Innovative Procurement Adoption for Industrialised Building System (IBS) Projects

Abstract

Industrialised Building System [IBS] is a new method that used prefabrication components in building construction as an alternative towards enhancing construction performance. The Construction Industry Development Board [CIDB] embraced the IBS method to enhance productivity and building quality, reduce wastage on site, increase occupational safety and health, and reduce overall cost of construction. Currently, most of the IBS project developments in Malaysia are still adopting traditional procurement system. However, traditional procurement system has been criticised for its fragmented procedure to project delivery in terms of integration and collaboration of the project team. As a result of that problem, a number of issues have recently arisen such as reworks, time delay, rising costs, lack of communication and coordination, and wastages. The purpose of this research is to identify challenges of the current procurement system and to investigate the possibilities of implementing innovative type of procurement method for IBS implementation. A deductive research approach was adopted. Reviewing relevant literature before embarking into any academic research project is one way of exploring a known theory in a holistic manner. It also appears to be one of an essential feature to create a firm foundation for the research. Based on extensive literature reviews; this paper describes what are initiatives that have been taken from developed nations which are known as earlier IBS adopters and through the findings these experiences may shed some light on the type of procurement that have been adopted. This study was conducted among Grade 7 IBS contractors in Malaysia to gain further clarification on the immensity of the issues as well as assessing the research instrument. The findings from this study reveal that financial matters, lack of early involvement, lack of integration and coordination, knowledge and understanding, role and responsibility, risk liability, communication and information, attitude and relationship matters are challenges embedded in the existing procurement approach in adopting IBS. Suggestion on how innovative type of procurement method such as Separation of IBS from Main Contract, Partnering and Integrated Project Delivery [IPD] will be able to minimise the fragmentation gaps will be concluded.

A Review of Current Issues in Industrialised Building System (IBS) for Construction Projects

“…Based on the above discussion, it can be summarised that these issues can be minimised by improving the procurement through an innovative procurement such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), separation of IBS procurement from the main contract, and partnering (Hu & Chong, 2020;Ariffin et al, 2018). Therefore, it is crucial to conduct research that is expected to introduce innovative procurement for IBS projects in Malaysia.…”

“…Moreover, according to Zairul (2022), the benefits of IBS cannot be realised if outdated conventional methods and strategies are still employed. There are several research by Viana et al (2020), Hu & Chong (2020), Ariffin et al (2018), and Nawi et al (2014) that recommend an increase in integration by changing from traditional procurement to innovative procurement. This statement is also in line with a study done by Saad et al (2022), which confirms that enhanced procurement and contracting can clearly define client needs.…”

“…As contrasted with conventional techniques, the construction industry's embrace of IBS still needs to be improved ( Rahim & Qureshi, 2018). The traditional procurement approach has come under criticism for the IBS project execution process being fragmented in terms of team integration and collaboration (Ariffin et al, 2018). As a result of that problem, several issues have recently arisen, such as reworks, time delays, rising costs, lack of communication and coordination, wastage, lack of integration, delays, poor quality and cost overrun and others (Khalil et al, 2016;Tajul Ariffin et al, 2019).…”