Nota_Kursus_IBS

9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020

4-DAYS COURSE ON IBS TECHNOLOGY

MODULE 4 – DESIGN, LOGISTICS AND
INSTALLATION CONSIDERATION FOR IBS

DR. AIDI HIZAMI BIN ALES @ ALIAS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Architectural consideration
 Structural Consideration
 MEP Consideration
 Installation

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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION

 Statutory requirement

 IBS design must comply with all statutory requirement and regulations such as the requirements imposed by local authorities

 IBS Building Planning

 The design of buildings using IBS is a complex inter-relationship between the desired space and function of the building and the
economical use of IBS components

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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION

 General principal, dimension and space planning

 Designing the building layout to achieve as much repetition as possible in the size and fit-out of the IBS components.
 Determining the size of IBS components to be compatible with transport, local access and installation constraints
 Pre-fitting the services and equipment and deciding how these services are distributed throughout the building
 Considering the fire safety strategy and effective fire compartmentation provided by the IBS component
 Deciding whether the joints between the components are to be emphasized or hidden as part of the architectural concept
 Sustainable design of the layout including natural ventilation and daylighting
 Referring to the Malaysia sustainable rating tool (i.e. GBI, MyCREST) in order to calculate the carbon reduction in the building design;

construction; operation and maintenance

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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION

 Early coordination

 Early coordination between the Developer, Architect, Structural and MEP Engineer, Contractor and manufacturer are important given this
will enable the team to analyze the key design aspects upfront including the design layout, floor and ceiling height etc.

 With proper upfront planning to integrate IBS into the design layout, unique designs and different building features such as curved
façade, balcony and planter can be achieved.

 The design too need to maximize the repetition of the components to realize the economies of scale and consideration of removable
non-structural partitioning walls for future renovation

 The limitation on the geometry of IBS components
 Limitations to the structural systems needed to develop the architectural solution
 Adherence to the desired internal planning and external imagery
 Logistics constraints; width, height, length and weight of the components being transported and installed

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ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATION

 Dimensions and space planning

 The dimension of the plan and section of the IBS components should comply with the regulatory requirements and according to the MS
1064 (Guide to Modular Coordination in Building) and UBBL 1984.

 The size of the IBS components should also be considered when transporting them from the factory to the site and to maximize the
usable room space and ceiling height by considering all of the services to be coordinated within the allocated space

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STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Statutory requirement

 The design of the IBS components should comply with all statutory requirements and regulations such as the requirements imposed by
local authorities, technical agencies and others.

 Example of the regulations and standards include Uniform Building By Law (UBBL), the British Standard (BS), Eurocode, the Malaysian
Standard (MS) and the Construction Industry Standard (CIS)

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STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Design consideration

 Important considerations in the structural design of IBS include safeguarding people, protecting property and preventing damage to the
structure.

 The Design Engineer is to account for all actions that might reasonably be expected, which include
 Permanent actions (dead loads)
 Imposed actions (live loads)
 Wind action
 Seismic action
 Thermal effects
 Construction sequence
 Connections

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STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Connections between IBS components
 The design and construction of connections and joints is
the most important aspect in IBS system
 There are several ways of achieving a satisfactory
connection, such as bolting, welding or grouting.
 Beams and columns are connected to form an integrated
frame system before the floor slabs are placed. Hence,
structural connectors are required to connect all the
structural components of beams, columns and slabs
 The major structural connections include beam to column,
column to column and column to base, and are either
structurally pinned or rigid.
 The complete precast frame mush be designed in
compliance with the required strength, stiffness, ductility
and reliability.

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STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Other design considerations

 Structural stability
 Achieved when all the connections are activated.

 Achieved through (a) transmission of the horizontal wind loads to the shear walls or moment resisting frames in the floor and (b) transmission of each flooring level`s horizontal
reaction forces to the foundation via columns or bracing elements

 Stability and safety are important factors that need to be considered when designing the structure at all stages of construction
 When erecting a structure, it is important to provide temporary supports and bracings to strengthen lateral stability. However, to design for horizontal

stability, we need to ensure that all dead loads, imposed loads and wind forces are transferred to the foundation system
 An assessment of the safety of the structure, loss of stability and post-buckling behavior is essential. These forces may possibly lead to column

misalignment, tilting of the building and other defects
 Structural integrity

 Structural integrity is the ability of the structure to overcome local failure, which are initiated by accidental loads that have not been considered in the
design

 These include errors in design or construction, local overloading, service system (gas) explosion), vehicular and falling material impacts, intense localized
fire, foundation settlement and seismic effects, which can cause progressive collapse in precast structures

 To reduce or eliminate accidental loading risk, three alternative methods are used in designing for accidental damage (Trikha and Ali, 2004)
 Designing of key elements
 Designing of bridging elements
 Provision of structural ties

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STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Floor diaphragm
 The floor diaphragm is a horizontal system that transmits lateral forces to vertical-resisting elements (to ensure stability).
 The floor needs to be designed as a diaphragm when the distance between the bracing elements is large enough to sustain the shear forces
and bending moments
 The robustness and redundancy of a structure is highly dependent on the performance of the diaphragms
 When the precast floor units are not capable of carrying horizontal forces in the floor diaphragm, the diaphragm forces must be transmitted
by other means, which may include structural topping.

