PART A: Modularization

Question 1:
Off-site Construction is including planning, designing, fabricating, transporting and
assembling all the building components at the remote location, and all the construction elements
will be installed at referred location. The off-site construction is used in vary construction types
such as residential, commercial, industrial constructions. It is because off-site construction can
reduce amount of time and material.

Question 2:
The reasons, why the modular construction is faster than on-site construction, are
Reduced Construction Schedule, Elimination of weather delays, and built to code with quality
material. The construction schedules can be reduced because while constructing the foundations
of the building, the other components are fabricating. When finishing the foundation, other
elements are done and ready to be transported to the site. As the result, the completion time
reduced.
The other reason for fasting the project is that the project could not be affected by the
weather. All construction elements are manufacturing on the factories which be covered all the
time. Otherwise, the on-site project affects by the weather. During raining days, the construction
employees could not pour the concrete or assemble the formwork.
The last thing is the structures are built to code with quality material. All projects must be
meet the requirements from the building codes and standards. The modular construction can
control the quality easier than on-site construction. As a result, constructors do not have to
consider about the quality. In the other hand, on-site construction is really hard to control the
quality due to the large size. In some cases, the managers must recheck all the activities which is
delay the whole projects.

Question 3: What is the difference between off-site and on-site construction.

First, there is the difference between the states. States usually require agency to inspect
the quality of the work. For the off-site construction, the inspectors will check the design,
approval and construction components at the manufacturing plants. For the on-site construction,
there are RPRs to inspect the construction site.
Second, the transportation is always different between off-site and on-site constructions.
The off-site construction project requires to transport such large components such as the beams,
columns, or whole walls to construction site. This is required a lot of efforts and money. As a
result, the transportation in off-site construction is very important. Otherwise, the on-site
construction is not required a lot of effort to the transportation. It is because the materials are raw
and small.
Other different is that there must be a special engineer to ensure the loading during the
transportation. The engineer must calculate all the cases in order to ensure the components
delivered on time and safe. Moreover, in off-site construction, there must be some special
equipment in order to handle such the large and heavy construction elements.
The last difference is that the schedule control method. In in-site construction project, the
CPM are provided to ensure that the project is on time. However, in the off-site construction
project, the CPM is not useful, so there must be a professional approach of scheduling
management.
Question 4:
There are 3 factors, which decide when we prefer the off-site construction. Schedule must be
met, repetitions are possible, and contract has provisions/requirements.
The schedule must be met due to the given time. The project such as schools, hospitals or
embassies must be done quickly. This is the important part that if the off-site construction is
possible or not.
The repetition is significant for such off-site constructions. The project is manufacturing
the same components for the whole structures, so to reduce the cost and time, off-site
construction refers to use the same elements. As a result, before planning the off-site
constructions, engineers must consider if the repetition is possible to decide what kind of
construction they are using.
The last consideration is that if there is any provision. This is a special structure;
therefore, in order to consider what type of construction, the investors have to see if there is any
dealers or manufacturers nearby or not. In some places, there is no manufacturer for this type of
construction, so there is hard to use the off-site construction. Another thing must be considered is
that the distance between the construction site and the manufacturers.

Question 5:
The Green benefits of modular construction is minimizing the total impacts from the air
pollutions, material wastes, and noise pollutions. The technology using in modular construction
is optimal the material waste and time consumption, so there are less material wastes. Moreover,
the recycled materials are used which means modular building are recyclable buildings. Another
thing is that the off-site use less energy than conventional buildings. It is because the modular are
installed with energy efficient systems.

PART B: Modularization and LEED

Question 6:
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is the program that
provides the verification of green constructions which based on the rating systems. LEED
certification are provided for buildings which save money and resources and improve healthy
environment.

Question 7:
There are nine categories of LEED.
1. Location and Transportation
2. Sustainable Sites
3. Water Efficiency
4. Energy& Atmosphere
5. Material Resources
6. Indoor Environmental Quality
7. Innovation
8. Regional Priority
9. Integrative Process

Question 8:
 Sustainable Sites (SS) category is applied for new construction, Schools, Retail, Data
Centers, Warehouses, Hospitality, and Healthcare. The purpose of SS category is to reduce
pollution from the activities. It will be done by monitoring soil erosion, water way
sedimentation, and airborne dust. Moreover, SS category also protect the healthy environment as
well as site condition.
Water Efficiency (WE) category is about the using water in all construction including
new construction, Core and Shell, Schools, Retail, Data Centers, Warehouses, Hospitality, and
Healthcare. The goal of WE category to reduce the water consumption, control the water, and
save by tracking water. Moreover, WE category also provide the water management tools, so
constructions can develop their tools to control the water assumption.

PART C: Modularization Expert Lecture

TUNG TRAN
PHUONG NGUYEN
Question 9:
Reinforced concrete was used as reinforcement in the construction of the temple because
of the easy to create the sharp. Moreover, the earthquake happens frequently, the plates must be
installed to reduce the impacts of earthquake. In order to install the plates, reinforced concrete
must be used.

Question 10:
The key is to lock the whole roof into the place. The key will not allow any
displacements, so the building will be stable for the whole time. This is very important because
the displacements will create the cracks in the wall as well as the roof which leads to collapse the
whole buildings.

Question 11:
One challenge that when they were doing the mat foundation, the rain came, and the
water was in the foundation as a lake. In order to remove the water, they used pump and must do
it quickly because the event would happen in the next day.
PART D: LEAN CONSTRUCTION

Question 12:
Fewer delays: there are less delays because the project is organized. Therefore, activities
consume less time than other projects.
Less Waste: managers eliminate what is not important and select such the important materials.
Lower cost: because of eliminating waste material and saving time, the cost is reduced.
Fewer Surprises: Lean provides the organized project, so that all surprises are predicted.

Question 13:
Last Planner System is the planning system which is designed to create the work flow
and learning in programming, design, construction of project. It is based on Lean Construction
principles. The system helps team project have the overall and work as a group, so there is less
errors and mistakes due to activities linked together.
Percent Plan Complete: is the measurement used in the Last Planner systems. It is
calculated by Amount of actual work done in a week divided Work planned. The percent Plan
Complete and productivity are related together. From that, manager can control and analysis to
have the perfect schedule to save cost and time.

Question 14:
Lean method is used to improve the construction processes. There are three main factors:
Labor, Material, and Equipment which affect the direct cost of construction. Manager using lean
methods to reduce the waste of labor and use the human resources efficiently. As a result, the
labor cost can be reduced significantly. Also, the equipment cost can be controllable due to using
lean design. Therefore, the waste of time is reduced at the minimum. Material can be used
efficiently, so there is less waste. All three factors can help manager to have better time
productivity, reduce safety hazards, and save cost.

Question 15:
Standardizing: is help the project to be organized by creating the standard ways to work.
This is must be clear and organized, so the employees can follow. The reasons for this are to help
who are responsible for what and how to maintain. The clear instruction and clearly mark
material can reduce the confusion during working.
Self-Discipline: is to create the professional work environment. By checking yourself by
using the lists, the employees can be able to improve the work productivity. To be more specific,
the money can be saved due to using the self-discipline method.