Modular Construction/Off-Site Construction

The special collection on Modular Construction/Off-site Construction is available in the ASCE Library (https://ascelibrary.org/jcemd4/modular_construction/offsite_construction).

With the emergence and growing prominence of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital twin, and robotics, off-site construction (OSC) is gaining momentum as a promising solution for achieving productivity and safety improvement, reducing waste, and addressing labor shortages in the construction industry. However, many technological, managerial, and organizational challenges across the project life cycle are brought to bear in the implementation of OSC. This special collection in the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management highlights the recent advances that bring innovations to the OSC domain and further promote the deployment of next-generation OSC.

The special collection received a total of 131 abstracts and 90 full paper submissions. Categorizing the full paper submissions received based on country and region of origin, we found China, the United States, Australia, and the UK to be the countries most represented in the submissions, each accounting for more than 10. Canada and Hong Kong, meanwhile, accounted for nine and eight submissions, respectively, and there were five submissions from Singapore. These statistics demonstrate the interest in OSC within the global construction industry and construction research community. Following a rigorous review process, 25 papers were accepted for publication and are included in this special collection. The topics addressed in these papers are wide ranging, coalescing around the following three themes:

As noted, OSC is a promising solution for innovating the construction industry and making it more sustainable. Accordingly, OSC has received increasing attention from the research community and industry alike in recent years, and this trend can be expected to continue. We hope that the special collection will inspire further study and innovation within the field of OSC and contribute to its further development and adoption.

The guest editors would like to thank Dr. Jesus M. de la Garza, the chief editor of the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, for the opportunity to develop this special collection, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback throughout the review process.