Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemA minimum viable product design of volumetric building modules(ZEMCH Network, 2018)This paper explores the adaptation of an IBM approach to product development emphasising user experience and critical requirements. The potential of this approach to be applied to offsite building manufacture is identified. Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has helped IBM validate key hypothesis about a product, thus increasing its probability of success, before completing its development. This paper attempts to answer the question of whether an MVP of manufactured building unit can aid cost awareness at early design phase of building and also facilitate a mass customisation. Since about 80% of a building’s cost is determined in the concept design phase and the frontend design of manufactured buildings is seemingly unaware of costs, time and processes associated with the methods, this can cause unnecessary cost increases. The investigation involves the design of a parametrically constrained building system of an MVP of space requirement to program. The Victorian apartment design standards, logistic constraints, and user customisation to room sizes are considered to define spatial limitations in the case study. The effectiveness of the system is examined through a case study analysis to identify the possibility for variation of volumetric unit in an apartment building scenario. It is expected to develop a new understanding of modular building constraints at early design stage yet still allow for a mass customized outcome without the expense of variation through lack of front end knowledge of the manufactured system. It is also expected to produce a better understanding of base building costs and time associated with a mass customisable manufactured building system, suggesting possible cost data inputs to the system. It is anticipated that an MVP approach to early building design can help determine design and cost viability of building projects to stakeholders in the early design phase.
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ItemMoving assembly line for low cost mass customised homes(ZEMCH Network, 2018)This paper explores the potential for a mass customised building volume applying lean based moving assembly line method. Past experience would suggest that the moving assembly line stems from a mass production, that reduces customisation through standardisation of processes. However, when combined with a seamless method of design to documentation up front, it is proposed that the moving assembly line could allow for mass customisation. In addition, lean practices suggest that refinements of processes are intrinsically linked to a repetitious assembly process used in producing a homogenous object. We seek to break these moulds and examine the potential for a lean moving assembly line to allow mass customisation and what is required to do so. Moving assembly line offsite building manufacture factories in Australia, Sweden and Japan were visited and observed. A comparative exercise of when, what happens where was undertaken to identify the approaches. It was found that the moving assembly line allows cost and time savings in off-site manufacture of multi storey buildings, and could enable for a mass customised outcome. Lean is the facilitator, or enabler of this process working efficiently.