Industrialized Building System: a Framework for the Construction Industry

The construction industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has experienced significant increase in new projects in the past decades. Although the economy has been slowing down for the last couple of years, there are still significant needs in infrastructure and housing projects. Fulfilling those needs will be very difficult if the construction industry still uses the conventional construction method, where construction components are cast in situ. Industrializing the construction industry was the approach that was taken by many countries that experienced similar problems. Industrialized construction/building system concept can be defined as the implementation of manufacturing methods to construction-related activities in order to improve quality, reduce cost and shorten project duration. The proposed research aims to investigate the industrialization of building/construction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The aim can be achieved by meeting the following objectives: to identify and assess (1) the current practices of utilizing industrialized building system in the KSA construction industry; (2) the barriers for developing industrialized building system in the KSA; (3) the enablers for the development of industrialized building system in the KSA; and (4) to proposed a framework for developing industrialized building system for the KSA construction industry. The proposed research will begin with literature reviews on industrialized building/construction systems (IBS). The literature reviews will provide understandings on: definition and concepts of industrialized building/construction systems; the factors that enabling the successful implementation of IBS; and the barriers that have been experienced by the construction industry in other countries in adopting IBS. Following the literature review, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with key stakeholders in the KSA construction industry. The interviews will be limited to the companies that operate in the Eastern Province. The purpose of the interview is to develop an understanding on the current practices of industrial building system in the KSA, by exploring the views, experiences, beliefs and/or motivations of the respondents. The interview questions will be developed based the literature reviews. A questionnaire survey will then be conducted to identify the barriers and enablers for developing IBS in the KSA. In addition to respondents in the Eastern Province, the questionnaire will also be distributed to the respondents in other major cities, such as Riyadh and Jeddah. The results of literature reviews and the interviews will be used for developing the survey questionnaire. Based on the literature reviews, the interview results and the questionnaire survey results, a framework for developing the industrialized building system will be proposed. The Delphi method will then be used to communicate and verify the proposed framework. The targeted respondents for the Delphi survey are the respondents who will be involved the interview phase.