 Site management for Precast Concrete Component
 The systematic production of precast components at the factory should also be efficiently managed at the construction site
 This ensures the timely delivery of correct components without any defects in order to effectively accomplish the fabrication process
 Transporting, handling, storing and installing of components should be managed efficiently, and in accordance with practices given in the
guidelines of the Construction Industry Standard, CIS 9:2008

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STEPS IN DESIGNING AN IBS COMPONENT

 Step 1: Analyze structural framing of the building to compute
the required moment and shear
 Precast beam

 Moment (kNm)
 Shear (kN)
 Precast column
 Axial load (kN)
 Moment (kNm)
 Precast half slab
 Moment (kNm/m width)
 Shear (kN/m width)
 Precast prestressed plank
 Axial load (kN)
 Moment (kNm)
 Precast wall
 Axial load (kN)
 Moment (kNm)

 Step 2: Selection of preferred section
 Step 3: Table of component

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Example calculation (Simply supported Precast Concrete Step 2: Selection of preferred section
Beam) Step 3:
(Refer to table)
To design a simply supported precast rectangular beam of
6.0 meter long with ultimate moment of 90.41 kNm and Code of component based on maximum
shear force of 60.27 kN. moment and shear capacity

(Refer to table)

Step 1: List out given data Based on example, the product code BR-2055-
L6 is selected which contains the following
properties

Ultimate moment = 90.41 kNm Maximum moment = 107 kNm
Maximum shear = 71kN
Shear force = 60.27 kN Size of beam = 200 x 550 mm
Main reinforcement = 2T20
Length of simply supported beam = 6 m Links = R10-250 c/c

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MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING (MEP) CONSIDERATION

 General principles

 All MEP materials should comply with relevant statutory requirements and regulations such as the requirements imposed by the local authorities,
technical agencies and others (e.g. SIRIM)

 Services interfaces

 Typical MEP services
 Typical MEP services include fire protection, electrical, an Extra Low Voltage (ELV), lightning protection, water supply, sanitary, ventilation and air-
conditioning (HVAC) and any other system part of the building

 MEP Coordination
 Early coordination of services should be performed, and constraints for installation and maintenance should be addressed early to avoid impact on
finished work in the later stage

 Impact to structure and fire safety
 Necessary openings, recesses and concealed components should be considered for structural strength, fire safety measures and in other relevant designs

 Integrity of MEP services
 Continuity and system integrity of all MEP services should be dealt with accordingly

 Accessibility for installation and maintenance including Access Panel
 The means for installation should enable ease of maintenance and for future replacement when necessary

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MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING (MEP) CONSIDERATION

 Electrical and lightning protection

 The design of electrical should consider the following
 The connection of components including the conduit, cable, trunking and cable trays
 Joint of cable infrastructure (modular cable jointing unit) to ensure proper protection for the cable
 Joint of cable should ensure complete continuity with an acceptable connection methodology if unavoidable
 Concealed cable infrastructure not to compromize fire safety including the cable joint area
 Electrical connections should be safely carried out in accordance with the Electricity Supply Act 1990 (ACT 447)

 The design of lightning protection should consider the following
 The connection of the lightning conductor
 Connection joint(s) should ensure proper conductivity with acceptable methodology
 If a structure rebar and/or a structural steel section is used as a conductor, proper measures need to be taken to prevent erosion of the
conductor

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MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING (MEP) CONSIDERATION

 Water and sanitary piping

 The design of plumbing service should consider the following
 Water fittings that are to be concealed should be water-tight and suitable for default conditions (e.g. pressure, temperature etc)
 Concealed components embedded in structural elements should be taken into consideration for structural strength design
 The method for future repair work for servicing or leakage should be taken into consideration in the design

 The design of sanitary should consider the following
 All sanitary discharge pipes and ventilating pipes including the shallow floor trap should comply with relevant requirements
 All gravity discharge pipes should have a suitable gradient to maintain a self-cleansing velocity to ensure smooth flow
 All joints of pipes should be tested to ensure water-tightness and air-tightness
 Concealed components embedded in structural elements should be taken into consideration for structural strength design
 Ensure suitable access and working space for future repair works

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MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING (MEP) CONSIDERATION

 Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)

 The design of HVAC should consider the following
 The connection of air-conditioning components which include the refrigerant pipe, condensate drain pipe, a respective insulation layer and
wiring
 Opening for refrigerant pipe routing
 Joints of the refrigerant pipe should be able to withstand operating pressure and not be eroded easily
 Maintenance and repair measures should be taken into consideration
 The connection of mechanical ventilation components which include a mechanical fan, air-duct and wiring

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS 9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020
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 Ground Floor Preparation

 Preparation of foundation
 Casting of in-situ column

stumps/ground beams with
protruding starter bars ready to
receive Precast Columns
 Before starting precast column
installation, installer will mark control
line for precast column

