Presentation attempts to highlight the role and importance of pre- fabrication as an option for promoting speedier and quality construction which is both cost-effective and time efficient. Process has the capacity to make construction sector sustainable and minimizer of consumption of natural resources

1. ROLE AND
IMPORTANCE OF PRE-
FABRICATION IN
PROMOTING
SUSTAINABLE BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
***
Ar Jit Kumar Gupta,
founder Director, College of
Architecture, IET Bhaddal,
jit.kumar1944@gmail.com

2. Buildings- Role
and Importance

3. Buildings- Role and Importance
 Buildings-- integral part of human history, growth and
development since inception
 Buildings -- would continue to define journey of human
growth and development till posterity
 Buildings-- manmade environment- vital for human growth
 Buildings -- living organism
 Buildings -- as structures cater to all human activities
 Buildings -- largest consumers of energy (50%)
 Buildings - largest consumers of resources
 Buildings – largest generators of waste
 Buildings- largest polluter of environment /ecology
 Buildings responsible for -- largest carbon footprints
 Buildings -- responsible for global warming
 Buildings -- major determinant of global sustainability


4. Buildings- Role and Importance
 Buildings– providers of optimum/worst living conditions
 Buildings -- make people healthy/sick
 Buildings --critical because 80% human life spent in
buildings
 -- Buildings important to address / overcome human/
ecological concerns
 Making Buildings Sustainable-- critical to make value
addition to resources, environment ,ecology
 Studies made revealed that—
 A well designed school-- makes learning easy and more
meaningful
 A will designed house--- makes people happy and healthy
 A well designed hospital-- can cure patients quickly
 A well designed shopping mall-- can increase sale / profits

5. Indian Construction Industry
 Construction industry ----three sectors of construction:
buildings, infrastructure and industrial
 -- second largest industry in India after agriculture
 - major economic driver in India --contributing 11 % share
of GDP,
 --Second largest employment generator-- employing 40
million workforce (1/6th working population) 2013,
 -- projected to be52 million by 2017 and 67 million by
2022.
 -- India 333 b USD construction output in2015- ranked 4th
Globally
 Nearly 90 % workforce engaged in construction of
buildings
 10 % workforce involved in building completion/ finishing/
electrical, plumbing, other installation services/demolition
and site preparation.
 Over 80 % employed in real estate-- minimally skilled
workforce,

6. Buildings- Built Environment
--Operational domain of Buildings revolves around:
-- planning, designing, construction, operation,
maintenance, demolition and reconstruction
 ---- buildings need to be designed
/constructed/operated with care
 Building Cost-- needs to be considered in terms of
LIFE CYCLE COST- not initial cost
• --Going green -- a necessity to ensure sustainable
tomorrow
• -- Each building-- unique, requires different options
to make it green
• Architects/ Engineers/builders/developers- have
critical role / responsibility-- to create sustainable

7. DEMOGRAPHY-
Global & Indian

8. Population Scenario- India-2011
Population of India reached
 250 million in 1919
 500 million in 1966 (47 yrs. Later)
 1000 million in 2000 ( 34 yrs. Later)
 1027 million in 2001 (1yr Later)
 1210 million in 2011 (10 yrs. Later)
 Last century-- 5 fold increase in population
 2050- --1600 million
 -- 50% living in Urban India.
 --Increased population requires
 --- More buildings-- more housing,
 -- More educational/ healthcare/ other
institutions
 --More commercial space --More
transportation– More Resources
 India annually needs--700-900 million Sqmts
of residential/ commercial/institutional area
 - a new Chicago to meet its built area

9. Traditional- On
site
Construction-
Issues

10. Traditional on -site construction-
Issues Majority of construction in India follow;
 -- traditional on-site pattern of construction.
 --Known as linear construction,
 -- where every component not only constructed
on site,
 -- but also completed before project moves to next
phase.
 --Such construction has major implications in terms
of
 -- time;
 -- cost,
 --quality,
 safety,
 noise,

11. Traditional on -site construction-Issues
 Highly time consuming-time intensive
 Generating large scale waste- material inefficient
 Construction largely dictated by prevailing weather
conditions.
 Pollution intensive; Unsafe for workers deployed in
construction.
 Large manpower needed for making /supervision-
manpower intensive
 Large inventory of material-material intensive/Storage
facilities
 Creation of accommodation for workers deployed at
construction
 Loss/theft of material- Constructed/Individual/human
oriented
 Large variation in quality- dependent on work force
deployed
 Use of lot of water/energy – resource intensive- Grey
Buildings

12. Pre- Fabrication/
Modular
Construction

13. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Constructionoff-site/modular constructions offers enormous
opportunities
 Overcomes disadvantage of traditional construction,
 -- also offering advantages in terms of;
 -- cost, time, quality, safety, environment, materials etc.
 Off-Site construction-- is a process that incorporates
 -- pre-fabrication and pre-assembly.
 --creating building components off site
 -- in a designated factory,
 -- shipping to plot/ land and
 -- installing the components to create a finished
structure
Off-site fabrication-- project strategy--
-- changes orientation of project process from
construction to manufacture to installation
-- offers numerous benefits for both owner/construction
agency.

