CIV 367

PREFABRICATION
AND
MODULAR CONSTRUCTION

Akshat Mahajan
Prefabrication
Prefabrication, the assembly of buildings or their components at a
location other than the building site. The method
controls construction costs by economizing on time, wages, and
materials. Prefabricated units may include doors, stairs, window
walls, wall panels, floor panels, roof trusses, room-sized components,
and even entire buildings.

The concept and practice of prefabrication in one form or another has been
part of human experience for centuries; the modern sense of
prefabrication, however, dates from about 1905.

In Pre-fab construction, building components are pre-fabricated in yards

and brought to construction site of installation. In traditional
construction all components are casted at situations. Pre-fab are fast to
complete the construction as many components are casted together in
advance and installed at site without delay
 Prefabrication
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or
other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to
the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is used to distinguish this
process from the more conventional construction practice of transporting the basic
materials to the construction site where all assembly is carried out.
The term prefabrication also applies to the manufacturing of things other than structures
at a fixed site. It is frequently used when the fabrication of a section of a machine or any
movable structure is shifted from the main manufacturing site to another location, and the
section is supplied assembled and ready to fit. It is not generally used to refer to electrical
or electronic components of a machine, or mechanical parts such as pumps, gearboxes
and compressors which are usually supplied as separate items, but to sections of the
body of the machine which in the past were fabricated with the whole machine.
Prefabricated parts of the body of the machine may be called 'sub-assemblies' to distinguish
them from the other components.
Prefabricated Components
 Prefabrication : When it Started
Actually started from the countries where there was a challenge of
construction throughout the year. So the engineers started the
production of elements (beams, slabs, columns, etc) in the factories
when it was not possible to work in open due to adverse weather
conditions. For, then those pre-fabricated elements were erected on
site. certain months when the weather used to be clear

Majorly this was the reason that precast construction technology came
into existence
Aims of Prefabricated Construction
Advantages of Prefabricated Construction.
Mitigating the labor shortage

Contractors already have difficulty finding labor, but construction still

needs to happen. When on-site construction proceeds piecemeal, it
reduces labor productivity even further. Prefabrication, therefore, helps
companies speed up timelines, make the most of the labor they have on-
site, increase productivity, and compete in the marketplace

Cost-effectiveness:

Moving partial assemblies from a factory often costs less than moving
pre-production resources to each site.

Plus, as labor productivity rises, costs associated with personnel fall.

Advantages of Prefabricated Construction.
Time savings
According to Brandt, “A modular building can go up as much as 50%
faster than traditional construction, taking a project from
conception to completion quickly and easily—reaching that coveted
return on investment fast.” This is especially important on heavy civil
projects that can be very weather-dependent. When you’re racing a
rainy season, time is of the essence and prefabrication can help you
maintain tighter timelines
Quality control

When compared to repeated construction on-site, factory tools can offer

added quality assurance. Moreover, the consistent indoor
environments of factories eliminate most impacts of weather on
production, while the streamlined manufacture and assembly processes
improve job site safety on the whole.
Advantages of Prefabricated Construction.
Lower environmental Impact

Constructing pieces quickly offsite results in reduced pollution and

disturbance of jobsites. This protects nearby wetlands or protected
areas and minimizes disruption of local flora and fauna. The
controlled, dry environment of modular construction saves on water
usage and enables the recycling of scraps and other materials. Plus,
with less on-site traffic and streamlined transportation, fossil fuel
consumption plummets.

Better safety and security

By reducing the timeframe of a construction-site, you concurrently

reduce the amount of time that site is vulnerable to vandalism or theft.
Because prefab, modular or manufactured pieces arrive in much
larger “chunks,” the building itself goes up faster, and you can secure
it that much sooner.
 Advantages of Prefabricated Construction.
•Easy Assembly
The foremost speciality of prefabricated construction is that each component can be
manufactured separately and then transported to the site of construction, So easy to
Assembling.

•Sustainable construction
Extra balance of materials after the prefabricated building construction can be recycled or
reuse instead of thrown away.

