Research Paper on Prefabrication

Ankit SinghaiUIN: 668929303

Prefabrication

A construction industry term used to describe a building or structural components that are manufactured in industrialized/factory conditions and then transported to construction sites to be assembled into a building, and civil engineering works

Offsite locations can be considered as equivalent to an industrialized manufacturing facility, where things are built in controlled plant conditions

Construction is done as per the same design, codes and specifications, and using the same materials as in the traditional onsite construction approach

Offsite fabricated buildings or components are then transported to the construction site and then erected in place using cranes

History

Prefabrication or Modular construction may sound like a new term to many, but this practice of construction has been used for a long time

Rome in AD-43 the Romans used prefabricated building elements to build their forts

quickly and efficiently the Britishers also transported simple prefabricated houses by ships

to their new settlements in the colonies to provide comfortable European Style living to its officers in these colonies

History

Prefabrication method also helped address British and European housing shortages during Post World War I era

Again during the Post Second World War era, prefabrication came to rescue, as it alleviated the shortage of skilled labor in the midst of the population outburst due to the baby boom

The Eiffel Tower

Among most iconic structures in the world, The Eiffel Tower was also a result of utilizing the method of prefabrication in the convention construction environment

Measured 984 feet or 300 m in height and was the tallest building in the world for about 40 years

Consists of prefabricated iron parts that were mass produced at an offsite location

These parts were then taken to the site and assembled to build a structure

The labor force required for its construction was also very less, as it required only 300 workers to construct it

History of Prefabricated Construction in the USA the Britishers shipped prefabricated houses to its colonies in 1600’s During the gold rush in California, prefabricated readymade homes

were transported to San Francisco from all around the world to provide cheap housing solution

Many companies offered high quality, precut and prefabricated houses in various customizable sizes, styles and design a trend of “House by Mail” that was pioneered by Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold more than 100,000 units of these houses during 1908-1940

Effect of Technology

The advancements in the field of computer and digital technology have helped in the industry in both the manufacturing as well as the design process

The words like CAD, CAM, CNC, and BIM, have become common words in the vocabulary of architects, engineers, contractors and manufacturers They help in making a realistic model of the finished product in a digital

format Digital representation can be changed, tweaked and modified on a

computer screen without the need of any physical material required

Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Software has helped the architects and engineers to see their project clearly in a 3D Model just like if it was constructed on site

Understand the various challenges they might face during the actual construction and find solutions for the same

BIM 3D models play a very vital role when the building components are produced in a factory setting allows the production team in the factory to see any individual building

component from a whole building model Prefabrication is now a day viewed as the future of the construction

industry

Why Prefabrication

Sporadic demand for prefabricated buildings and facilities throughout the history during British Colonization, World War, and Post World War era

Demand for rapid development in the residential as well as the commercial field that needed faster construction techniques

Natural disasters like earthquake and cyclones etc. occur, they cause huge damage to civil property and buildings Prefabrication helps rapid construction of building and facilities to restore

the affected areas The labor cost has reached all-time high levels in the recent times

Why Prefabrication

There has been a shortage of skilled labor workforce necessitates creating workspaces that guarantee stable jobs for the skilled

labors The health and safety concerns for the construction workers

led to making changes in the construction procedures on the field Shift towards promoting greener and sustainable construction

practices require changing how things are done in the construction industry today

Prefabrication – Present and Future Prefabrication is on the agendas of the government and commercial

sectors in various countries across the world A major consideration is given by Europe, Canada, United States, New

Zealand and Australia Prefabrication is considered as an important way of improving quality,

safety, sustainability and value within the slow changing construction industry

The scale and demand for prefabrication is increasing day by day as it offers various merits over the traditional construction practices

Factory setting offers better quality control, more efficient site processes, more environmentally friendly manufacturing, and an overall reduction in the project cost

Prefabrication – Present and Future Prefabrication has allowed the construction of buildings and facilities

with cost savings and timeframes that were earlier not achievable Building Information Modelling (BIM), modern high-quality materials,

and advanced manufacturing facilities offer substantial enhancement in the productivity on projects that was not

possible earlier Committee of experts selected by National Research Council

prefabrication/ modularization will play a central role in improving the efficiency, affordability and competitiveness of the U.S. construction industry in near future