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Provide required numbers of shim to
make sure bottom of column level is
correct

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS 9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020
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 Precast column is slotted into
protruding starter bar

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Column is propped to the required
level and verticality, and to be secured
with props

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS 9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020
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 Column is grouted with high strength
non-shrink grout

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Precast beam is lifted into position

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS 9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020
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 Precast beam is lifted into position
 Corbel connection
 Grouting corrugated sleeve and gap

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Precast hollow core slab or precast
planks lifted into position by using
clamper or lifting belt

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS 9/6/2020 - 12/6/2020
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 Installation of beam top rebar
 Beam top concrete casting

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Laying the trunking/conduit

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INSTALLATION OF IBS COMPONENTS

 Placing of hollow core slab topping
reinforcement/wire mesh

 Casting of topping concrete

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4 DAYS COURSE ON IBS TECHNOLOGY

MODULE 5 – CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS TO IBS
ADOPTION

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR NUZUL AZAM HARON

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OUTLINE

• The Drivers to IBS Adoption
• Barriers to IBS Adoption
• Critical Success Factors to IBS

Adoption

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The Drivers to IBS
Adoption

• Driving Forces to IBS Adoption
IBS does have apparent advantages that drive the industry players to
consider and adopt them in their project. IBS offers numerous benefits
to the adopters which ultimately lead to a cost advantage.
Figure 1.0, compiled from CIB recent research (CIB, 2010), clearly
reveals streamlining potential for better work preparation, logistics
optimisation and continuous improvements which have a major
impact on the cost structure of a project.
For example, the cost saving that could be achieved by optimising
construction logistics is more than 20% of the total labour costs.
It also has potential to optimise construction supervision by up to 19%
by moving the works away from the construction site to the
manufacturing floor.

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Figure 1.0: Potential cost reduction of industrialised construction (CIB, 2010)
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• Other advantages of adopting the IBS method are:

1. Reduced build time

• One of the obvious drivers to use IBS is a reduction of
construction build time. IBS projects have proven to be quicker
to complete compared to conventional construction projects
due to the usage of standardised components and a
simplified construction process (Pan et al. 2008; Blissmas, 2007;
Pan et al. 2007 and Trikha and Ali, 2004).

• It has proven to be faster to build since onsite and
manufacturing activities are usually undertaken in parallel
(Trikha and Ali, 2004).

• It cuts down the duration of work and simplifies the processes
by reducing onsite activities and the number of trades (Blismas
and Wakefield, 2008; Blismas, 2007 and Mann, 2006).

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2. Labour reduction

• IBS offers significant savings in labour and material costs, as the number of
labour forces required in IBS is far lower than those required in traditional
methods (Na and Liska, 2008; Marsono et al. 2006 and Badir et al. 2002).

• In many cases, the usage of IBS has proven that it will reduce substantially
the amount of unskilled and skilled labourers directly involved on site. This
has been proven in Israel where a study was carried out to compare IBS
with conventional construction methods in 1984. The results showed that
the use of IBS has brought savings in site labour up to 70% and savings in
total construction costs of 5-8% compared to conventional methods
(Warszawski, 1999).

• Similarly, in Singapore, the use of a fully prefabricated system provides
labour savings of up to 46.5% as compared to the conventional method
(Chung, 2006).

• The usage of IBS will open up many opportunities to the younger
generations who seem reluctant to be involved in the construction
industry. It is necessary, however, to emphasise that there are relatively far
fewer workers that still need the training and skills appropriate to IBS (Trikha
and Ali, 2004).

• It is expected that such trained skilled workers in IBS would be much more
quality-conscious than the unskilled labourers doing manual jobs in
conventional construction (Trikha and Ali, 2004).

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3. Solving skills shortages

• IBS alleviates the issue of skills shortages in
construction since all the construction elements are
fabricated at factory. IBS eliminates extensive use of
carpentry work, bricklaying, bar bending and
manual jobs at site (Na and Liska, 2008; Hamid et al.
2007; Hashimi, 2006; BRE, 2002; Pan et al. 2005 and
Haas and Fangerlund, 2002).

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4. Improvements in construction quality

• IBS offer improvements in quality, productivity and efficiency
from the use of factory-made products, thus reducing the
possibilities of poor workmanship and lack of quality control.

• The quality of the final IBS products is normally far superior to
conventional work as the former is produced under rigorously
controlled conditions (Gibb and Isack, 2003; BURA, 2005; BRE,
2002; Trikha and Ali, 2004 and Haas and Fangerlund, 2002).

• Complex shapes and finishes can be inspected and any
substandard component rejected before it gets erected into
the structure.

• As observed, IBS also provides high-quality surface finishes
where the joints section is the only part to be grouted,
eliminating the requirement for plastering (CIDB, 2010).

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5. Clean site conditions and reduced health and
safety risk

• IBS construction sites have proven to look very tidy
and organised compared to the wet and dirty
conventional method sites.

