IMPLEMENTING BUILT ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH FINDINGS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES -THE CASE OF EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

THE EVALUATION OF IMPLEMENTING INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING SYSTEM FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA

Zulkefle bin Ismail Kulliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design,

International Islamic University Malaysia Malaysia

E-mail: zzulkefle@vahoo.fr

Asiah Abdul Rahim Kulliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design,

International Islamic University Malaysia Malaysia

E-mail: ar-asiah@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The main objectives of this paper are to investigate the significant factors of the implementation of Industrialized Building System (IBS), and the relationship between quality, cost and productivity. The preliminary idea to this research come from the national aspiration of Vision 2020 that is to transform and industrialized the Malaysian construction industry. A system architecture, which takes advantage of new technology, could change the entire construction industry. Most of housing industry in developing countries did not take tlre advantage of advancement in manufacturing industry especially the implementation of IBS. Factory- manufactured components are easy to assembled on-site, use less labour, faster to construct and if has a high quality which will add value to tlre houses. The methodology used in this study are questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and observation. They are used to identify the status of implementation of IBS in Malaysia. The findings identified that architects and engineers tend to reject the implementation of ZBS in Malaysia. The needs to cut cost and improvement in quality ofprefabricated components willgive a greater drive to its usage in construction sites and achieved customer's satisfaction. The implementation of IBS could help to reduce construction time and site labour. It will also relieve the labour crisis, improved quality while keeping cost reasonable. Further development in prefabrication will also leads to closer integration between building services and manufacturing engineering without compromising the users preference. As a conclusion, to achieve the customer's needs and satisfnction, design guidelines need to be developing as a standard for construction practice in order to enhance the usage of IBS in Malaysia. The Malaysia government should play a greater role in exposing and encouraging the construction industry and the public to the n& generation of prefabricated components design and technology.

Keywords: Implementation, Industrialization, Industrialized Building System (IBS), Prefabricated Components, Prefabrication.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Over several decades, building production has been gradually developing towards industrialization. According to Thomas, D. (2005) in some developed countries, prefabricated components is becoming more and more popular. The need to be competitive in the emerging global economy is a hot topic in Malaysia today. Industrialization such as the prefabrication of high-rise residential building compon&ts, is critical to competitiveness. This paper will identify the possibility of Industrialized Building System (IBS) to be a solution for the quality and efficiency of architectural system in the construction industry.

2.0 FABRICATING ARCHITECTURE

The fabrication is carried out in a factory where a controlled environment makes the process of joining more efficient and with higher precision. The term 'fabricate' means to provide materials with specified properties including dimension, density, shape, conductivity, etc. according to a manufacturing process (Ballard and Arbulu, 2004).

In practice, 'prefabrication' means the manufacture of component parts of a building and its s e ~ c e s prior to their assembly on site (Wilson et al., 1998). The logic of prefabricated housings had been fully formulated by the end of the 1940s in the United Kingdom ( G l e n d i g and Muthesius, 1994), France (Sebestyen, 1998) and the United States of America (Abel, 2004). According to Hui and Or (2005) prefabricated techniques can be used in a wide range of application during the construction process, ffom the simple prefabricated site hut, up to volumetric ' units that are designed for integration into the building structure.

In fact, production of building components offsite is not a novel concept. The so-called 'off- site manufacture (OSM)' refers to the making al l or part of an object in some places other than its final position (Cooper, 2004). When applied to building construction, it includes fabrication and pre-assembly (Make = Fabricate + Assemble). By definition, 'pre-assembly' means the manufacture and assembly of a complex unit comprising several components prior to the unit's installation onsite (Wilson et al., 1998; and Gibb and Isack, 2003). The off-site approach dramatically reduces the needs for on-site work and can help to reduce site installation time and on- site costs.

3.0 INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING SYSTEM IN MALAYSIA

IBS consist of Modular Coordination (MC) together with mechanization, mass production and open building. According to Chong and Chan (2004), the wider adoption of IBS in Malaysia had been hampered by the slow development of building component fabrication industry that adopts Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) methods. Sarja (1998) added that setback of the system is because of its unsuitability to the wet tropical climate in Malaysia. However, Waled et al. (1997) claimed that this system may increase housing productivity in Malaysia.

In the Budget 2006, the Prime Minister did mention that the government encourages the use of IBS in order to achieve the objective of reducing dependency on unskilled labour as well as foreign workers (CIDB, 2005). Prime Minister also mentioned that the Government will ensure that the IBS components meet the Malaysia Standard MS 1064. It provides guideline to the dimensions, coordinating sizes and preferred sizes for various building components, dimension of elements, components and spaces in planning and design of building.

