PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION

Vikram M. Sawant
vikramsawant77@yahoo.com

Guidance by,
Ar.Nupur C.

Prefabrication technology strives to provide a faster construction process in

which a building is produced in prefabricated parts that are prefabricated off site in
well-equipped manufacturing facilities under regulated conditions. After being
delivered from the factory to the job site, the prefabricated units are erected as final
and finished building components. The prefabrication process includes finalising
the design of various structural components, casting and curing of units,
transportation and installation of these units on site. The prefabricated modules
might be whole or portions of bigger rooms that are put together to make a whole
component.

Prefabricated Construction is widely used in construction industry due to its

numerous benefits like its comfortable, safe, durable, versatile, and at the same
time provides quality. All building elements can be prefabricated like, beam,
column, wall, slab, etc. even and entire room can be prefabricated. Building
having same room like apartments or offices can be built through prefabrication of
a module (of size that can be transported and lifted) in mass production. It is
suitable for housing projects. Prefabricated units are able to be reused or
dismantled thereby reducing the cost and energy of the new products.

N. Dineshkumar (2015) did a comparison study of residential building

prefabrication versus cast-in-place construction. In India, the construction boom is
accelerating at a rapid pace. It offers a large number of opportunities for a new
entrant into the prefabrication market in India. Precast concrete buildings are the
most advanced construction techniques available now all over the world. The cost
of prefab construction for a single double-story residential building is 13% higher
than the cost of conventional construction. This is the primary disadvantage of
prefabricated building, which is not expense in this situation. At the same time,
prefab construction is simple to create and reduces project length by 63 days when
compared to traditional methods.
 T. Gunawardena and associates conducted a case study and survey to
highlight the energy analysis for using prefabricated modular construction. The
embodied energy and operational energy for prefabricated construction is lower
than conventional construction. Also, as prefabricated units can be reused it
reduces embodied energy for next production even more. Also due to
prefabrication and reuse, waste reduction takes place.

The important principles of prefabrication technology are as follows.

Cost - When compared to other construction processes, prefabrication

technology is recognised to be more cost efficient. Prefabrication has a significant
impact on three aspects of the cost inculcated in the construction industry: material,
labour, and time. The first step in cutting costs is to limit the amount of material
used in a construction project. Materials are ordered in huge quantities in a
building project to ensure a sufficient quantity for the task to be finished and to
receive a discount because the item is ordered in large quantities. Factory-produced
components may initially be overpriced due to prefabrication technology's ability
to save much on material management. It is economically adverse in the case of
small projects because to the lower number of components. Transportation and
erection costs are examples of miscellaneous costs that might be spent with
prefabrication technology.

Schedule - The practise of continuously constructing in the factory while

work is being conducted on site saves time and money. Subcontractors must wait
for the previous contractor to finish their work in typical onsite building processes;
but, in a factory, teams can collaborate by allowing pieces to be built by more than
one skill. Simultaneous production procedures might also help save time.
Prefabrication decisions are made ahead of time so that schedule savings can be
realised from the start of construction.

Labor - Yield is a measure of labour efficiency. The adoption of offsite

manufacturing methods, technology such as factory machinery, advancements in
material science, and digital revolutions have all had a favourable impact on
construction worker productivity. Enhanced human spirit to boost output, greater
levels of dominance, clarity, and precision, added variability to production
manipulation, and enhanced monitoring to prevent weariness are some of the
productivity features.

Quality - In the construction sector, the two most important characteristics to

examine are the quality of production and the quality of design. Structure becomes
more standardised as manufacturing quality improves, but a highly customised
design invariably shows inefficiency in production. Prefabrication technology can
significantly improve product precision and provide you more control over every
area of quality. The prefab components have decreased diverging and
inconsistency, in addition to enhanced precision. In a highly multivariable
structure, prefabrication reduces the chance of errors and eliminates the unknowns.

Prefabrication Technology has following major advantages.