• Wastage of temporary works such as timber
formworks and props, which are normal in
conventional construction, is not there when one
applies IBS.

• Thus it reduces the risk related to health and safety
by promoting safer working conditions (Chung,
2006; BURA, 2005 and Pasquire and Connolly, 2002).

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6. Increase construction build rate
• In the house-building sector, IBS improves the build rate of housing

schemes dramatically by increasing the number of houses completed
over a period of time.

• This will help developers to meet demands in housing and contribute to
the government’s aim to provide a sufficient supply of affordable housing
(Pan et al. 2006; BURA, 2005 and Badir et al. 2002).

7. Waste reduction
• IBS also proved that wastage can be reduced greatly due to

prefabrication of most of the building components.

• The system offers the potential to minimise the environmental impact of
construction activities in many ways. Prefabrication in a factory
environment enables waste reduction through process orientation which
entails controlled production and standardised processes.

• IBS also promotes economic and environment sustainability as
component moulds could be used repeatedly for different projects,
allowing economy of scale and reduction in cost (CIDB, 2010; Kamar et
al. 2009 and Thanoon, 2003).

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8. Potential cost financial advantage
• IBS in some ways could be a cheaper method of construction

compared to conventional method.
• The saving could come from a lower number of workers. IBS can

also be cheaper if one considers the whole life costing of the
building (Kamar et al. 2009).
• There are direct cost savings in materials and construction
overheads, while indirect cost saving occurs due to faster delivery
of building (Trikha and Ali, 2004).
• This particular advantage is beneficial for the construction of
small shops and offices, as demonstrated in the construction of
McDonald’s outlets in the UK (Ogden, 2007).
• Furthermore, construction of prefabricated elements in IBS results
in a considerable reduction in the use of scaffolding, shuttering
and other temporary supports as compared to onsite
construction (Trikha and Ali, 2004).

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Barriers to IBS Adoption

1. IBS requires radical and substantial change from a
traditional building process towards a manufacturing
process. It was highlighted that the idealism, processes,
management and skill sets behind IBS method are
different from those in the conventional method (Hamid
et al. 2008).

2. In contrast to the traditional method, the design,
manufacturer, assembly and other related processes
require a more coherent structure of process planning
and control in order to reduce defects and errors (Gibb,
2001 and Warszawski, 1999).

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3. A strong constraint in the industry is a lack of
adequate knowledge of the IBS method. There is
limited expertise in the marketplace among
designers and constructors regarding the IBS
method. Approaches to design are still largely
based on traditional methods that are unsuited to
IBS (Blissmas, 2006).

4. Although IBS is used to address the skill shortage in
the construction industry, some evidence suggests
that a skilled workforce in specific skill areas like
integration, coordination and assembly are
becoming more important to IBS due to different
roles and project methods that are undertaken
(Pan et al. 2008 and Pan et al. 2007).

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5. IBS adoption requires a new business approach,
investment and financial planning including an
effective combination of cost control and
selection of projects that give enough volume to
justify the investment (Pan et al. 2008; Malik, 2006;
Pasquire and Connolly, 2002 and BSRIA, 1998).

6. IBS adoption requires an improvement in
conventional procurement and management of
the supply chain (Venables et al. 2004). The IBS
building procurement is slightly different from
conventional methods which include purchasing
of materials in advance before the actual site
progresses (Whelan, 2008 and BSRIA, 1998).

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7. Availability of cheap foreign labour
• The availability of cheap foreign labour which offsets the cost

benefit of using IBS is a root cause of the slow adoption.
• As long as it is easy for the industry to find foreign workers, labour

rates will remain low and builders will find it unattractive to
change into simplified solutions such as IBS. The cost of using IBS
exceeds the conventional methods of construction, especially
given the ease of securing relatively cheap foreign labour (CIDB,
2010, Kamar et al. 2009, CIDB, 2008 and Hussein, 2007).
• In some cases, irresponsible employers hire illegal foreign workers,
and in the process, have brought down the labour rates further.
The government has spent millions of Ringgit each year to train
construction workers but it is a waste if the graduates are not
interested in finding jobs in the construction industry due to the
extremely low wage structure.
• In the end, the industry will always prefer the labour-intensive
methods, at the expense of IBS (Kamar et al. 2009 and Shaari,
2006).

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8. Sheer cost of investment to set up IBS –
• The limited take up also relates to sheer cost of

investment and the inadequacy of market size (Kamar et
al. 2009; CIDB, 2008; Hamid et al. 2008 and Hussein, 2007).
• Since the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and global
recession in 2008, it becomes apparent that large
investments in central production plants are
uneconomical.
• Relatively, high transport and overhead costs virtually
eliminates the potential gain achieved through
industrialisation (CIDB, 2010 and Kamar et al. 2009).
• With the current low demand and low standardisation of
IBS components, undoubtedly the initial usage of IBS will
increase the total material costs of the projects even
though ultimately it lowers the total construction costs in
the longer term (CIDB, 2010).

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• It has also been observed that the lack of investment in heavy
equipment and a mechanised construction system due to
high capital investment could hamper a move to IBS (Rahman
and Omar, 2006).

