The construction industry is a major economic sector, but it is plagued with inefficiencies and low productivity. Robotics and automated systems have the potential to address these shortcomings; ...however, the level of adoption in the construction industry is very low. This paper presents an investigation into the industry-specific factors that limit the adoption in the construction industry. A mixed research method was employed combining literature review, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Three focus groups with 28 experts and an online questionnaire were conducted. Principal component and correlation analyses were conducted to group the identified factors and find hidden correlations. The main identified challenges were grouped into four categories and ranked in order of importance: contractor-side economic factors, client-side economic factors, technical and work-culture factors, and weak business case factors. No strong correlation was found among factors. This study will help stakeholders to understand the main industry-specific factors limiting the adoption of robotics and automated systems in the construction industry. The presented findings will support stakeholders to devise mitigation strategies.
•Robotics can address low productivity in construction; but adoption is very low.•Study into industry-specific factors that limit adoption of robotics in construction.•Reliability, component and correlation analyses provide understanding of the factors.•Four categories of limiting factors were defined, ranked and explained.•Findings support stakeholders to devise mitigation strategies to address challenges.
Practical interest in ‘off-site construction’ has risen remarkably over the last decade, and with it there has been a burgeoning of academic research in the field. Complementing this research, a ...number of literature reviews have been conducted. None, however, are systematic. This study addresses this lack, offering the first bibliometric study to explore the state of off-site construction research (OCR). A quantitative approach using ‘science mapping’ techniques is employed to examine 501 top-ranked construction journal articles. Longitudinal trends in publishing are identified, as are dominant research sub-fields, their connectedness with other areas of study, as well as citation patterns, publication journal areas of focus, key research institutions, key research persons, along with the extent to which these interact with each other in research networks. The findings are instructive in identifying the deficiencies in current research. Among these is a bias towards product research over operations and management, and a sharp compartmentalization of sub-fields, with little or no cross-fertilization between researcher areas, the researchers themselves, nor the research institutions. Clearly, this awareness will inform industry, journal editors and researchers of the need for a deeper exchange of ideas in any future research efforts.
Display omitted
•501 articles from top-ranked construction journals on off-site construction are analyzed deploying scientometric techniques.•Core research areas and themes within off-site construction research are identified, visualized, and discussed.•Major scientific collaboration networks in off-site construction research are analyzed, and visualized.•Gaps in off-site construction research are identified from a quantitative, objective viewpoint, as well as from a meta-perspective.
Off-site construction has gained more attention from both academia and industry during the last few years. Modular construction is one of the most efficient off-site construction methods. In this ...method, different parts (components) of a building are designed and fabricated off the construction site in factories as one or more modules, and then they are assembled on site to form the final product. Studies have shown that the modular building technique is applicable to different types of buildings, including residential, commercial, educational, and medical. Environmental performance is one of the most significant dimensions leading to sustainability. Since buildings account for a substantial portion of environmental burdens, the main focus of this study is on the environmental performance of modular facilities over their life cycle. This article also presents a comprehensive critical literature review on the benefits and challenges of the modular construction method, compared to its conventional counterpart. It is concluded that, on average, modular buildings have been shown to provide a better life cycle performance, for example a building׳s energy performance, among others. Further life cycle research, considering all the dimensions of sustainable construction, is recommended in order to develop a robust picture of the sustainability of modular construction.
Prefabrication by off-site manufacturing leads to a reduced overall construction schedule, improved quality, and reduced resource wastage. Modular building is therefore increasingly popular and ...promoted. With the recent promotion a number of relevant studies have been completed, however, a review of the design, construction, and performance of modular buildings under different loading conditions is lacking. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of modular building structures. First, structural forms and construction materials are presented as a brief introduction to the modular structures. Modular building is shown to refer not to a single structure type, but a variety of structural systems and materials. These modular structures might perform differently to similar traditional structures and the structural performance is highly dependent on inter- and intra-module connections. The structural response of modules to different hazards is then considered, followed by the current design practice and methodology. As a currently developing area there is great potential for innovation in modular structures and several key research areas are identified for further work.
