The Way Forward for Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia

Abstract

Industrialised Building System (IBS) is a construction process that uses standardised building components mass produced in a factory or on site, then transported and assembled into a structure using appropriate machinery and equipment with minimal workers on site with proper planning and integration. IBS is the term used to represent the prefabrication concept in Malaysian construction industry. IBS contributes to sustainability, improves site safety, quality and productivity in the built environment. Since the move towards industrialisation in the construction industry is a global phenomenon, the definitions, classifications, characteristics and concepts of IBS needs to evolve and in line with the global understanding. The main objective of this paper is to study the way forward for IBS (adopting sustainability, degree of industrialisation and modular construction) and revisit the current definitions, classifications, characteristics and concepts in IBS based on comprehensive reviews of previous researches with an explanatory method. Better understanding on the fundamentals and future improvement of IBS will encourage construction industry players to adopt IBS and increase the awareness on IBS.

The Insight of Industrialised Building System (IBS) By Bumiputera Construction Players

“…Therefore, the payment method and mechanism is required in bettering the situation since IBS adopters require reliable and safer payment and procurement [5]. …”

“…This is further supported with the argument that an industrialisation process is an investment in equipment, facilities, and technology with the objective of maximising production output, minimising labour resource, and improving quality [4]. Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has classified the system into 6 categories which are precast concrete framed system, formwork system, steel framing system, prefabricated timber framing a Corresponding author : neodanish@gmail.com system, block work system and innovative system [5]. The classification is being classified according to the structural aspects for each component.…”

“…IBS has been successfully implemented in Japan, United Kingdom, Sweden and also Netherlands [5]. Apart from that, this IBS system has also being applied in Hong Kong and Singapore [6].…”

A Review on Prefab Industrialised Building System Modular Construction in Malaysia: The Perspective of Non-structural Studies

“…IBS is Malaysia's local term to describe the use of automation, mechanisation and prefabrication of components for the local building industry [9]. IBS is characterized by its higher quality, faster jobs, increased profitability and the construction process which adopt prefab concept using standardised building components that are mass-produced in a factory ready for installation, transported and erected at site using suitable machinery and equipment with minimal workers with proper connection system [9][10][11][12][13]. The implementation of modular construction is proven to improve productivity, quality, efficiency, safety and health, speed up project duration, flexible, economically and promotes sustainable construction industry [5].…”

“…Industrialised Building System (IBS) classes, identification, structural aspect/feature, system definition and IBS utilisation components[2,6,9,11,13,16,17,21,22,23] …”