14. Rise of Prefabricated
Building Prefab building - last real estate cycle/pushed such construction to
prominence
 During second world war, majority of skilled construction manpower/
labourers left job,-- due to recession in construction industry.
 lead to shortage of manpower- when large scale construction started
after world war
 -- to replace buildings which suffered extensive damage during war
 -- builders took to alternate recourse of methods of construction which
were;
 -safe, efficient, cost-effective/produced quality construction involving
minimum manpower.
 -- off-site construction considered best option—
-to build projects in limited time-to provide workers with safer working
conditions
 -- Search for solutions led to the emergence of prefabricated/ modular
construction.
 --Modular is a process of construction rather than a specific type of
building, ------- which defines how building is constructed
 Acute shortage of housing following second world war
 --led to a boom in high rise apartments blocks,

15. Rise of Prefabricated
Building - Crystal Palace - Britain’s Great Exhibition of 1851- earliest example
of prefabrication/modularization.----design taking less than two
weeks
 construction in few months– using prefab light/cheap materials
iron, wood and glass,
 After exhibition-- palace taken apart and moved to other location.
 - USA used Quonset huts, pre-fabricated lightweight all purpose
buildings, for creating accommodation for military globally during the
war, which could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled
labour.
 U.S.A -- made extensive use of modular construction in
commercial buildings hotels/ offices/ hospitals/schools post ‘70s
when demand exceeded supply
 500-room deluxe Hilton Hotel in San Antonio for Texas World’s
Exposition of 1968-- designed, completed and occupied in just 202
working days. All rooms were placed by crane in 46 days.
 -- Still in use, hotel is believed to be the tallest modularly constructed
facility in United States.
 New cruise liner Queen Mary 2--, one of largest/ most expensive
cruise liners in world-- also used modular passenger cabins / VIP

16. Crystal Palace
London

17. Quonset huts, pre-fabricated
lightweight

18. 500-room deluxe Hilton
Hotel in San Antonio for
Texas

19. Cruise liner Queen Mary
2

20. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site-
Advantages
 Building in Hazardous Area
 Assured Quality Construction
 Material Efficiency
 Cost- Efficiency
 Green Construction
 Flexibility
 Reduced Site Disruption
 Time Efficiency
 Safety

21. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site-
Advantages Building in Hazardous Area-----Advantages in remote
area/disasters/ areas hit by disasters where-
 accessibility/manpower/transportation of materials/time
available problem --best option for construction in
minimum time /cost.
 --In hill areas with extreme climatic conditions--pre-
fabrication help in creating well insulated structures/least
susceptible to extreme outside climate. -Leh, Ladakh,
Lahaul, Spiti
 Assured Quality Construction
 Due to Construction of building components in industrial
setting---
 -- under highly controlled environment -- involving lot of
quality checks and balances, - components produced has

22. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site-
Advantages Material Efficiency
 Prefabricated buildings known for their material efficiency --both onsite /off-
site..
 -- do not produce waste, since material for construction arrives in finished
state .
 -- leave/ create very little waste during the manufacturing, assembly,
disassembly
 ---involves just putting together all components as per approved design..
 Cost- Efficiency
 Capacity to promote economy /cost- efficiency,
 generally achieved through; large discounts received from material suppliers,
 -- reduction in construction time,
 --- mass production of components and
 -- economy achieved through standardisation,
 ---repetitive nature of operations and large scale operations.
 --Reduction of wastage and in- house recycling of the extra materials
 -- less storage cost ,
 -- less material loss

23. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site-
Advantages Green Construction
 -Modular buildings require less power consumption compared to
traditional constructions,
 -- lot more eco-friendly, both in long and short-term.
 --lower life cycle energy implications as compared to on-site
construction
 -- have minimum requirement of water due to absence of onsite
watering of brick/concrete
 -- Energy efficiency achieved through using recycled materials
 -- Resource efficient and greener construction process due to
reduced material waste/ pollution --increased use of recycled
materials
 Flexibility
 Flexibility --based on easy dismantling /Relocation of buildings to
different sites,
 being made of numerous individual parts-- also permit flexibility in
building structure/ design by changing design of specific prefab

24. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site-
Advantages Reduced Site Disruption
 Traditional construction-- involves major site disruption since all building processes
are performed on site -- transporting/storage/mixing of materials/water
storage/creating residential space for labour etc
 --- In prefab construction much of these disruptions taken away from the site
 -- factory manufacturing reduce traffic, equipment/ material suppliers around final
construction site.
 Time Efficiency
 -- Time efficient to build-- taking less than half time when compared to traditional construction
 --due to better planning, reduced site disruptions and quicker fabrication of multiple
components.
 -- Permits multiple projects simultaneously -- Reduced on-site construction manpower
/supervision leads to construction efficiency.
 -- Minimum operation for finishing on site including watering of concrete/ brick walls, seasoning
of wood, painting and polishing of wood/door etc, which minimises t time span for construction
Safety
 Promote safety of building after construction including safety of workers at site
during construction
 . Risks/ dangers posed by hazardous sites, weather, etc., neutralized
 -- components mostly manufactured in a controlled/ safe environment

25. Prefabrication
Construction-
Limitations

26. Pre- fabrication/Modular
Construction/off-site- Limitations
 Monotony
 Restricting additions and alterations
 Reduced Resale Value
 Roadblock in Financing
 Accuracy and Precision
 High Transportation Cost
 Mass Production
 Skilled Manpower and Cost

27. WAY FORWARD

28. Way Forward India passing through an era of rapid and massive urbanisation
 coupled with government launching number of missions and yojnas
calling for
 --Housing for all by 2022’;
 -- constructed 6m HHtoilets/4.5 lakh public toilets – Nov3,2018 pan
India-SBM
 --creating markets for street vendors
 --creating home for houseless- 2.95 Mi in rural areas-Average Const
Time reduced from 314 to114 days – 20 Million houses to be const. in
urban areas
 --Skill development Centres for skilling India- under National Urban
Skill & Livelihood Mission;
 --promoting rural development under Ru-Urban Mission;
 --development of 100 cities under Smart City Mission
 -- development of 13 cities under HRIDAY and AMRUT,
 -- demand for building is increasing many fold.
 - For achieving defined objectives under these innovative

29. Conclusion- Way Forward
 Prefabrication known to offer best solutions to many problems
hammering construction industry.
 Government must immediately come out with a well defined
innovative policy & provide incentives to industry;
 -- to promote state of art construction technologies.
 - to promote pre-fabrication/modular construction
 -- Make it integral part of manuals
 - Make it Integral part of study curricula of the
Engineering/Architectural education
 --Despite limitations-- prefabricated/precast construction
methods offer numerous benefits involving;
 -- optimal materials usage - recycling of material/waste
 -- freedom from pollution, -- freedom from wind & rain;
 -- improved construction safety;-- year round and fast
construction,
 -- reduced pilferage; better quality control etc
 -- providing a real alternative to on-site processes.
 --With improvement in manufacturing technology
 -- prefabricated construction proving to be an extremely viable

30. Conclusion- Way Forward
 -- Committee of experts appointed by National
Research Council of USA identified—
 “greater use of prefabrication/modularization” as a
key breakthrough opportunity to;
 -- significantly improve efficiency/ competitiveness
of construction industry
 --due to acute shortage of onsite quality skilled
labour
 -- for making structures leaner
 - for making structures qualitative
 For making optimum use of prefab technology– --
Evolve/Develop components which can be applied
from project to project;
 --undertaking brain storming session with client and
design team;
 --taking decision to use pre-fab in the beginning of

31. Emerging Construction Technologies-
2018
 1. Augmented Reality- instead of virtual reality using
augmented reality- you not only visualize real world through a
camera lens, but also add to it, the opportunities for
construction industry are endless
 2. Cloud & Mobile Technology- Being accessible from
anywhere/ connected online--technology become preferred in
construction industry for remaining competitive in market.
 3. Connected Job Sites-To make engineers, managers,
surveyors, architects and construction workers connected-
growing software solutions enabling sharing graphics,
measurements / instructions to be passed more efficiently/
in real-time
 4. Construction Management Software—to help manage
business operations including job costing, service
management, project management, scheduling, budgeting,

32. Emerging Construction
Technologies 5. Wearable Technology– to help keep workers safe; allows;
passing on the instructions; help track a worker in case of an
accident
 6. Drones-- Save time; quick surveying ; saving labour costs;
ensuring accuracy and precision in readings; less human
involvement necessary.
 7. Smart/Green Construction--If construction process is
streamlined using time / labour sparing technologies; using
solar/wind/ other sustainable energy- easily offset initial cost leading
to clients’ savings.
 8 BIM (Building Information Modelling- enables 3D and4D (time),
5D, 6D, 7D, 8D programming; cost as-built operation; sustainability;
safety--an intelligent, model-based technology -takes a project from
conception to completion
 9. 3D Printing- cost-prohibitive and time to finish a project by this
machine very slow-technology very important for construction
industry going forward.

33. Aussie brick-laying Robot working
20 times faster than human being

34. UK construction sector to employ
nearly 5,000 drones by 2030

35. 3D Printing
Technology

36. Stay Lean with Cloud Based
Technology

37. Virtual Reality-Google, Samsun
Apple/Facebook/Microsoft working on
technology