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advices for advancing the productivity of the construction industry:

• 1. Widespread deployment of Building Information Modeling (BIM)

• 2. Improved job-site efficiency

• 3. Greater use of prefabrication, preassembly, modularization, and off-site

fabrication techniques.

• 4. Innovative, widespread use of demonstration installations

• 5. Effective performance measurement to drive efficiency and support

innovation.

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Manufacturing building components off-site:
• More controlled conditions for weather, quality control, improved supervision of
labor, easier access to tools, and fewer material deliveries.

• Fewer job-site environmental impacts

• Compressed project schedules

• Fewer conflicts in work crew scheduling and better sequencing of crafts persons.

• Reduced requirements for on-site materials storage, and fewer losses of materials.

• Increased workers safety.

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Definition of Modular Construction:

• A resource efficient, off-site delivery method to construct code-compliant

buildings in a quality-controlled setting

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Advantages of Modular Construction:

• Less Materials Waste

• Less Material Exposure to Inclement Weather
• Less Site Disturbance
• Safer Construction
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Built to Code With Shorter Build Times

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Modular Building Usage:

Permanent Modular Construction

Temporary Buildings

• Education
• Healthcare
• Commercial Housing
• Office Administration
• Security
• Emergency
• Workforce housing

Assembling the entire fleet of modules rely on optimization of the crane position
Based on one case study in Muhlenberg college in Pennsylvania , over 90 modular
units were delivered in a record time of 10 days by optimizing of crane position. 6
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 Issues and Impediments about Modular Construction:

• Typically 40-50% of modular building construction is left to be completed in the field

• Geographic location of the factory
• Engineering requirements
• Specific dimension or loading limitations due to transportation constraints
• Changes in design during manufacturing can be difficult and expensive to
accommodate.
• the complexity of transportation activity is increased in modular construction.
• The increased demand for very effective coordination and communication among
participants
• For a factory and manufacturer the repetition of prefabricated components is essential
in order to meet quantity for cost effectiveness.
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The regulations set down by transport Quebec:

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Suitable project delivery system in Modular Construction:
• Most modular building projects are fixed-price contracts
• many modular construction projects are being completed faster and for less money
by utilizing Design-Build or Construction Manager at Risk(CMR).
• most architects are not experienced enough in the modular construction
• when modular manufacturing is responsible for the design or is involved the
project is more likely to be successful.

If projects use Design-Build:

direct line of communication between the owner and modular manufacturer
costs are easier to control
workload upon the owner is increased
publicly funded projects
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• In case of using Design-Bid-Build:

amount of involvement of owner in the project is reduced

if the designer firm is not familiar with modular construction it could bring high initial cost to
the project
because of additional layers of communication the project duration would be increased

• in case of using CMR:

it works very well when the modular company is either the construction manager or is a key
subcontractor with a design assist role.

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 Implementation of BIM in Modular Construction:
• The MEP coordination and fabrication process
• extensive demand of pre project planning

• Implementation of BIM systems in modular construction:

Visualization
Modeling
Code reviews
Fabrication/ shop drawings
Communication
Cost estimating
Construction sequences
Conflict, interference and collision detection
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six factors which influence the productivity of Nuclear Power Plants:
• low material availability
• low tool availability
• high rework rates
• needless interference with other crews
• overcrowded work areas and time consuming inspection delays

Reducing the amount of on-site labor with factory produced power plant modules

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 References:
• “Improving Construction efficiency & productivity with Modular Construction” , by Modular Building
Institute
• Christopher W.Lapp , Michael W.Golay,1997, “ Modular Design and Construction techniques for nuclear
power plants”,nuclear engineering and design
• Na Lu ,Thomas Korman , 2010 , “Implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM)in Modular
Construction: Benefits and Challenges” , Construction Research Congress 2010
• J.Olearczyk,Mohamed Al-Hussein,Ahmed Bouferguène,2014, “Evolution of the crane selection and on-site
utilization process for modular construction multilifts” , Automation in Construction 43 (2014) 59–72
• Calvin van Mulligen, 2012, Master thesis, “Improving the efficiency, productivity and cost-effectiveness of
modular design and construction processes”, University of Alberta
• Lara Jaillon,C.S.Poon, 2009, “ the evolution of prefabricated residential building systems in Hong Kong: A
review of the public and private sector’, Automation in Construction18(2009)239-248
• Thesis by Stefan J. Wiedeman ,McGill University, “ Modular prefabrication versus conventional construction
as a cost effective alternative for the construction of single family detached housing in the Montreal area”
• Thesis by Yasir Kadhim, University of New Brunswick,” Analysis of the adoption and implementation of
virtual reality technologies for modular construction”
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