ECV4702

Construction technology
IBS

Dr. Aidi Hizami bin Ales @ Alias

aidihizami@upm.edu.my
03-89466391
Room : 6-34
 Current scenario of construction
industry
• Messy sites
• Poor safety and health
• High wastage
• Labour intensive
• Low quality
• Delays

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• What is IBS?
• May be defined as building systems in which structural components are manufac
tured in a factory, on or off-site, transported and assembled into a structur
e with minimal additional site works
• One of the improved building systems that are being introduced to achieve the
target of faster completion with mass production of the building elements in
places out of its final location in a building
• It has been proven successful in some countries, namely Finland, Denmark, Net
herlands, Singapore, England and the United States

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• IBS definition
• Construction system that is built using pre-fabricated components. The manufa
cturing of the components is systematically done using machine, formworks and
other forms of mechanical equipment (Rahman and Omar, 2006)
• A system which use industrialised production technique either in the producti
on of component or assembly of the building or both (Parid, 1997)
• Integrated manufacturing and construction process with well planned organizat
ion for efficient management, preparation and control over resources used, ac
tivities and result supported by the use of highly developed components (Less
ing et al., 2005)
• Trikha (1999), Esa and Nurudin (1998), Junid (1986), Chung and Kadir (2007)
…..

• No one commonly accepted or agreed definition

• Prefabricated
• Industrialized or manufacturing

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• Characteristic of IBS

• Industrial production of components through prefabrication or sometimes highl

y mechanized in-situ processes (i.e. permanent steel formworks, tunnel forms
etc)

• Reduced labour during prefabrication of components and site works

• Modern design and manufacturing methods involving information technology i.e.

usage of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)

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• Characteristics of IBS

• Systematic Quality Control i.e. ISO 9000 Principles

• Open building concept

• System which allows the production of building components by various factories and
to be compatible with each other to be used in any building project

• In the evaluation of the systems, various parameters must be considered

• The transportation
• Erection problems
• Architectural features
• Socio-economic problems

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• Three major types of IBS system
• Frame system
• May be defined as structures that carry the loads through their beams and girders t
o column and the ground
• Their important feature is the capacity to transfer heavy loads over large spans
• Used in the construction of bridges, parking lots, warehouses, industrial building
s, sport facilities etc

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• Panel system
• May be defined as structures that carry the load through large floor and wall panel
s
• Concrete panel systems are extensively used in Europe for high rise building for ea
se of construction purposes
• Used in hollow core slabs, interior and exterior wall

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• Box system
• May be defined as systems that use 3D modules (or boxes) for fabrication of habitat
units
• The main features of this system are in the internal stability as it can withstand
load from various directions
• Require only large prefabricated sections to be transported or handled at one time

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• Classification for Types of IBS
• Precast concrete framing, panel and box systems

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• Steel formwork systems (Tunnel forms, beams and column moulding forms, perman
ent steel formworks (metal decks) etc)

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• Steel framing system (steel trusses, columns beams and portal frame systems)

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• Prefabricated timber framing systems (prefabricated timber trusses beams a
nd columns

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• Blockwork systems (interlocking masonry units (CMU) and lightweight concrete blocks)

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• Modular coordination (MC) and standardization
• The usage of MC is an important factor in effective IBS application and it co
mplements industrialization by standardization
• MC is an international system that standardizes measurements in buildings
• Based on the ISO standards, it is formulated to coordinate the positions and
dimensions of components and spaces in building designs

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• Benefits of MC
• Facilitates cooperation between designer, manufacturer, distributor, contract
or and authorities
• Standard components without restriction on freedom of design
• Optimize the number of standard sizes of building components
• Permits the flexible types of standardization
• Encourages the interchangeability of components (material, forms or methods o
f manufacturing)
• Simplifies the site operations
• Ensures dimensional coordination between installation