• Heavy capital costs involved in IBS result in an insufficient
capacity for contractors to secure projects (Hamid et al.
2008).

• Contractors hence demand government intervention and
assistance, such as award and provision of large scale
projects that would justify the capital investment required to
adopt and deploy IBS.

• Some contractors seek large design and build contracts from
the government. Large design and build contracts enable
successful development of unique technical capabilities and
present innovation opportunities like IBS, which otherwise
would almost be an economically inappropriate choice
(Abdul Aziz, 2007).

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9. Reluctance to change
• In IBS, there is a critical need to manage the design and manufacturing

differently from the traditional method, as IBS is different and needs a
different mindset along with the right environment.
• Most contractors are already familiar with the conventional system and
for them the technology suits their projects well, therefore they are not
willing to switch to a mechanised-based system.
• Changing their method or trade will require more investment to train the
labourers or to buy the machinery (Chung, 2006). Industry professionals
are still confident about the conventional in-situ system, which has been
proven to be a relatively cheap, open, flexible and reliable method of
construction (Idrus et al. 2008).
• IBS has existed for some time but has not generated much interest as
alternative construction methods have to be so deeply entrenched that
many are loathe to changing it – this is the mentality of “why fix it if it isn’t
broken?” (CIDB, 2010 and Hussein, 2007).

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• This perception arises because the conventional construction method
creates problems for the nation but not for the contractor.

• Furthermore, there is a lack of proper project management techniques,
specifically for IBS, and there is no specific cost control mechanism
adopted by contractors in IBS (Hussein, 2007).

• So the risk of trying an unfamiliar technology is too high compared to the
current profit margin in construction (Hussein, 2007).

• It is also unfortunate that the local construction industry is reluctant to
invest more in research which is often a long drawn-out affair without a
promise of immediate return (Trikha and Ali, 2004).

• Furthermore, Hamid et al. (2008) argued that there is a mismatch
between the IBS target by the government and the current industry’s
readiness to adopt and change to IBS, therefore the industry needs to be
guided and helped to improve its readiness regarding IBS.

• Finally, a large faction of the industry feels that the present incentives
given by the government to promote IBS are inadequate to support
feasibility of change to the IBS (Idrus et al. 2008).

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10. Low standardisation of components

• Low standardisation of components also hinders
successful use of IBS (Hamid et al. 2008).

• The tailor-made components which do not fit into
another project will increase initial costs due to the cost
of the mould and design.

• Lack of standardisation was due to a lack of a
certification and accreditation scheme on IBS and the
lukewarm response to Modular Coordination (MC)
promotion under MS 1064 (Hamid et al. 2008).

• As such, it is also vital for the industry to develop a
standard plan and a standard component drawing for
standard use particularly in public sector buildings
(Hussein, 2007).

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11. Poor human capital development on IBS
• Lack of experience, lack of technical knowledge and lack of

skilled labour are important barriers to successful IBS adoption
(Hamid et al. 2008; CIDB, 2008; Rahman and Omar, 2006 and
Thanoon et al. 2003).
• Poor human capital development on IBS does not only affect
contractors but indeed will also affect the whole supply chain.
Based on IBS Survey 2005, the majority of designers agreed
that they had insufficient knowledge in IBS (CIDB, 2005).
• Furthermore, the client and approving authorities cited that
they had poor knowledge of IBS, resulting in delays in building
approval (CIMP, 2007).
• Familiarity with the IBS concept and its benefits is vital to its
success because IBS requires a different approach in
construction (Kamar et al. 2009).

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12. Lacks of integration in design stage
• The characteristics of construction project are fragmented,

diverse and involve man parties. IBS manufacturers and
contractors are currently involved only after the design stage.
• This lack of integration among relevant players in the design
stage has resulted in the need for a plan redesign and
additional costs to be incurred if IBS is adopted (CIDB, 2008
and CIDB, 2005).
• IBS benefits can be optimised if the concepts of
standardisation, constructability and manufacturability are
considered during the design stage. As in the current practice,
all these are not being taken into consideration at the onset of
the project (Hussein, 2007).
• Gibb (1999) underlined that IBS should not be used as an
afterthought as it will limit the benefit of adopting it.

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13. Public perception on IBS
• Hamid et al. (2008) highlighted that poor public perception

could be another setback to IBS. As a result, IBS is not popular
among design architects due to the misconception that IBS
will eventually limit their creativity in building design (CIDB,
2005).
• Many in and out of the construction industry still have the
perception that IBS is rigid and not flexible enough in both
form and dimension to meet all the variable demands of
construction. This leads to the mistaken conclusion that IBS
can only produce monotonous design (Hussein, 2007).
• The term IBS is also often misinterpreted with a negative
meaning linked with industrial buildings from the 1960s. These
buildings are normally associated with low quality and
unpleasant architectural appearance (Rahman and Omar,
2006).

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14. Lack of sustainable volume and demand

• There is a general consensus among practitioners
that IBS needs mass production to achieve
economic viability, but currently, in Malaysia, there
is no assurance of continuity of production, thus
limiting interest in IBS (Chung, 2006).