Changing the perspective with Energy Efficiency – Initially, prefabricated

structures were thought to be of inferior quality. Builders are striving to improve
energy efficiency through various ways such as recycling materials, employing
LED lighting, and installing solar panels to harness solar energy in order to stand
out in the competitive construction industry. This provides cost savings on energy
usage to the point where clean energy can be produced and fed back into the
energy system, lessening environmental impact.

Minimal waste and inspection challenges - Individual units are cast, cured,
and transported to the job site, where they are assembled utilising a variety of
erection machines. Prefabricated buildings produce less waste than structures
constructed using traditional methods because all of the necessary elements for
construction arrive on site preassembled. Aside from the ease of construction and
energy savings, prefabricated structures are always built in accordance with certain
design codes, ensuring that there are no issues when the project is examined by
government officials.

Reliable Construction Plan - There are extremely few risks of time schedule
variations because the casting of the individual units takes place in a controlled
environment that is not affected by weather problems. The average structure would
be built in the quickest period possible if such disruptions were not there. Workers
are placed in a low-risk atmosphere during the construction process, which
increases their emotions of safety and comfort. As a result of all of these elements,
it is assured that the structure will receive all of the required care and attention to
the details that it requires in order to be constructed properly.

Workflow - The off-site fabrication process may take place in the warehouse
in tandem with on-site activities. This has the potential to significantly cut the
overall construction time of a project.

Security - Health and safety are easier to control in a warehouse because

most of the work is done at waist height and skilled labourers are familiar with the
warehouse's processes, machinery, and systems.

Sustainability – Minimum site disturbances, properly regulated material and

construction waste flow, and pre-planned assembly and disassembly can all help to
limit the environmental impact of building activities.

Quality - In an isolated and regulated process, a well defined quality may be

accomplished, and the indoor atmosphere protects structures and components from
climatic change. Prefabrication technology is becoming more popular in urban
building because of the multiple benefits listed above.

Prefabrication technology is known to have the following limitations.

Limited design alternatives - The availability of design diversity is

dependent on the firm or organisation chosen to construct the prefabricated
construction – one may be restricted to a limited number of material options and
layout possibilities. This means there's a potential the structure's design will be less
flexible than assumed or intended.

Reduced resale value - The majority of people believe they are of poor
quality and strength, making reselling them extremely difficult. High initial
investment -Using prefabrication technology necessitates a significant initial cost.

Non-suitability for substructure — Prefabrication technology is not suitable

for substructure construction. The foundation and plinth are built using traditional
methods, and the superstructure is built using prefabrication technology.

Transportation of precast modules - For the construction of prefabricated

structures, transportation might be costly. The actual transportation cost is
determined by a number of important elements, including the distance travelled,
permit costs, and trailer assumptions. Prefabricated component manufacturers
typically prefer to transport their components to the construction site by truck and
trailer. Certain issues may develop during the transport of precast elements,
depending on the nature of the prefabricated system used and the location of the
site.

Increases in unanticipated risks - When compared to typical building methods,

prefabrication has a number of unplanned dangers. Because the majority of large
building elements are constructed off-site, the manufacturer is entrusted with a
great deal of trust and responsibility to produce exactly what is specified, and even
minor errors and discrepancies can endanger the entire structure.

Because building materials are cast in a warehouse and then brought to the
job site for final erection and installation, prefabrication construction technology
produces less waste on the job site. As a result, not only time but also money is
saved. When compared to the old approach, the cost of a structure produced
utilizing prefab technology is significantly lower, and the construction time is also
significantly shorter. The prefab construction technology helps to reduce negative
environmental impacts and provides an environmentally acceptable structure. As a
result, prefab building is far more efficient and long-lasting. If this technology is
used for repetitive tasks, higher quality control can be obtained. From the study
one may conclude that the prefab technology is economical than conventional cast
in place method, but still there are certain aspects as mentioned earlier which may
be taken into consideration while using this technology. The sustainability aspects
viz. social, economic and environmental may promote prefab technology as a
promising alternative in construction industry. Although the study concludes that
prefab technology is more cost-effective than the traditional cast-in-place process,
there are still some factors to consider when employing this technology, as noted
earlier. The social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability may
promote prefab technology as a feasible alternative in the construction business.