Risk factors affecting practitioners’ attitudes toward the implementation of an industrialized building system

Abstract

Purpose -An industrialized building system (IBS) is regarded as an effective residential building system that provides several benefits, including high quality, low cost, short time, good flexibility, reduced waste, and strong environmental performance. This system is considered to be valuable in promoting sustainable practices in China, where plans for urbanization have been established. However, the adoption of IBS in China is extremely limited. Potential risks exist and affect the attitudes of practitioners toward the use of this system. The purpose of this paper is to prioritize and analyze these risks and to develop corresponding strategies for mitigating these risks in China. Design/methodology/approach -In total, 24 risks that inhibit the implementation of IBS in China are identified through literature review and examined through interviews for consistency. A questionnaire survey is conducted to quantify the significance of these risks. Cronbach's coefficient α is employed to measure the internal consistency among the risk factors. The survey results are further analyzed using three case studies. Findings -The top five risks identified are "poor cooperation between multi-interface," "inappropriate design codes and standards for industrialized buildings," "lack of management practices and experiences," "enormous difficulty in achieving return on high initial investment," and "lack of a quality monitoring mechanism for the production process." The findings emphasize the government's leading role in promoting the new building system in its introduction and enforcement of adequate policies and regulations. Practitioners are also instrumental in establishing proper understanding and knowledge of IBS and its application. Originality/value -This study bridges the knowledge gaps on risk identification for implementing IBS in China. The findings provide practitioners and decision makers with valuable references for adopting adequate risk management methods and policies to promote IBS in China.

Structural Equation Model for Evaluating Factors Affecting Quality of Social Infrastructure Projects

“…This was in line with Luo et al [80] who found that there lacked of a quality-supervision mechanism for the production activities, which showed key quality challenges that decreased the assurance among building stakeholders as to the quality of the projects. Inadequate site supervision and improper site decisions were part of the key significant elements influencing project quality on-site.…”

Capital Cost Optimization for Prefabrication: A Factor Analysis Evaluation Model

“…High capital cost was the most significant barrier to prefabrication development [11,12,29]. This study identified the variables affecting the high capital cost, explored the latent factors, developed the FAEM, conducted case application and then reduce the capital cost.…”

“…Design diversity, aesthetics, maintenance complexity and quality impression also affect the initial cost [12,29,30]. Meanwhile, supply chain issues and lack of codes and standards contributed to high cost [10,12,29]. Chua et al revealed the cost of mold usage and replacement had an impact on prefabrication cost [31].…”

“…Mao et al proposed that some unknown techniques contributed to the high capital cost, which decreased construction costs but increased effectiveness [11]. Design diversity, aesthetics, maintenance complexity and quality impression also affect the initial cost [12,29,30]. Meanwhile, supply chain issues and lack of codes and standards contributed to high cost [10,12,29].…”

“…The interviews were conducted from December 2016 to January 2017. The approximate length of each interview was 45-60 min [11,12]. All the interviews were recorded on paper.…”