• It requires volume and economy of production and
scale to produce IBS components, but despite
mandatory adoption in the public sector, there is
still a lack of support and slow adoption from the
private sector clients, thus creating imbalance and
unsustainable demand (Hamid et al. 2008).

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15. Reliance on close system

• From the fragmented prefabricated construction approach and
practices it can be seen that every different manufacturer and
applicator in the prefabricated construction has its own designs and
construction method.

• This results in incompatibility of the components used among the
manufacturers in terms of dimensioning and installation at site.

• This results in making the prefabricated industry uncompetitive due to the
fact that once a contractor applies a prefabricated manufacturer
system, he will probably be obliged to get the supply from the same
manufacturer throughout the construction (Chung, 2006).

• In this regard, the supplier will control the price and the components will
be expensive and not commercially viable for small contractors (CIDB,
2010).

• There is ample evidence that the failures of past construction systems are
due to blind acceptance of foreign products that were not open
(flexible) and were unsuitable to our climate and culture (Shaari and
Ismail, 2003).

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Critical Success Factors to
IBS Adoption

• The Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to the implementation of
Industrialised Building System (IBS) are highlighted as follows:

1. Good working collaboration will solve the problem related to
complex interfacing between systems and ensure efficient
process sequence in manufacturing plant and at site (Pan et
al 2007, Na and Liska, 2008; Haas and Fangerlund, 2002).

2. Effective communication channel across the supply chain
need to be established in order to coordinate the process
and deal with critical scheduling from the beginning until the
project completion (Pan et al, 2008; Blissmas, 2007; BSRIA,
1998)

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3. Successful implementation depends on organisation ability to
expedite learning curve from one project to another (Neala
et al 2003). Therefore, continues improvement and learning
can develop company understanding on the processes and
the principal behind it as the knowledge will multiply as
experience mount up (Treadway, 2006).

4. Coordination of design, manufacture, transportation, and
installation process is vital to the success of IBS (Haas and
Fangerlund, 2002; Li, 2006; Vrijhoef et al, 2002 and Lessing,
2006).

5. Key decisions on strategy, application, design, logistic and
detail unit should be made as early as possible between all
parties involved (Gibb, 1999 & Neale et al, 1993). It should not
be used as an afterthought, or as a late solution to shorten
construction time, but rather as an integral part of the design
from the earliest possible stage of the project (Gibb, 1999 and
Blissmas et al 2006).

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6. The team members should be involved during the design
stages, working with the designers, to ensure that the design
is not taken to a stage where it restricts the benefits that can
be brought through the use of this method (Pan et al 2008;
Blismas, 2007; Sanderson, 2003 and Gibb, 2001).

7. Successful implementation requires an experience workforce
and technical capable in design, planning, organizing and
controlling function with respect to production, coordination
and distribution of components (Warszawski, 1999).

8. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is vital and
reliable support tool to improve tendering, planning,
monitoring, distribution, logistic and cost comparison process
by establishing integration, accurate data and effective
dealing with project documents (Eichert and Kazi, 2007 and
Hervas and Ruiz, 2007)

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9. It requires partnership and close relationship with
suppliers and sub-contractors from the early stage of
project sequences (Kamar et al 2009; National Audit
Office Report (2005); Pan et al 2008 & Pan et al 2007).

10. Extensive planning and scheduling of activities in
advance is critical in which lead to better project
performance, coordination, better scope control and
ensure smooth project sequence (Haas and
Fangerlund, 2002).

11. Improvement in procurement strategy and contracting
is important in order to achieve long term success (Pan
et al 2007 and Pan et al 2008). The negotiations,
procurement and contract should allow the contractors
and manufactures to contribute their knowledge,
experience of design, construction and planning of the
building.

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12. Risk Management strategy is important when to offsite to
deal with late design changes, late payment and contract
problem (Housing Forum, 2002 and Hassim et al 2008). By
assessing the potential cause of delays and disruption at all
stage of the supply chain, contingency measure can be
planned to minimised effect of such effort.

13. It requires emphasis on design and process standardisation
and more effective use on the concept of repetition.
Products are documented in systematic ways to ensure that
everything is repeated in the same manner for installation
(Mole, 2001 and National Audit Office Report, 2005).

14. High demands will be raised on the management of supply
chain and logistic activities (Lessing et al 2005). It needs to be
coordinated in a manner that allows the constructors gain
the full control of the process with the intention to improve
efficiencies and competitiveness (Malik, 2006).

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15. It also depends on ‘top-down’ commitment and corporate
motivation. This in return will ensure the right motivation and
commitment from the whole team (BSRIA, 1998).

16. Skilled labour which is supported by quality training at all level
is essential to success of offsite as it is in more traditional form
of construction. It requires tremendous education and
training effort of trades especially people involved in those
handling, positioning and erecting the finished product
(BSRIA, 1998 and Thanoon, 2003).