•State-of-the-art review of modular building structures.•Structural connections are the key to overall performance.•Overview of the structural response to hazards including wind, earthquake and blast.•Key research areas are identified for further work.
•A scope on supervising spatial-temporal operations of material supply, production, and inspections.•A novel Two-layer Adaptive Blockchain-based Supervision (TABS) model.•TABS improves operational ...security of the main blockchain and privacy-preserving publishing.•TABS realizes supervision processes, e.g., registration, publish-subscribe, sorting service, and consensus mechanism.•The prototype for TABS model was proven for enhancing privacy and reducing storage cost at an acceptable latency.
By manufacturing housing products off-site and assembling on-site, modular construction can significantly improve the housing supply efficiency, particularly for high-density cities. However, off-site modular housing production (OMHP) supervision is currently problematic. The production parties are reluctant to provide detailed private data; Even worse, the submitted operation records can be easily fabricated, tampered with, or hard to trace the responsibility. This study develops an innovative Two-layer Adaptive Blockchain-based Supervision (TABS) model for OMHP. The first layer includes the adaptive private sidechains of participants. The second layer is the main blockchain for communication and ‘trading’ among all participants. Benefitted from the unique adaptive two-layer structure, TABS can avoid tampering with operation records by the main blockchain and drive the participants to publish their operation records promptly without privacy leaks. A system prototype was also developed to evaluate the performance of the TABS model. The results indicated that the TABS model could enhance privacy and reduce storage costs at an acceptable latency level. The findings of this study can pave the avenue for a tamper-proof and privacy-preserving supervision mechanism in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
•Reviewed recent progress and directed future research for modular buildings.•Commonly used in UK, Sweden, Japan and USA with growing interest in Australia and China.•Prefabricated components have ...demonstrated satisfactory structural performance.•Uptake barriers are mainly related to the lack of logistical support.•Prefabricated modular buildings is the next generation of housing.
Modular construction offers faster and safer manufacturing, better predictability to completion time, superior quality, less workers on site, less resource wastage, and a more environmentally friendly solution than the conventional construction process. Despite having several advantages of modular construction, the private sector still relies heavily on the traditional on-site construction method. To understand the scientific reason behind this situation, this paper critically reviews the recent developments, performances, challenges and future opportunities of modular buildings. Modular constructions are extensively used for low-rise buildings and further attracts strong interest for multi-storey building structures. Prefabricated modules demonstrated satisfactory performance under static, dynamic impact, cyclic, seismic, blast, fire and long-term sustained loading, and offer environmental, economic and social benefits. The acceptance and application of modular construction will further spread with the development of design guidelines, more skilled workers, addressing handing and transportation difficulties, and the development of novel interlocking connections between modules. Recently, composite materials demonstrated high potential to manufacture prefabricated building modules. In Australia, it is expected that modular construction will increase from the current stage of 3% to 5–10% by year 2030.
Off-site construction (i.e., OSC) has become an emerging research domain in the recent decade. Through a three-step holistic review approach incorporating bibliometric search, scientometric analysis, ...and in-depth qualitative discussion, this study contributes to the body of knowledge in OSC by critically reviewing and summarizing: 1) the latest research keywords and main research topics in OSC; 2) the performance of OSC compared to that of conventional construction approach; 3) current research gaps in integrating OSC with other emerging construction concepts; and 4) future research directions in OSC. OSC is a domain that can be extended to cross-disciplinary research from the perspectives of engineering, management, and technology. Existing research have been focusing on many research disciplines, such as structural behaviors and joint connections of prefabricated components, scheduling and planning of off-site activities, as well as performance evaluation of OSC. However, further research is needed in integrating the emerging digital construction technology, integrated project delivery method, lean construction, and issues of sustainability of OSC. There are still limited studies linking OSC to the concept of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. Future research should also adopt a larger database and allow for comprehensive evaluation of OSC performance.
