Sustainable Housing and Development Lack of Technology and Expertise Industrialised Building System (IBS)

1. SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT
LACK OF TECHNOLOGY AND EXPERTISE
Bachelor of Quantity Surveying (Honours)
Kellyann Hiew Yau Mei
0319532

2. 1
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................2
Lack of Technology....................................................................................................................3
Industrialised Building System (IBS)......................................................................................3
Lack of Expertise .......................................................................................................................4
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................5

3. 2
Introduction
Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs (Open
Parliament Licence v3.0, 2011). It is to ensure a better quality of life for the public, for the
current and the future generation that is to come. Sustainable housing is constructed with
materials that have been manufactured in an ecological friendly procedure, it is a sustainable
home that is built to consume less non-renewable resource, use less energy to function, and
cause a slight or even no damage to the surrounding environment.
Despite providing various benefits for the environment and for the public, development for
sustainable housing is not being implemented in most construction company due to several
barriers. This report will focus on two of the issues which are the lack of technology and
expertise as well as methods for resolving the problem.

4. 3
Lack of Technology
The technology used to ensure a sustainable development is known as green technology,
which acts as a solution to handle environmental issues.
Green Technology is the development and application of products, equipment and systems
used to conserve the natural environment and resources, which minimize and reduces the
negative impact of human activities. (CIDB Malaysia, 2011)
Industrialised Building System (IBS)
Industrialised Building System (IBS) is an alternative to the conventional method of
construction which is able to change many aspects in building construction. According to
CIDB Malaysia, IBS is defined as “a construction process that utilises techniques, products,
components, or building systems which involve prefabricated components and on-site
installation”.
The Advantages of IBS (Abedi, et al., 2012)
 Higher quality
 Construction time is reduced
 Reduced amount of unskilled workers and fewer site workers
 Enhances social benefits
 Flexibility in construction projects are enhanced
 Increase in safety at site
 Environmental and construction site cleanliness is increased
 Efficiency of construction projects is increased
 Site work and site location is optimized
IBS components have a higher quality and better finishes as materials are carefully selected,
advanced technology is used, a strict and better quality assurance control because
production in the factory is under a sheltered environment. The prefabricated product will
allow the installations of construction components to provide a cleaner and safer
construction site. Total construction costs will also be reduced as projects are completed
more quickly, less site workers will be needed and the formwork of the IBS components are
made from steel, aluminium or an alternative material that allows for repetitive use. In
addition, the usage of IBS is environmental friendly as timber formwork on construction
projects will be decreased.
Despite providing various benefits to the construction industry, contractors are reluctant to
adopt this system as they are already familiar with the conventional system. Small
contractors lack financial backup and are not able to set up their own manufacturing plants
as it involves very intensive capital investment (Kamar, et al., 2009). Moreover, the adoption
of IBS in Malaysia is client driven. There is a lack of demand from the client as they are not
aware of the benefits. A client with good knowledge and awareness of IBS will likely
encourage the appointed designers to design the building according to IBS.

5. 4
Lack of Expertise
There is a lack of expertise in the field for sustainability. Most of the designers or architects
have a short knowledge or experience of administering Industrialized Building System (IBS)
into their designs. Therefore, the grasp of this concept is limited and takes a longer time to
learn and design a sustainable building. In addition, there are a limited number of
professionals who is an expert in the idea of IBS which constrains the company to integrate
the concept into their project development. Employers are also facing difficulties in acquiring
qualified workers to undertake certain jobs in these projects. Labour shortage is another
important barrier that leads to the implementation of sustainable housing development (Goh,
et al., 2013).
Contractor roles need to be reengineered from the traditional practice to IBS. The
contractors need new organization set-up, strategic direction and procedure that is
‘favourable’ to IBS (Kamar, et al., 2009). Professionals should be trained in integration role
between the design and product production using the relevant IT tools. The government
agencies in Malaysia should provide relevant consultation and create a special funding to
encourage redesigning and change the management’s initiative to suit the IBS process.
An extensive preliminary study should be organized by the government to identify the skill
gaps in IBS sector in hopes to establish a comprehensive and efficient training program.
This preliminary study which is based on information from real life practice will provide the
training that fits the needs of every IBS organization and accommodate the current lack of
skilled workers, especially the specialized skills such as the design and installation.
Moreover, the engineers must acquire a competent knowledge in component analysis and
IBS building design. Whereas in the construction site, the contractors and site engineers
must possess sufficient knowledge on the safe and accurate methods of erecting and
assembling the components into a building structure.
Conclusion
Industrialised Building System (IBS) is an alternative to the conventional method of
construction. It shortens the total construction time needed, reduces the amount of wastage,
saves total construction costs and provides other various benefits. IBS isn’t implemented in
most construction company as most of them are used to the conventional method of
construction. IBS also requires an intensive capital investment whereas small contractor
firms lack the finances. There is also a lack of expertise as employees have a lack of
knowledge or experience dealing with such concept. Thus training and professional
development is vital to secure a successful IBS implementation. Government and other
sectors must also participate in an integrated, coordinated and cooperative effort. Evolving to
a sustainable mentality requires change in perspective, innovation, creativity, research as
well as support from many stakeholders.

6. 5
Bibliography
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http://www.academia.edu/4167271/A_Review_of_Industrialised_Building_System_in_Malay
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CIDB Malaysia, 2011. IBS Integration for Green Technology. [Online]
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[Accessed 20 April 2015].
Finch, R., 2007. Sustainability: Sustainable Housing. [Online]
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Goh, K. C., Seow, T. W. & Goh, H. H., 2013. Challenges of implementing Sustainability in
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Noorein, S., 2010. Critical Success Factors And Barriers For Industrialised Building System
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