Application of prefabrication in construction: a new research agenda for reform by CII-HK
Citation
Building journal Hong Kong China, Jan, 2003, pp. 60-66
Abstract
The application of prefabrication techniques has signified a turning point in the construction industry. Benefits include less time and reliance on site labour and easier site inspection, as well as greatly improved design details and quality control. Prefabrication together with the extensive use of standardisation and modularisation has become an essential principle in the design and construction of high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong during the 21st century. For example, precast concrete facades and staircases, coupled with semi-precast concrete floor slabs, have been adopted for the construction of standard public housing blocks throughout the 1990s. A growing trend is noted in the private sector building projects as well.
The Hong Kong construction industry is under continual stringent pressure to raise productivity, reduce costs and improve the quality levels of constructed facilities. All these requirements are the key drivers for change in the industry. A new research agenda has therefore been embarked on by the Construction Industry Institute, Hong Kong (CII-HK) to explore the existing state of implementation of prefabrication and preassembly, and how they could be successfully applied to construction services. This paper provides a succinct review of the application of prefabrication and preassembly in the local public housing construction industry, followed by the significant ingredients of the captioned research agenda. A wider use of prefabrication would help to overcome many of the hurdles inherent in traditional in-situ construction and engender more technically feasible and cost-effective installations.
(1) Introduction
(2) Public housing development in Hong Kong
(3) Benefits of prefabrication techniques to the construction industry
(4) Precast concrete facade elements
(5) Semi-precast concrete floor slabs
(6) Wide scope of prefabrication of building components
(7) Construction Industry Institute, Hong Kong (CII-HK)
(8) New research agenda for reform by CII-HK
(9) Potential benefits of the prefabrication study to the construction industry
(10) Major deliverables from the prefabrication study
(11) Conclusions and recommendations
Description
Subject
Type
Article
Format
Date
2003
Language
en