•The research adopted a three-step holistic review of off-site construction.•Journal articles in OSC from recent ten years were analyzed.•Main OSC research topics were summarized.•Main gaps in existing OSC research were identified.•Research framework in OSC was proposed.
Off‐site impacts of soil erosion are of greater social and economic concern in Western Europe than on‐site impacts. They fall into two related categories: muddy flooding of properties and ecological ...impacts on watercourses because of excessive sedimentation and associated pollutants. Critical to these impacts is the connectedness of the runoff and sediment system between agricultural fields and the river system. We argue that well‐connected systems causing off‐site damage are not necessarily related to areas of high erosion rates; emphasis should therefore be on the way in which connections occur. In temperate, arable systems, important elements of connectivity are anthropogenic in origin: roads, tracks, sunken lanes, field drains, ditches, culverts and permeable field boundaries. Mapping these features allows us to understand how they affect runoff and modify its impacts, to design appropriate mitigation measures and to better validate model predictions. Published maps (digital and paper) do not, by themselves, give sufficient information. Field mapping and observation, aided by remote sensing, are also necessary.
Background
Healthcare center‐based cell therapy laboratories (HC CTLs) evolved from solely processing hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation to manufacturing various advanced cellular ...therapies. With increasing interest in cellular therapy applications, off‐site manufactured products are becoming more common. HC CTLs play a critical role in supporting these products by shipping out cellular starting material (CSM) for further manufacturing and/or receiving, storing, and distributing final products. The experiences and challenges encountered by a single academic HC CTL in supporting these products are presented.
Methods
All off‐site manufacturing protocols supported before 2023 were reviewed. Collected data included protocol characteristics (treatment indication, product type), process logistics (shipping, receiving, storage, thawing, distribution, documentation), and product handling volumes (CSM shipping and final product infusions).
Results
Between 2012 and 2022, 15 off‐site manufactured cellular therapy early‐phase, single‐ and multicenter clinical trials were supported. Trials were sponsored by academic/research and commercial entities. The number of protocols supported annually increased each year, with few ending. Products included cancer immunotherapies and gene therapies. Autologous CSM was collected and shipped, while autologous and allogeneic final products were received, stored, thawed, and distributed. Process differences among protocols included CSM shipping conditions, laboratory analyses, final product thaw conditions and procedures, number of treatments, and documentation.
Discussion
HC CTLs must contend with several challenges in supporting off‐site manufacturing protocols. As demand for cellular therapies increases, stakeholders should collaborate from the early phases of clinical trials to streamline processes and standardize procedures to increase value, improve safety, and reduce the burden on HC CTLs.
•A novel blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM platform (BIBP).•The business process of off-site production in modular construction is reviewed for designing BIBP.•A novel three-layer system architecture of ...BIBP.•The prototype for BIBP was proven for avoiding a single point of failure in IoT networks.•The prototype for BIBP was proven for ensuring the provenance of BIM modifications.
Traditionally, construction managers were considered more experienced in project management than off-site production management, although the latter is gaining importance with the renaissance of modular construction worldwide. Various Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled Building Information Modelling (BIM) platforms have been developed to facilitate production management by providing better information visibility, traceability, and a more collaborative working environment. Nevertheless, by and large, existing platforms suffer from two shortcomings: (a) the ‘single point of failure’ problem of IoT networks and (b) how to guarantee the provenance of BIM modifications from multi-sources. This research aims to develop a blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM platform (BIBP) for off-site production management in modular construction (OPM-MC) that can overcome the shortcomings. A design science research method is adopted to develop a three-layer BIBP system architecture. The system architecture is implemented and then compared with the existing IoT-enabled BIM platform. It was found that BIBP can avoid a single point of failure in IoT networks and ensure the provenance of BIM modifications with reduced storage costs in OPM-MC. The system architecture developed in our study can help the industry advance beyond the rhetoric to develop practical blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM applications. Future works are recommended to fine-tune the platform and test and evaluate it in various scenarios.
PDF