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• Advantage of IBS
• Low site workers requirement due to simplified construction methods
• Quality-controlled and highly aesthetic end products through the processes of
controlled pre-fabrication and simplified installations
• Reduction of construction materials at sites through usage of pre-fabricated
components
• Reduction or elimination of conventional timber formworks; replaced by pre-fa
bricated components and alternative moulds with multiple-usage capability
• Reduction or elimination of props due to the absence of conventional timber p
rops and the usage of pre-fabricated components
• Reduction of construction waste with the usage of the standardized components
and less in situ works
• Cleaner sites due to lesser construction waste
• Safer construction sites due to the reduction of site workers, materials and
construction waste
• Faster completion of construction projects due to the usage of standardized p
re-fabricated components and simplified installation processes
• Cheaper total construction costs due to all the above
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• Problem with IBS
• High initial cost
• The initial cost to invest in the IBS construction is higher as it requires specifi
ed machine to cast the components
• Requires highly skilled workers
• Although the number of workers is reduced, the quality of workers need to be mainta
ined in a good range. IBS system is easy to assemble yet very risky to do so if the
workers are not properly trained
• Pre-fabricated elements are inflexible
• After the elements are constructed, the shape is hardly able to change
• Transportation
• Large IBS components might be a problem to transport from one place to another, and
this will increase the construction cost and time
• Limited supply
• Non established IBS system in a specific area
• Job opportunity decreases
• Due to the demand for labour has decreased which leads to lesser job opportunities
available in the market

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• Challenges in IBS
• A pre-requisite for IBS is the adoption of MC by all parties from the submitt
ing technical consultants to the approving authorities
• Most building specialist still apply measurements in terms of feet instead of meter
s
• Public and private sectors need to play their roles in educating local constr
uction industry players
• Apart from voluntary, there must be some push factors to catalyse the shift i
n mind-set
• Incentives and regulatory requirements for the introduction and adoption of I
BS should be the next concrete plan of action to be spearheaded by CIDB

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 IBS in Malaysia
• On the 29th of October 2003, the Cabinet has endorsed a document – IBS Roa
dMap 2003-2010 (CIDB, 2003).
• The blueprint document towards achieving the industrialization of the constru
ction sector and the longer term objective of Open Building Concept
• Moving industry towards zero defects in construction
• Promoting the modularization and standardization
• Increasing research and development efforts and enhancement of best practice guidel
ines
• Integrating roles in the industry
• Developing IBS RoadMap 2003-2010 that is spearheaded by the CIDB Steering Committee
and various working group on IBS

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• However, the knowledge of IBS in Malaysia is still low (at least based on
2005 data)

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• CIDB`s efforts in promoting IBS started since 1998
• Earlier concentrated on awareness/promotion/training
• However, usage of IBS in construction of buildings is still relatively low
compared to infraworks (bridges, tunnels etc)
• Main reason: Relatively cheap and abundance supply of foreign labour for M
alaysian industries
• Labour costs in developed economies such as Finland – 10 times the rates in
Malaysia (Gardiner & Theobald, 2002)
• If labour is cheap, why need to use IBS?
• Labour is not going to stay cheap and abundant forever and disruption to supp
ly will be catastrophic
• Industry needs better productivity, quality and safety to be globally competi
tive
• Move towards k-economy

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 Case studies of IBS in Malaysia
• SJK (C) Damansara, Petaling Jaya
• Cabinet`s Directive – 31st January 2001 (8 months to complete)
• Project site : 2.1 hectares
• Possession of site : 1st February 2001
• Completion : 31st July 2001
• Construction period : 5 ½ months
• Fast track project using prefabricated components
• Beams. Floor slabs (half slabs with concrete topping) and staircases were prefabric
ated in the factory, wall panel are hollow blocks
• Columns and toilets were cast in-situ

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• Sek Keb Brickfields 1, Kuala Lumpur
• Start of project : 6th February 2003
• Completion : 17th Sept 2003
• Period : 7 ½ months
• Project constraints – limited site, busy access, short construction period
• 75% of the building components were prefabricated
• Columns
• Beams
• Hollow core floor slabs
• Staircases
• Wall panels (Acotech panels)

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• Dewan Wawasan, Kubang Pasu, Kedah
• 25,200 sq. m, 3 floors
• IBS Structure
• Hollowcore slabs
• Precast concrete columns
• Precast concrete beams
• Structural construction : 4 months

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• Dewan Milenium, Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang
• 7,500 sq. m, 4 floors
• IBS Structure
• Hollowcore slabs
• Precast concrete columns
• Precast concrete beams
• Structural construction : 2 months

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• Balik Pulau Indoor Stadium, Pulau Pinang
• 6,000 sq. m, 3 floor
• IBS Structure
• Hollowcore slabs
• Precast concrete columns
• Precast concrete beams
• Structural construction : 2 months

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