Specialty Area: Industrialized Construction

With its benefits in terms of improved productivity and safety, reduced waste, and addressing labor shortages in the construction industry, industrialized construction is gaining momentum and attracting sustained interest in the global construction industry. Given this, we are pleased to announce the launch of a new specialty area in industrialized construction within ASCE’s Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. This new specialty area provides a platform for linking theory with practice in the area of industrialized construction and for promoting next-generation construction. We welcome research papers on a wide range of topics related to industrialized construction, such as digital twins, automation and robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, the blockchain, virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR), design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA), supply chain management, lean manufacturing, factory efficiency and productivity, ergonomics and safety, modular construction, modular integrated construction (MiC), industrialization-oriented project delivery systems, legal issues in industrialized and off-site construction, and decarbonization of construction. We hope the specialty area will inspire further study and innovation in the field of industrialized construction and contribute to its further development and adoption. I invite you to take a look at the 2022 Special Collection on Modular Construction/Off-site Construction (https://ascelibrary.org/jcemd4/modular_construction/offsite_construction).