 7.3 Finalisation of design 7.4 Planning proposal 7.5 Building regulations 7.6 Sampling and testing 7.7 Health and Safety 7.8 Achieved at this stage 8.0 Technical design 8.1 Overview of stage 8.2 Implications on design 9.0 Production phase 9.1 Overview of stage 9.2 Design implications 10 Other construction projects…

    • 3301 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    economics 365

    • 2287 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The construction industry has been a result of a lot of change in the past few years. The construction industry consists of small business to the very large corporation. A small business in the construction industry can be considered a simple handyman business. A large business in the construction industry can be considered a new commercial builder. With the limited barrier of entry the construction industry has been threaten by new companies entering the market. New companies entering the marking have posed a threat in which causing the existing construction companies to have a strategic plan to prevent from closing their doors. With a strategic plan in place the existing construction companies will have the tools needed to compete with newer companies entering the market.…

    • 2287 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    low cost housing

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Buildings Prefabricated house is widely used as the temporary buildings in field for road, railway, construction projects, used for workers' accommodation in building site construction accommodations, oil field camps, labor camps, it can used for dormitory, labor camp, office, canteen and so on, it can be reused in lots of projects, which is very economical.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    However, in this method, the client may not get high quality construction and the facilities as per his expectation. Also, if the client requires variations from the original design during construction, it could become somewhat expensive and can potentially affect the scheduled completion date.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Levittown - Essay

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Levitt and Sons designed a small house on one floor and an unfinished "expansion attic" that could be rapidly constructed and as rapidly rented out to returning GIs and their young families. Levitt and Sons built the community with an eye towards speed, efficiency, and cost-effective construction. Modern suburbs are different from this original version by being built with pedestrian-friendly streets cradling a mass-transit-served town center surrounded by a mix of housing alternatives.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Construction Congress, Walsh, K. D., American Society of Civil Engineers., M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction., & International Council for Building Research, Studies and Documentation. (2000). Construction Congress VI: Building together for a better tomorrow in an increasingly complex world : proceedings of the congress : February 20-22, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Reston, Va: The Society.…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Horizon North Case

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page

    Horizon North is a publically listed corporation (TSX: HNL.TO) providing a full range of industrial, commercial, and residential service offerings. Industrially we supply workforce accommodations, including camp management and catering services, as well as access matting, soil stabilization services, remote power and energy generation systems, and relocatable modular structures. Horizon North’s Permanent Modular division integrates modern design concepts and technology, with state of the art, off-site manufacturing processes to produce high quality, modularly constructed building solutions for commercial and residential structures. Commercially we manufacturer a varied range of desirable office, hotel, and retail buildings. Residentially…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Discussions during the last few years (e.g. Egan 1998; Finch 2000; Spencer and Winch 2002; Saxon 2005) have shown that integrating design and construction potentially delivers better value for money as well as…

    • 4891 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the last few decades, the quest for continuous improvement and innovation has led to the discovery of new approaches to best practice by different players in the construction industry in the United Kingdom. These efforts have been initiated with the view to increase understanding of the needs of key business areas as well as increase client, users and stakeholders ' value. In this regard experts in the field of construction have proposed "rethinking of construction" (Egan 1998) by strategically rethinking operational stages in order to decrease cost and improve performance. One of these strategic operational stages, called the briefing process has perked the interests of the researcher in the course of producing a report on value management. During a research of a case study on ABC, the researcher has observed that without a clearly defined and articulated brief, the concept of "client value" can alter with each individual 's perception. Such alterations can have a deep impact on the quality and the performance of construction projects.…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This report has been produced for Master Builders Australia Ltd (MBA) according to their terms of…

    • 19304 Words
    • 78 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Arbitration - Paper

    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In arbitration an independent third party considers both sides in a dispute, and makes a decision to resolve it. The arbitrator is impartial; this means he or she does not take sides. In most cases the arbitrator 's decision is legally binding on both sides, so it is not possible to go to court if you are unhappy with the decision.…

    • 1939 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This allowed a couple of sorry sub-primers like us to obey the realtor’s credo--Worst House, Best Neighborhood—and weasel our way into a top-flight school district. The house itself—a suburban ranchburger of dun-colored brick with trim the color of old coffee—was almost beside the point. Two distinguishing features barely saved her low-slung anonymity from total invisibility: She had been built by a Melville scholar in 1960 who’d equipped Ranchburger with nearly 150 linear feet of built-in bookshelves. And she was in our price range. I.e. insanely cheap. This helped us ignore the gold-flecked Formica counters, ancient Venetian blinds, and Sputnik-inspired light…

    • 1091 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pre-Fab & MMC

    • 1133 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Some of the larger benefits of modular construction are advantages of cost and environmentally less sensitive. As the speed on construction is much greater and the quality control is higher than traditional it presents lots of…

    • 1133 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sri Lankan construction industry is growing at a significant rate after end of the war and with government aid. Scarcity of the raw material, high lead time, and increase in labor cost are few challenges faced by present construction industry. At the same time there is a change in style and perception of constructions in Sri Lanka and more and more people are looking for alternative and cost effective construction technique and material.…

    • 6786 Words
    • 28 Pages
    Powerful Essays