17. Any ventures need to strategies and business approaches
and position in the new playing field (Malik, 2006). The
management needs to establish clear business need in offsite
and build strategic plan around it including effective
combination of cost and production knowledge (National
Audit Office Report, 2005).

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4 DAYS COURSE ON IBS TECHNOLOGY

MODULE 6 – CASE STUDIES ON SUCCESSFUL
IBS ADOPTIONS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR NUZUL AZAM HARON

1

OUTLINE

• Case Studies on Successful IBS
Adoptions

• IBS components used in buildings in
Malaysia

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Case Studies on
Successful IBS Adoptions

• IBS components used in buildings in Malaysia
1. Custom, Immigration & Quarantine Complex, Johor

Bahru
Components
• Precast Concrete Beam
• Precast Concrete Columns
• Hollow Core Slabs

3

• Precast Concrete Beams, Columns and Hollow
Core Slabs

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2. Open University formely known as JPA, Kuala
Lumpur
Components
• Precast Concrete Beam
• Precast Concrete Columns
• Hollow Core Slabs

5

3. Apartment for Government Staff, Putrajaya
Components
• Precast Concrete Walls

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7

4. Telekom Tower, Kuala Lumpur
Components
• Steel Structure for the Sky Garden and top part of

building

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5. Water Sport Complex, Putrajaya
Components
• Tubular steel, steel decking for the floor system

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6. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang
Components
• Steel roof structure

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7. KL Sentral Station, Kuala Lumpur

Components
• Steel roof structure
• Precast hollow core slabs

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8. Serdang Hospital
Components
• Steel beams and columns
• Precast concrete half slabs

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9. Government School
Components
• Steel beams and columns

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4-DAYS COURSE ON IBS TECHNOLOGY

MODULE 7 – ECONOMICS AND
SUSTAINABILITY OF IBS

DR. AIDI HIZAMI BIN ALES @ ALIAS

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Economics of IBS
 On-site construction versus off-site manufacture
 Economics of production
 Material costs and productivity improvement
 Proportion of on-site work in IBS
 Economics of speed of construction

 Sustainability of IBS
 Materials
 Waste
 Pollution
 Management
 Performance improvements
 Example of sustainability of IBS

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Introduction

 What is economics benefit?
 An economic benefit is any benefit that we can quantify in terms of the money that it generates.
 Net income, revenues, profit and net cash flow, for example, are forms of economic benefit
 An economic benefit may also refer to a reduction in something such as cost (e.g. lower raw material cost, lower labor cost etc)
 Explanation on the economic benefits helps companies/stakeholders to determine whether any business proposal should go ahead

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 On-site construction versus off-site manufacture

 The economic benefits of off-site manufacture of IBS arise from
 Economy of scale in manufacture (dependent on the production volume)
 Reduced material use, and less wastage and disposal costs
 Higher productivity in manufacture and less work on site, leading to savings in labor costs per unit completed floor area
 Higher quality and hence reduced “snagging” or rework costs
 Savings in site infrastructure and management of the construction process (aka site preliminaries)
 Savings in external consultant fees, as most of the detailed design is provided by the modular supplier
 Financial benefits to the client and main contractor resulting from speed of completion on site

5

ECONOMICS OF IBS

 The broad cost-breakdown of a multistorey residential project comparison between site-intensive construction and modular
construction is as follows (National Audit Office, 2005)
 Materials use and waste are reduced because off-site manufacturing processes lead to more efficient bulk ordering of materials
(reduction of up to 20% in materials use)
 The total number of site personnel is reduced to about half , and the site personnel is mainly required for foundation work, cladding and
servicing of the non-modular parts of the building
 Factory personnel, materials and overhead cost of a module often amount to 50 to 60% of the value of the completed building,
 Transport and other equipment costs on site are greatly reduced even though the modules are lifted by crane, because many deliveries of
materials and equipment costs are minimized
 Site overhead and management costs are reduced at least in proportion to the overall construction program (reduction from 15% to 7 to
8%)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

Comparison of breakdown of costs of site-intensive and modular construction of a multistorey residential
building (From National Audit Office, Using Modern Methods of Construction to Build More Homes Quickly and

Efficiently, 2005)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Economics of production

 The economics of IBS technologies requires a significant production rate of relatively large-scale components whose materials,
dimensions and layout conform to an appropriate level of repetition

 The investment costs in factory production take into account the following fixed costs (Lawson et al., 2014)
 Production equipment and infrastructure
 Factory running costs, including rental costs, heating, lighting etc
 Skilled personnel costs involved in manufacture
 Design and computer-aided design (CAD)/computer aided manufacturing (CAM) facilities and training
 Storage and distribution facilities
 Downtime in manufacture

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Material costs and improved productivity

 The cost of materials is around 30 to 35% of the cost of a module (or around 20% of the total building cost if the modular units are 60%
of the total cost)
 Less than the materials cost in an equivalent non-modular building (up to 15% material saving, or 3 to 4% of overall construction cost), despite
the nature of the modular method of construction that requires a robust structural system for transportation and lifting
 The savings in materials use mainly results from more precise ordering of materials to the sizes and quantities for a given project

