International Surveying Research Journal (ISrJ)
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 1, 2012, 45-58

ARTICLE

Comparative Study on Prefabrication Construction Process
M.N.A. Azman1, M.S.S. Ahamad2 and W.M.A. Wan Hussin3
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School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

1 2 3

syurga7181@yahoo.com cesanusi@eng.usm.my cewan@eng.usm.my

ABSTRACT
The traditional methods of construction industry have made the appropriate initiative to make a paradigm shift in the prefabrication construction in order to achieve a higher standard and to adapt to the global business trend. This review paper present the challenges faced by the construction industry to integrate the prefabrication construction with the existing traditional method and to make the comparative study among the three countries; United Kingdom, Australia and Malaysia. Malaysia applied industrialised building system (IBS) which is defined as a construction system where components are manufactured at factories on or offsite, transported, and then assembled into a structure with minimum work. IBS involves prefabrication and installation of components at the construction site. While, modern method of construction (MMC) is the term used by the United Kingdom government to describe a number of innovations in house building. However, offsite manufacturing (OSM) is the term used for Australian and UK construction industries. This research studies the pattern of MMC, OSM and IBS to identify the pattern research scholars in the three countries and precast concrete system become popular system. Conversely, to highlight the important role of the government and researcher in educating the construction industry players and to transform the construction industry into a modern and efficient industry Keywords: Industrialized Building System (IBS), Modern Method of Construction (MMC), Off-site Manufacturing (OSM), IBS components, pattern of off-site

1.0 INTRODUCTION The building sector has yet to undergo a complete phase of industrialization. Yet, if a car was produced the way a building is delivered, very few people would be able to own one; if a computer was produced the way a building is delivered, it would cost a fortune (Richard, 2005). This demand can be met by means of the advanced technology used in the Industrialized Building System (IBS) or prefabrication system. Malaysia possesses the “hardware elements” of the industrialized building systems technology with only a little concern on the structure, but still lacks the “software elements” regarding availability of data and information on the system, users, clients, manufacturers and assembly layout and process, as well as allocation or resources and material (Badir et al., 2002). Most of the construction industries have the resources but still lack on the constructability concepts and the advanced technology that can enhance the speed of construction, improve the quality of the structure and be able to protect the environment. However, the concept of constructability started in the late 1960s to integrate the optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in the conceptual planning, detail engineering, procurement, and conduct field operations in phases to achieve the overall
ISSN 2232-1309 © 2012 Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia

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M.N.A. AZMAN, M.S.S. AHAMAD, W.M.A. WAN HUSSIN

project objectives; and ease of construction (CII, 1986). The constructability concept has been extensively developed and applied in UK, Australia and Malaysia where numerous studies have proved that constructability concept manage to save cost and time in the process of completion of the projects (Nima et al., 2001, Trigunarsyah, 2004, Wong et al., 2007). The construction industry has currently been transformed into a mass production to develop standardisation of products in line with the global market. The Malaysian government is aware of the importance of developing a capable