Farzad Pour Rahimian

Promoting Off-Site Construction: Future Challenges and Opportunities

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000081IntroductionWhile manufactured construction can be traced back to approxi-mately 1851 (Gibb 2001), in the last two decades, a resurgencehas occurred, which has now started to gain increased popularityand momentum (Arif and Egbu 2010). For example, in the UnitedKingdom (UK), the off-site construction industry grew from£2.2 billion in 2004 to £6 billion in 2006 (Goodier and Gibb2007); and the UK is not unique in the adoption of manufacturedconstruction, as different types of off-site construction techniquesare quite common worldwide.However, if off-site construction is to make a sustained positivecontribution in the marketplace, research is needed to identify thepervadingissuesthatconstraintheuptakeofthis,orconversely,canpromote this in a more reasoned and defendable way, especiallytaking into consideration the existing societal, cultural, and currentbusiness models associated with conventional thinking and prac-tice. Cognizant of this, a task group (TG74) was commissionedby the International Council for Research and Innovation in Build-ing and Construction (CIB). This group had a mandate to leadinternational research strategy to address theories relating to pro-duction and business models within the built environment disci-plines; it was also tasked with developing an off-site builtenvironment research roadmap for construction. This paperpresents preliminary findings of a TG74 workshop that focusedon identifying the core drivers, variables, and strategic prioritiesfacing the construction industry in the short to medium term.CIB Background and Task Group 74CIB is the acronym of the French (former) name ConseilInternational du Bâtiment (in English this is InternationalCouncil for Building). The name CIB was revised in 1998 toInternational Council for Research and Innovation in Buildingand Construction but the acronym CIB was retained. CIB was setupin1953 withfunding fromthe United Nations withamandatetostimulate and facilitate international cooperation and informationexchange between governmental research institutes in the buildingand construction sector. Currently, it has 500 organizations asmembers and 5,000 experts from these organizations who partici-pate in the research activities of CIB. CIB addresses issues relatedto current areas of research in the building and construction sectorwiththeformation oftaskgroupsandworking commissions.Thesetask groups and working commissions act as platforms for re-searchers and practitioners to exchange ideas. The funding of thesetask groups and working commissions is the responsibility ofmembers participating in them.Background for the WorkshopTG74 is a task group consisting of researchers, academics, andpractitioners associated with manufactured construction research,teaching, and practice. The purpose of this workshop was to de-veloptheresearchagendaforoff-siteconstruction,withaparticularemphasis on short- to medium-term (0–10 years) priorities. In thisrespect, the TG74 presented a nine-item agenda framework fordiscussion (see Table 1), the rubrics of which had been developedover the course of six months with leading domain experts andmembership participants of TG74. The individuals who led discus-sions on individual areas are listed in Table 1 below.Within the contextof off-site construction, each of the three ma-jor areas of process, technology, and peoplewere analyzed for theirimpact on design, manufacturing, and construction. The findingsfrom this workshop would help inform strategic thinking, leadingto the development of a research roadmap for off-site manufactur-ing. This paper presents the results of this workshop.Theinitialnineareasproposedfortheworkshopweredevelopedover a period of six months with academics and practitioners. Thisculminated in three online conference validation sessions hostedover the Internet. These conference sessions were used to garnerinternationalfocusandestablishcorepriorityareasforthein-personworkshop session. Individuals participating in these workshopswere located in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, and Australia.The results of this in-person workshop are presented in this paper.Specific topics identified in these nine areas through onlineworkshops were:Design technology:• Technology embedded in the product (in the factory);• Technology underpinning the business process;• E-readiness of organizations (and the supply chain):holistic implications on the business;• Building information modeling (BIM) for off-site (productand process): potential to exploit.Manufacturing technology:• Justifiable automation: how much is enough? (e.g., optimi-zation, business case, payback);• Product and process design: design for manufacture (DIM)(software and systems development, decision supportsystem, integrated product delivery, etc.);• Supply chain management: manufacturing resourceplanning (MRP) and enterprise resource planning (ERP)expensive (inflexible and somewhat limited);• Modelingandsimulation:trainingneeded(e.g.,systemsana-lysis, discreet event simulation, and modeling).

Successful education for AEC professionals: case study of applying immersive game-like virtual reality interfaces

BackgroundGlobal competition and the transdisciplinary nature of evolving Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) activities makes it progressively important to educate new AEC professionals with appropriate skill sets. These skills include the ability and capability of not only developing routine projects, but also delivering novel design solutions and construction processes (some of which may be unknown), to feasible, surprising, or potentially patentable solutions. For example, despite recent innovations in immersive visualisation technologies and tele-presence decision-support toolkits, the AEC sector as a whole has not yet fully understood these technologies, nor embraced them as an enabler.MethodsGiven this, this paper proposes a new approach for delivering education and training to address this shortcoming. This approach focuses on doing traditional (routine) work with creative thinking in order to address these challenges. This rationale is based on the principles of Successful Education as a new paradigm for engineering education, which is inspired by the Theory of Successful Intelligence, by the Medici Effect and Leonardo da Vinci’s Seven Principles. The paper presents the educating AEC professionals is presented the AEC sector. The Theory of Successful Intelligence and its three forms of intelligence (Practical, Analytical, and Creative), are supported by lessons learned from the Renaissance, including the Medici Effect and da Vinci’s Seven Principles.ResultsBased on these theoretical pillars, a new approach to educating AEC professionals is presented with a proof-of-concept prototype that uses a game-like virtual reality (VR) visualisation interface supported by Mind Mapping is introduced as an exemplar.ConclusionThe developed interface in this study applies Game Theory to non-collocated design teams in accordance with Social Sciences Theory (social rules) and Behavioural Science Theory (decision making). It contributes by supporting new insights into AEC actor involvement, pedagogy, organisational behaviour, and the social constructs that support decision making.

Virtual generative BIM workspace for maximising AEC conceptual design innovation: a paradigm of future opportunities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find optimal solutions for conceptual design automation, which can be integrated with Building Information Modelling (BIM) support for construction automation. Problems relating ostensibly to failures in computational support for the conceptual design stage are well-documented in extant literature. These failures are multifarious and significant, with several deficiencies being acknowledged in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Whilst acknowledging this, extant literature has highlighted the importance of computational design in the AEC industry; and failures in this area include the need to strengthen the congruent links and support mechanisms in order to exploit the opportunities presented by new computational design methods. Given this, it is postulated that the application of generative design could enhance the design experience by assisting designers with the iterative generation of alternatives and parameterisation (change manage...

Perceptions and Reality: Revealing the BIM Gap Between the UK and Turkey

The complex nature of the construction process needs an intensive control and management mechanism in order to manage and process information flow. Current deficiencies in managing construction related information have been highlighted by a range of industry reports, the consensus of which has reinforced the lack of performance in the construction industry. Given this, recent research on the role of Building Information Modelling BIM has been proffered as a potential solution for covering these deficiencies, along with improving competitive advantage. Although limited research has concentrated on measuring BIM awareness and use, findings have been somewhat parochial and non-specific. This paper addresses this gap by concentrating on two markets: Turkey and the UK. The aim of the paper is to determine the BIM gap in terms of awareness and use, in order to form a basis for the development of future adoption strategies. A web-based questionnaire was used mirror the National Building Specification NBS survey previously undertaken in order to capture data from a new context Turkey. The descriptive analyses of the findings and a comparison of the two countries are presented. The findings identify significant differences in BIM awareness the influence of which could provide insight for both mature and emerging markets.