U.S. construction market facing acute shortage of onsite skilled labors, the stakeholders are trying to be greener and more sustainable

a majority of them understand that this is the right time for extensive implementation of offsite prefabrication and modularization

solutions on a major scale in the construction industry

Hindrances in Applications

Higher initial construction cost and time as many of the companies have to start from scratch Most of this investment will go on in hiring professionals adept in this field

and investing in software like BIM Inflexibility in changes Lack of background information and lack of experience Lack of demand for prefabricated structures

many of them are hesitant to employ prefabrication as a potential solution as they are uncertain of its success

Transportation issues

Role of different people

Owners should consider using prefabrication and modularization process in their

projects Owner demand is the primary factor for architects and engineers to

include prefabrication in their project designs Architects : Architects are often the first people to meet a client on a

new project they have the greatest influence during the design phase of the project in

determining whether prefabrication will be used or not should understand and also educate their clients about the benefits of

prefabrication incorporate prefabrication his designs from day one

Role of different people Engineers : responsible for the structural integrity and efficiency of

the buildings in design and construction phases Engineers must evaluate the quality and availability of the prefabricated

products and be the catalyst in promoting its use on the projects General contractors and Construction Managers

people responsible for bidding and constructing the projects they must include the efficiency, green and sustainability factors offered

by prefabrication in their planning and bidding processes Manufacturers and Specialty Contractors

If there are enough manufacturers and specialty contractors who are adept at making prefabrication components, then it will make the task of architects, engineers and contractors easy

the realization of the full potential of prefabrication depends on the efficacy of manufacturer and specialty contractors who must be encouraged to invest in this field

Case Study: Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently incorporated

permanent modular construction (PMC) and onsite construction construction project in Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex it the world’s largest military medical training facility

PMC offered an effective solution to speed up the construction of the project without compromising the quality, safety, and durability of the building PMC helped realize the Army’s requirements and made it a LEED certified

building

Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex in San Antonio, Texas

Erection of PMC Module

Case Study: Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex Three types of construction techniques were used in the design

First was to include factory built dormitory modules that utilized a wooden shear wall design that helped in resisting the lateral loads coming on the structure

Second method employed was the steel frame construction in the office areas that uses brace frame type of steel column and beam construction giving the building an additional advantage in resisting lateral loads

The braces are inserted in office walls The third approach was to utilize moment frame construction in their

design that uses rigid-welded connections at the intersection of a column and beam to resist lateral loads

This provides the ability to create large open spaces for rooms without columns This technique was useful in building conference rooms and briefing areas

Case Study: The Stack Rental Apartments The Stack is a multifamily housing project in located in Inwood,

Manhattan first modular building in Manhattan seven-story building with 28 units constructed on a relatively small site measuring 50’ x 100’ total area of 38000 sqft out of that 26000sqft is the residential area building is designed to express that it is built using prefabrication and

modularization Each of the 3D box structure or modules was built at a factory facility

in Pennsylvania shipped on site with the help of trailers and erected with the help of cranes

Each module was almost completely built in the factory all the plumbing, electrical, and other fixtures installed in the monitored

space of the factory The modular construction also gave the distinct advantage of

creating the unique façade of the building The façade of the building consists of projections protruding out of the

building that will not have been possible with such ease if traditional construction practices were used in for building it

The excavation, foundation and first-floor slab construction of the building were done in the tradition way It took around three months to complete onsite process During this three month period, the construction of all the 28 modules of

the building was finished in the offsite prefabrication yard in Pennsylvania

Strategy to fill empty blocks

Prefabrication facility in Pennsylvania

The Stack in Inwood, Manhattan

Conclusion

Prefabrication has a huge potential in constriction industry improving economy improving sustainability reducing the construction schedule Tackle problems and provide solution to

lack of skilled labor high cost of labor unsteady jobs