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3.1 Definition of Industrialized Building System (IBS)

When the term IBS is mentioned, the tendency of both professionals and public is to associate its application with advance technical method. In the academic view, Trikha and Abang Abdullah (2004:l) claimed that IBS "involves industrialized production of building components as well as erection and assembly of these elements into a desire building structure through mechanical means using as little in-situ construction as possible."

In client's perspective, Ahmad Fikri (2005) claims that IBS is "a method of construction, which incorporates both prefabrication and pre-assembly." -CIDB (2001) defined IBS as "construction systems in which components are manufactured in a factory, on or off-site, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal additional site works".

For a contractor, Ogden (2005) claims that IBS is "the production of assemblies of components or the whole building sections away from the place of installation." In other words, doing things off-site that traditionally would be done on site.

3.2 Classification of Industrialized Building System UBS)

Yuosre et al. (2002) classified Industrialized IBS into three (3) categories, i.e. cast-in-situ, composite method, and fully prefabricated.

According to Badu and Razali (1998), partially industrialized composite method is derived from the composite nature of full industrialization and conventional construction method. They added, the fully prefabricated construction method could be classified into two (2) main categories, i.e on-site prefabrication and off-site prefabrication (factory produced). Yuosre et al. (2002) stated that, casting precast element at or near the construction site proved to be more economical compared to off-site fabrication. However, good quality product is easily attainable in the factory besides reduction of material wastage.

Warszawski (1999), Yuosre et al. (2002), and Trikha and Abang Abdullah (2004) categorized the common basic structural forms of IBS into three (3) categories, i.e. skeletal frame system, load bearing wall system, and volumetric system. However, CIDB (2003) has classified IBS into three (3) types. They are formwork (i.e. steel formwork), framing (i.e. steel, prefabricated timber and precast framing), and blockwork.

4.0 METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH

The methodology used in this study included questionnaire survey, semi-structured interviews and observation. In addition T-test analysis is used to test the first expected output of the influence and the interests to the local construction industry players' base on the successive of prefabrication in Europe and Singapore. The questionnaires are distributed to construction industry players including architects and engineers in Malaysia and Singapore, and the semi-structured interviews are carried out to builders and developers in both countries. Observation is done through site visits on IBS especially on its components, the physical aspects of installation, replacement of spare parts and the flexibility of design and its modification.

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5.0 THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING SYSTEM

The survey shows the positive opinion of all the barriers listed in the questionnaire for engineers compared to architects in Malaysia, and vice versa in Singapore. The survey shows the percentage of architects and engineers for the cost of prefabricated components is below than 50% for Malaysia. It means that there are fewer barriers in implementing IBS in Malaysia compared to Singapore. Thus, cost has a good match with the implementation of IBS in Malaysia. The result also implies that there are more barriers in implementing IBS among engineers compared to architects in Malaysia

However, the result of t-test shows the positive opinion of all listed barriers in questionnaire from architect compare to engineer. However, present planning system and cost of prefabricated components were not the barriers for engineer. The value of mean for the cost of prefabricated components is more than median. Thus, the architect in Malaysia accepted that the cost has a good match with the implementation of IBS in Malaysia The result also implies that there are more barriers in implementing IBS among architects compare to engineers in Malaysia.

Engineer and architect in Singapore identified five (5) of ten (10) advantages that listed in questionnaire. Its advantages were greater predictability of time and cost, simpler construction process, lower whole-life cost, less disruption, and improved health and safety. However, architect believed that reduced environmental impact was also the advantage of using IBS in Singapore. As well as Malaysia, most of architect in Singapore believed that lower whole-life cost was the main advantages of using IBS in their country.

Architect and engineer in Singapore identified three (3) of five (5) barriers listed in questionnaire. The mean values of engineer for all listed barriers of implementing IBS in questionnaire were higher than architect. The barriers are present planning system, construction process and area of construction. Engineer identified the highest mean (1.89) for planning system and area of construction. There are fewer barriers in terms of cost of prefabricated components and resistance from the public in implementing IBS in Singapore.

Architect and engineer identified government policy, warranty and IS0 certification as the main factors for further implementation of IBS in Singapore. Engineer was absolutely agreed on warranty and IS0 certification compare to architect by the mean value of 2.00 and 1.92, respectively. However, more architect believed on government policy compare to engineer by the mean value of 1.83 and 1.78, respectively. As well as Malaysia, price consideration was not a significant factor for further implementation of IBS in Singapore.

Survey shows the significant difference of opinion between architect and engineer for reduced environmental impact. Architect who believed that it was the advantage of using IBS identified the higher value of mean. The summary of the survey was shows in Table 1.

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Table 1: The Pull and Push Factor of Implementing IBS in Malaysia and Singapore.