 The productivity benefits in factory production lead to lower labor costs
 However, the relative cost rate of the factory personnel and the equivalent site workers depends on the location of the fatcory and the

site

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Proportion of on-site work in modular construction

 Even in a highly modular project, a significant proportion of work is carried out on site in terms of installation of the modules and
building of the non-modular components
 Can amount to 30 to 50% of the total cost of the project

 Generally, modular companies try to minimize the number of on-site activities, but the ability to “parallel stream” design and
manufacture modules with items such as enabling and ground works can be advantageous in terms of minimizing construction program

 The typical breakdown of on-site work in modular construction is as follows (National Audit Report, 2005)
 Foundation (5%)
 On-site services (8%)
 Cladding and roofing (10%)
 Finishing work (7%)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Data from National Audit Office (2005) report on the relative performance of various methods of construction
shows the potential savings as follows:

 For a brick-clad building, if bricklayers were on site for 44 days to construct a traditional building, they would be on site for only 20 days
to construct the façade of a similar building (the inner leaf of the wall is the module itself)

 Scaffolding time would reduce from 11 weeks to 6 weeks, with commensurate savings in these costs
 Use of lightweight cladding attached to the modular units rather than brick-work will reduce these site requirements considerably

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

(From National Audit Office, Using Modern Methods of Construction to Build More Homes Quickly and
Efficiently, 2005)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Risk management is also a key feature of the use of off-site manufactured systems

 Data from National Audit Office (2005) report shows that the key design decisions in modular construction have to be made at an earlier
stage in the project, as late design changes are very difficult to incorporate when the modules are close to or in production.
 This implies a higher involvement of the modular supplier in the design process

 However, the risk for off-site manufacturing is almost non-existent during construction (e.g. quality and accuracy, price fluctuation, bad
weather and completion to specification), while it poses high risk to traditional brick and block system

13

ECONOMICS OF IBS

(From National Audit Office, Using Modern Methods of Construction to Build More Homes Quickly and
Efficiently, 2005)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Economics of speed of construction

 Savings in site preliminaries
 In site-intensive construction, site preliminaries may represent 12 to 15% of the total cost, taking into account the managementcost, site cabin
and other facilities, main contractor's equipment and craneage for materials handling and storage and construction time and program
 Savings from IBS can be achieved due to the reduced number of site personnel and the shorter construction program (reduction of 30 to 50%
in comparison to site-intensive construction)
 Based on estimates of site management costs and hire costs of site cabin and equipment, the site preliminary costs for fully modular buildings
may be taken as 7 to 8% of the total build cost (savings of 5 to 8% in comparison to site intensive building projects)

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Economics of speed of construction

 Speed of installation
 The benefits of speed of construction are inherent in modular systems of all types, which includes:

 Reduced interest charges on borrowed capital
 Early start-up of the client`s business, leading to earlier business or rental income
 Reduced disruption to the locality or exiting business, mainly by the reduced build time, fewer deliveries and site operations
 These business-related benefits are affected by the type of business, as the value of early completion may be different for projects that are
time-constrained or where the disruption of the construction process can be minimized
 E.g. a school or university building generally has to be ready for a particular time of the year
 E.g. Hospitals value reduced disruption and noise when constructing the extension of existing facilities
 E.g. Malls would value the early completion which means earlier ROI for the owner

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ECONOMICS OF IBS

 Cash flow savings

 Rogan (1998) carried out an assessment of light steel framing in housing and showed that the early return on the investment was deu to
reduced cash flow and capital employed.
 The tangible benefits of reduced interest charges due to a 6-month reduction in the overall construction program can be 2 to 3% of the build
cost

 It was calculated that for a medium-sized hotel, a savings of 1 month in the construction program could amount to an income equivalent
to 1% of the construction cost.
 Thus, a 4 month reduction (typical achievable through IBS) could be equivalent to a savings of 4% of the construction cost

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ECONOMICS OF IBS (SUMMARY)

(From Lawson, Ogden and Goodier, Design in Modular Construction, 2014))
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SUSTAINABILITY OF IBS

 Introduction

 What is sustainability and sustainable development?
 Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
(Brundtland Report, 1987)
 A dynamic process which enables all people to realize their potential and improve their quality of life in ways which simultaneously protect and
enhance the Earth`s support systems

 Can be interpreted into three parts
 Environmental sustainability
 Social sustainability
 Economic sustainability

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SUSTAINABILITY OF IBS

 Benefits of off-site manufacture on sustainability

 The off-site manufacturing process in modular construction achieves many sustainability benefits that arise from the more efficient
manufacturing and construction processes, the improved in-service performance of the completed building, and also the potential reuse
at the end of the building`s life

 The sustainability benefits in terms of in-service performance translate into potential scores under GBI, GreenRE, MyCrest, apart from
earning points in IBSscore

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SUSTAINABILITY OF IBS

Key Performance Indicator of IBS on the three pillars of sustainability (Social, Environmental and Economic) (from
Buildoffsite, 2014)

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11