Performance Review of Prefabricated Building Systems and Future Research in Australia

Abstract

Volumetric prefabricated building construction is growing in most developed countries; for example, in Sweden the market share of prefabricated building systems in the housing industry was more than 80%. However, in Australia only approximately 3–4% of new building constructions are prefabricated buildings in a year. A major hindrance to the growth of prefab construction in Australia is that systems are developed under commercial and confidential conditions. There are limited publicly-available research and case studies for certifiers, regulators, engineers and academia to provide independent information on the performance, advantages and disadvantages of prefabricated building systems. Independent designers and structural engineers are relying on the strength of the structural and non-structural element, as well as the connections of the prefabricated building systems. This strength is estimated from the “commercial-in-confidence” test of individual components by manufactures, and it might result in undesired outcomes in design. This paper provides an overview of available literature on structural performance, benefits, constraints and challenges of prefabricated building systems. This paper also highlights the research needed on the prefabricated building systems such as full-scale tests, numerical modelling, hybrid simulations, case studies and social and economic assessments. Being supported by sound academic research will increase the market demand for prefabricated building systems in Australia as well as in other countries.

Constraints Hindering the Development of High-Rise Modular Buildings

“…Lu and Yuan [47] indicated that transportation cost can increase to over 18 per cent of the total cost, taking into account the long-distance transport due to offshore manufacture. Apart from that, weight and dimensions of modules is another constraint, which not only restricts the transportation route but also elevates the expenditure resulting from the specific requirement for vehicles [48,49]. Regardless of which methods of transport are utilised, cargo, rail or road, the damage to modules during the transit is not to be neglected.…”

Risks in Prefabricated Buildings in China: Importance-Performance Analysis Approach

“…They have shown concerns that it is not sustainable to purely rely on the governmental policies if there is a lack of real cases to demonstrate such benefits to the industry, especially to the client and end users. This is also the case for engineers and regulators [48]. A recent review article also highlighted the lack of evidence that the life cycle performance of prefabricated buildings is better than conventional buildings [49].…”

Understanding Construction Stakeholders’ Experience and Attitudes toward Use of the Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) in New Zealand

“…As highlighted above, one of the essential marketing strategies for SIPs focuses on its environmental performance. Offsite manufacturing has been widely reported as one of the significant ways to reduce the amount of waste [6,16,27] for which the built environment is responsible [28,29]. Thus, SIPs, offering the same method to manufacture the structural components [5], is no exception.…”