The Barriers

The Barriers

* On a t-point scale

t-test for equality of Mean

In term of functional requirement, most respondents from both countries believed that the usage of IBS will play a role now but not really believed that it usage will increase over the next three years. In term of physical form, most respondents in both countries are strongly agree with 631 1 P a g e

the integrated of new component and innovation of materials. However, Malaysia shows the value of mean higher than Singapore.

In terms of customers' satisfaction, most of respondents in both countries are fair to implement IBS in their country. They also fair in the opinion that prefabricated components enables to provide higher levels of customer satisfaction. As well as Malaysia, respondents from Singapore agreed that the transition of technology from handcraft to machine-craft for IBS would be increase in their construction industry. However, Malaysia shows lesser than Singapore on this. Malaysian users are very demanding the variation, quality enhancement and choices of prefabricated components compare to Singapore. They believed that a standard design guideline of IBS would enhance the quality of building's installation. The summary of the result for Malaysia is shows in Table 2.

Table 2: The Summary of Statistical Analyses of Customer Satisfaction, Functional Requirements, and Physical Form for Respondents in Malaysia.

CUSTOMERS' SATISFACTION

Table 2 above shows the perception of construction industry players in Malaysia As a summary, in terms of functional requirement, the only one (1) of three (3) perceptions of Malaysian cowhuction industry player has lesser mean compare to Singapore. They claimed that the usage of IBS would not increase over the next three (3) years in Malaysia because of the transition of technology fiom handcraft to machine-craft for IBS is still in preliminary stage.

Architectural design is define as customers' satisfaction, functional requirement and physical form. Table 2 shows that 7 of 9 perceptions for Malaysian construction industry player were obtain higher mean. It meaning that the architectural design confirmed has a significant relationship with the implementation of IBS. Hence, it has a good match to the implementation of IBS in Malaysia.

6.0 PERSONAL. OPINION OF INDUSTRIALIZED BULT,DIh'G SYSTEM

Four (4) open-ended questions about the implementation of IBS were analysed. The descriptive answers were classified into three (3) which are the highest is 3 (very supportive), the lowest is 1 (less supportive), and the median is 2.00 (supportive). Table 3 shows all mean values are more than median (2.00), meaning that most of respondents in Malaysia and Singapore gave positive opinion for all questions in this section. Out of four (4) questions, two (2) are more positive i.e. regarding the internal factors of cost and the quality of prefabricated components. This implies that respondents from Malaysia demand more on lower cost but higher quality of prefabricated components, However, respondents from Singapore are more aware that the external factors and greater role of Local Authority Building Control Departments are important in implementation of IBS in their country.

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Table 3: Personal Opinion of IBS for Malaysia and Singapore

6.1 The Problems of IBS

Questions The problem of IBS The cost of IBS The quality of IBS

Most of the respondents kom Malaysia said there is no problem regarding the functional and physical aspects as well as the installation of prefabricated components. However, respondents kom Singapore do not agree. They claimed that leakage, ineffective joint and structural reliability remain the greatest worry for consumers. Singapore engineers claimed that the problem is a floor level, flexibility of use, and maintenance. Architects in Singapore think that IBS might not last as expected as compare to the conventional one.

However, according to the contractors fiom Malaysia some of the building comer were not properly done and inaccurate or differ from the size of prefabricated components. This is due to the different tradelmanpower who executed different type of works and it may affect the installation process. Architects from Singapore suggest that the installation process needs to tie in very closely with the building work. However, engineers claimed that the problem encountered is more of the management. It seems that the site workers use the toilet and damaged the accessories inside. Contractor claimed that prefabricated components is difficult to repair and less flexible in terms of modification. Another problem encountered during the installation is hoisting problems that may result in some of the parts being damaged.

Engineers from Malaysia also commented on the aesthetic of prefabricated components which they felt the finishes looks cheap, plastic like and rigid. However, different brands of prefabricated components have different service requirements and specifications in terns of the choice of designs. It is also difficult to renovate, less flexibility and limited variety of choices. Since the modular coordination is rarely available, an architect claimed that IBS is not suitable for housing in Malaysia

6.2 Cost of Prefabricated Components

The cost of prefabricated components is control by the manufacturer so the contractor has f i c u l t y to estimate the cost during construction. In this study, cost was identified as the indicator for implementation of IBS. Most of the Malaysian architects interviewed claimed that price is very important in their consideration for the usage of IBS.

However, an engineer claims that the price is reasonable and attractive enough to stimulate demand from customers. It is supported by a contractor who claimed that price is not important, what is more important is the quality. Another engineer agreed with the architects because cost is always be a major factor in selecting material. Material should be cheap but good quality.

