On-site factories to support lean principles and industrialized construction

Rosarius Anton and García de Soto Borja ()
Additional contact information
Rosarius Anton: MSc, Drees & Sommer, Derendorfer Allee 6, 40476 Dusseldorf, Germany
García de Soto Borja: S.M.A.R.T. Construction Research Group, Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), Saadiyat Island, PO Box 129188, United Arab Emirates.

Organization, Technology and Management in Construction, 2021, vol. 13, issue 1, 2353-2366

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of on-site factories that combine the strengths of both prefabrication techniques and a traditional work environment to support lean principles and promote industrialized construction for on-site operations. Design/methodology/approach Based on the principles of lean construction and design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA), discrete-event simulation is used to evaluate different arrangements and configurations of an on-site factory for the prefabrication of structural insulated panels (SIPs). Findings The proposed on-site factory provided a feasible way to promote lean and industrialized construction principles. Also, these types of factories are particularly relevant for projects in remote areas that do not have sufficient infrastructure. Further, it is also a good solution for strengthening the local economy by using local labor and suppliers, hence assisting in the creation of a socially responsible framework. Originality/value This study presents the design of an on-site factory for the prefabrication of SIPs. This type of on-site assembly supports not only lean principles but also promotes social responsibility by capitalizing on local labor. This approach could be particularly interesting for construction companies in developing countries or working in a project with limited infrastructure.

Keywords: design for manufacture and assembly; flexible factory; flying factory; lean construction; lean manufacturing; industrialized construction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2021-0004 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:otamic:v:13:y:2021:i:1:p:2353-2366:n:1

DOI: 10.2478/otmcj-2021-0004

Access Statistics for this article

Organization, Technology and Management in Construction is currently edited by Mladen Radujković

More articles in Organization, Technology and Management in Construction from Sciendo
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().