Essay on Investigation of Alternative Methods of Construction

Principles of Prefabrication Construction Technology

• Hastening up the construction process, since with prefabrication technology there is not any need for curing
• Utilizing the locally available materials with the required characteristics
• Enhance the quality of the construction project since the various components can be manufacturer in controlled conditions
• To boost the economy through costs
• Assist in utilizing various materials which have natural characteristics such as thermal insulation, easy workability and light weight

Factors influencing the use of Prefabrication as a construction method

Quality

Prefabrication technology is used in construction projects why the quality and standards demanded are high. This can be attributed to the fact that the quality standards that can be realised with factor prefabrication are considerably high when compared to the ones that would be achieved with on-site construction (Allen and Iano 2019). In most cases, this applies to hot trades and welding such as mechanical services and pipe work. Prefabrication, in particular, saves substantial volume of site work in confined spaces.

Time

Time is equally a key factor that influences the choice of prefabrication as a construction method. Notably, in short programme construction projects where time is of higher priority than cost, prefabrication is an excellent alternative method of construction (Allen and Iano 2019). Arguably, this is because fabrication enables the parallel working on multiple aspects of a project. For example, throughout the world bridges over motorways often get prefabricated to avoid causing traffic snarl ups (Allen and Iano 2019). Further, avalanches shelters are usually prefabricated structures since they have a smaller time frame between various seasons in which construction can take place.

Repetitive construction projects

Prefabrication technology is often used in construction projects that are highly repetitive. When there are high volumes of construction projects that are repetitive; then prefabrication technology is the best construction alternative. Partly, this explains why the prefabrication technology often gets used in the construction of hostels, hotels and residential blocks and houses among others (Uher and Davenport 2019).

Unsuitable sites for standard construction methods

Prefabrication is often in used in sites that are unsuitable for the normal construction techniques and methods; for instance, mountainous region. Prefabrication is also used in cases where there are no locally available materials for construction (Uher and Davenport 2019).

Benefits of Prefabrication that may be realized by the contractor

Financial savings

Arguably, the greatest advantage of prefabrication construction technology is the financial savings. However, most people do not believe that prefabrication construction technology is less costly because of the ingrained perception that custom-made pieces are usually expensive. Prefabrication construction technology results in increased financial savings primarily because it targets all the price points and budgets resulting in an affordable option (Uher and Davenport 2019). It is also imperative to note that most of the manufacturers of the prefabricated structure usually receive huge discounts from the suppliers of constructions materials. The huge discounts on the construction materials also trickle down to the overall cost of a particular construction project (Uher and Davenport 2019). Prefabrication construction technology also assists clients to avoid the possibility of unreliable suppliers and contractors. Besides, since prefabrication technology reduce a project’s time, this also leads to construction savings.

Flexibility

Furthermore, prefabrication construction technology is advantageous because it gives the client and the contractor a greater level of flexibility. Most of the prefabricated structures can easily be disassembled and transferred to other sites. As a result, this substantially minimizes the demand for the raw materials. It also reduces the overall time needed for a particular construction project and the expended energy (Uher and Davenport 2019). Prefabrication construction technology also offers clients and contracts myriads of opportunities in the design structures since there is a flexibility in the design structures. Prefabricated structures can also easily blend with multiple building types because of their neutral aesthetics.

Consistent and high quality

As mentioned in the preceding section, prefabricated structures usually get manufactured in controlled environments. Subsequently, this ensures that consistent and high quality structures get manufactured. Because of the controlled environment, it is easier to ensure that the construction follows specified standards and requirements (Uher and Davenport 2019). Each sub-assembly of a prefabricated structure often gets built by experienced employees in weather resistant workshops. Multiple quality checks are present in the process of the construction of prefabricated structures, which ensures the overall quality of the project is not compromised with.

 Reduced Construction time

It usually takes less time to build a prefabricated structured when compared to an on-site structure. Ordinarily, prefabrication takes half the time that would be taken by the conventional methods of construction. Some of the reasons why prefabricated structures take less time to build include elimination of on-site weather factors, excellent up front planning and faster fabrication since various pieces can be simultaneously manufactured (Allen et al.,2017). The reduced construction time is advantageous to construction companies since it allows them to handle multiple projects concurrently. Subsequently, this promotes their growth since they do not have to focus all of their resources and expertise on a few construction projects.

References

Allen, E. and Iano, J., 2019. Fundamentals of building construction: materials and methods. John Wiley & Sons.

Allen, E., Thallon, R. and Schreyer, A.C., 2017. Fundamentals of residential construction. John Wiley & Sons.

Uher, T.E. and Davenport, P., 2009. Fundamentals of building contract management. UNSW Press.