Malaysia (N=56)

6.3 Quality of Prefabricated Components

Mean 2.50 2.61 2.52

Singapore (N=23)

Quality is the most important factor in the implementation of IBS in Malaysia and Singapore. Since the quality has not a good fit with the implementation of IBS in Malaysia, there is need for IS0 certification to enhance the implementation of IBS in Malaysia.

Most of respondents claimed that warranty and IS0 certification is very important for IBS. Architects said that it is very important to convince the clients or developers as well as the public to

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Mean 2.76 2.18 2.48

SD 0.562 0.733 0.602

be confident with the IBS especially on waterproofing and leakages. The architects wanted a minimum of five (5) years warranty to ascertain the performance in terms of life and durability before they recommend it to the clients. The prefabricated components should comply with IS0 certification to ensure that it has the optimum quality and follow the design guidelines.

7.0 EVALUATION

The research identified that the way to develop IBS is related to design, products (quality and cost), technologies (construction) and services (maintenance) for buildings. The study reveals that advantages of using IBS and barriers in implementing IBS should be considered in order to attain a great design of prefabricated components. The innovation of prefabricated components design and production allow it to be easily assembled on site. It involved extensive use of standardization and modularization. This approach represents a major change in the way components have traditionally been specified and designed. To achieve the real benefit ftom prefabricated components, prefabrication must form a fundamental part of the integrated and coordinated design strategy for a building.

Cost remains the main factor to sustain customer's satisfaction in order to achieve the successll implementation of IBS in Malaysia. Cost has a significant relationship with quality, besides the sales volume and the design of prefabricated components. Upgrading the quality of current prefabricated components as well as reducing its cost should enhance the customers' satisfaction on IBS. More demand of prefabricated components ought to be created in order to reduce cost. The high demand for prefabricated components will also reduce the amount of works to be done on site thus reducing the number of labour in construction site. Fewer works on site will also reduced the errors made by human thus resulting a higher quality of work and low wastage during construction.

The cost of IBS has a significant relationship with quality as well as the usage of materials. Currently the market is producing new materials which are good and economically feasible and this will lead to better quality of prefabricated components. It is believed that further development of IBS will lead to a closer integration between construction industry and manufacturing engineering.

Installation of IBS requires a highly trained and skilled worker because the product is special. Reducing the cost of installation of prefabricated components on site remains the significant factor that should be considered in order to achieve customer's satisfaction. Thus, it is necessary for prefabricated components to be easily installed at a reasonable cost. Well-planned site project schedule and prefabrication at the factory will help to reduce construction time and on-site costs. By adopting off-site manufacture and pre-assembly, it is possible to reduce the labour crisis, improving product quality and keeping the cost reasonable. On the other hand, it will reduce the environmental impact and enhanced site safety.

Malaysia Government should play an important role to promote the next generation IBS design and technology to the construction industry and the public. Planning and building regulation should be revised to suit the new technology of prefabrication in construction industry. The building control department of the local authority in Malaysia should support the use of IBS. The technology of prefabrication available should be explored and exploited by all construction players. Beside government support, the present site construction planning, for example project schedule needs to be address if IBS is going to be accepted for construction industry in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, research and development @&D) on IBS is slowly developed. The Malaysian Government should play a more important role in encouraging the research, development and transfer of technology of IBS. The prefabricated components require advance R&D in order to come out with a better product and technology. A design guideline of IBS should be developed from research as a standard for construction practice.

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Majority of the respondents accepted the fact that transfer of technology and innovation are vital to the development of IBS. There is a potential to link the IBS with other manufacturing industry. For instance, the integrated system project of Housing Development Board (HDB) in Singapore which is entirely prefabricated in the factory and assembled on site, has improve quality in components tremendously. The innovation of high quality building materials should be encourage in order to develop new technology of IBS design and production. The existing technology and innovation is the transitions between handcraft and machine craft. The Malaysian construction industry should use more factory-based products because its usually better in quality.

8.0 CONCLUSION

There are considerations that have to be taken in making IBS acceptable in Malaysia. Campaign has to be done to the builders to use IBS. From analysis, cost is identified as the main factor to establish minimum waste and maximum efficiency of constructions on a potential of IBS implementation. The whole-life cost is related to the values of cleanliness that was held to be economical. Cleanliness is so pertinent to our existence that is closely linked up with the faith (iman). According to Omer, S. (2004), in order to make IBS as part of islarnic house, it should promote the use of durable materials with maximum efficiency of limited resources and application of technological discoveries. Besides offering an innovative design, the technology of prefabrication has proven as the solution of providing a mass-production public housing in many developed countries. Hence, now is a right time to move toward IBS and to realize our national aspiration of Vision 2020 to transform and industrialized the Malaysian Construction Industry.

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