Chapter
Nov 9, 2020
Construction Research Congress 2020

Constraints of Modular Construction for Fully Serviced and Finished Homes: Lessons Learned from Canada

Publication: Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts

ABSTRACT

Among different approaches to modular construction, the fully serviced and finished home is the most advanced approach that has revolutionized the construction industry. The benefits of this approach are realized in enhancing the workflow, efficient use of resources, improving construction safety, reducing construction wastes, cutting the on-site contractors, optimizing the construction scheduling, and consequently the project duration. However, more investigations are required to explore the constraints of employing this approach and the possible mitigations to overcome those. The aim of this study is to tackle the constraints of adopting fully serviced and finished homes from a manufacturer’s perspective. To accomplish this objective, a literature review was conducted and the most important constraints found were used for a semi-structured interview with a Canadian manufacturer. The three most important constraints were highlighted and the approached adopted to overcome those limitations by that specific manufacturer are discussed. Furthermore, five themes that were less important to this manufacturer were investigated. This study is an informative asset for the industry practitioners to have a better understanding of the limitations and applicability of modular construction.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank Cal Harvey, former chief executive officer and co-founder of LINQS Developments Company, who kindly accepted to be interviewed for this study and Mohsen Hatami, Ph.D. student at Rinker School of Construction Management, for his assistance in editing the manuscript.

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Published In

Go to Construction Research Congress 2020
Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts
Pages: 1057 - 1063
Editors: David Grau, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Pingbo Tang, Ph.D., Arizona State University, and Mounir El Asmar, Ph.D., Arizona State University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8288-9

History

Published online: Nov 9, 2020
Published in print: Nov 9, 2020

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Authors

Affiliations

Mahshad Kazem-Zadeh [email protected]
Ph.D. Student, Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, Sr. Rinker School of Construction Management, Univ. of Florida. E-mail: [email protected]
Raja R. A. Issa, Ph.D. [email protected]
Sr. Rinker School of Construction Management, Univ. of Florida. E-mail: [email protected]

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