•Quality
Prefabrication parts are manufactured in a controlled industrial environment, and there
must be a standard of quality that has to be followed.
The quality of the work will be better as everything is done in a controlled industrial
environment
Prefabricated buildings are more budget-friendly when compared with on-site
construction.

•Eco Friendly
prefabricated materials are constructed in a factory, extra materials can be recycled in-hous
Advantages of Prefabricated Construction.
•Wastage
Prefabricated structures reduce material wastage.

•Faster construction
prefabrication takes less than half the time approximately when compared to old
construction types.

•Budget friendly
Prefabricated buildings are more budget-friendly when compared with on-site
construction.

•Eco Friendly
prefabricated materials are constructed in a factory, extra materials can be recycled
in-house.
Characteristics to be considered for
Prefabrication
• Easy Availability
• Light weight for easy handling and Transport and to economize
on sections and sizes of foundations
• Thermal Insulation Property
• Easy Workability
• Durability in all weather Conditions
• Non-Combustibility
• Economy in Cost
• Sound Insulation
Need for Prefabrication
• Prefabricated construction is obtained in places where it is not
suitable for normal construction Practise such as Hills.

• Prefabricated construction is adopted in places where

materials are not Locally available.

• In order to achieve speed in construction

• In order to obtain high-quality of work with a higher degree

of precision.
Need for Prefabrication

• If there is a lack of space in the construction site.

• If there is bad weather conditions in the construction site.

• Non- availability of local workers near to construction site.

• If there is mass construction practice.

Principles of Prefabrication
• To improve quality of work, as it is manufactured under improved

and controlled conditions.

• To speed up the construction, since no curing is necessary

• To achieve a good quality of construction with minimal cost.

• To use materials that possess innate characteristics such as

lightweight, sound insulation, thermal conductivity etc…

• To use locally available materials with required characteristics

• Use of reusable materials in construction

Principles of Prefabrication
• Design for flexibility and adaptability.
• Simplify and standardize building systems.
• To provide safety working platform during deconstruction.
• To minimize complexities in building design.
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Advantages of Prefabrication
1. Self-supporting readymade components are used, hence use of
scaffolding and shuttering is greatly reduced.
2. Speeder construction than normal one
3. Quality control can be easier in factory than in construction site
4. Quality obtained in prefabrication process is higher than normal one
5. Prefabricated construction is independent of bad weather conditions
in the construction site.
6. Onsite construction and congestion is eliminated
7. Provides safer working platform for labourers
8. There is minimization of noise and dust in the construction site
9. Prefabrication mode is economical than conventional methods
10. Lesser expansion joints are required
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Disadvantages of Prefabrication
• Careful handling of prefabricated panels are required.
• If the joints are not properly sealed there may be problem of
leakages
• Cost of transportation may be high
• Transport of high voluminous materials requires larger road width
• Traffic congestion is the big issue during mass transportation
• Large prefabricated structure requires heavy duty crane, high
precision measurement and proper placing of components
• Attention has to be paid towards strength and corrosion resistance
of sections while joining in order to avoid failures
• Local jobs may be lost
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Modular Coordination
Modular coordination is a concept of coordination of dimension and
space, in which buildings and components are dimensioned and
positioned in a term of a basic unit or module, known as ‘1M’ which is
equivalent to 100 mm.

• It is internationally accepted by the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) and many other countries.

• Thus, the modular coordination can facilitate the achievement of

greater productivity in the building industry by virtue of its ability to
discipline the dimensional and spatial coordination of a building and its
components.
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Modular Coordination
Modular Coordination is a useful design tool that provides useful design
principles and rules which combine freedom in architectural planning
and free choice of construction method, with the possibility of
incorporating standardized modular components in the project.
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Modular Coordination
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Modular Coordination
The standard specifies that the module basic M =100mm as the basic unit
to be used in a square of M. The introduction of MC in the industry is to
improve productivity and quality in building construction as well as to
act as a tool for rationalization and industrialization of the building
industry.

MC has been introduced in Malaysia since 1986, but has not been widely
implemented in the building industry. The main factors limiting the uses
of MC in building industries is lack of knowledge on MC concept and it
requires precision dimensioning and proper planning
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Modular Coordination
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Modular Coordination
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Benefits of Modular Coordination