Understanding off-site readiness in Indian construction organisations

Abstract

Purpose This paper presents a bespoke model for understanding off-site construction (OSC) readiness among Indian construction organisations. This model presents 17 variables for discussion, the results from which help support OSC strategic decision-making. Design/methodology/approach Factor analysis was used to investigate the relationship between variables to group them into factors. After identifying 26 different variables, these were reduced to 17 using factor analysis and categorised into four groups. Descriptive statistical analysis and factor analysis using SPSS was used to develop a hierarchy of factors that affect OSC readiness in India. These findings were reinforced by five domain experts to support the results. Findings Minimising on-site duration, ensuring cost and time certainty and transportation issues were identified as the three most important factors, whereas lack of guidance and scepticism were among the lowest factors affecting the Indian OSC sector. Research limitations/implications This research is specifically focused on OSC within the Indian construction sector. As such, data collection, propagation and analysis should be constrained to the population context regarding inference, generalisability and repeatability. Practical implications The proffered OSC readiness model offers OSC practitioners an ability to assess the OSC readiness of construction organisations in India. This includes the evaluation and benchmarking of processes in both strategic and operational phases, including highlighting areas of concern and scope for further development (to achieve optimal advantage of OSC methods). Originality/value Originality rests with the use of factor analysis and descriptive statistical analysis to study the influence of different construction-related factors and variables on the OSC sector in India. This impact readiness model is context-specific to the Indian OSC sector – providing a unique insight into the causal factors and dependencies that can affect the adoption and uptake of modern methods of construction in India.

An off-site construction readiness maturity model for the Indian construction sector

“…Goulding and Arif (2013) presented a number of variables that influenced OSC adoption in China, India, Japan, the U.K., Malaysia, and North America. From this, Bendi et al (2020) used some of these variables to discover additional insight, with specific variables that impacted OSC implementation within Indian organisations. This research identified 26 variables, which, after factor analysis, was reduced to 17.…”

“…The process was initiated by listing the key factors (F1: Operational Challenges; F2: Strategy; F3: Planning Certainty; and F4: Operational Impact) mapped against the respective components, critical factors and associated definitions ( Figure 1). (Bendi et al, 2020) The four key factors presented in Figure 1 presents a viable trajectory for future uptake. However, Bendi et al (2020) present these variables in isolation.…”

“…(Bendi et al, 2020) The four key factors presented in Figure 1 presents a viable trajectory for future uptake. However, Bendi et al (2020) present these variables in isolation. Other work on OSC examined the important aspects of People, Process and Technology (Nadim and Goulding, 2010;Goulding et al, 2012), including OSC roadmaps (Goulding and Arif, 2013;Bowmaster and Rankin, 2019), Platform, Process and Product integration platforms (Blismas and Wakefield, 2008), OSC Future Landscapes (Oughton, 2016).…”

Modular Construction vs. Traditional Construction: Advantages and Limitations: A Comparative Study

“…Required Accurate Planning [46]; [47]; [48] Transportation Challenges [46]; [49]; [50] Negative Public and Expert Perception [51]; [52] Establishment Cost and Cost Due to Complexity [4]; [19]; [10]; [51]; [53] Excessive Coordination Needed [54]; [55] Require Accurate Planning: O'Connor et al [46] indicated that the project planning process of modular construction differs approximately 37% from the project planning of conventional construction. The differences might include the overall planning, cost estimation, scoping, design, etc.…”

“…In any construction project, establishing coordination and transitioning from one stage of construction to the next is key to completing the project on schedule and cost effectively [56,57,58,59,60,61]. Presumably, since the procedure in modular construction is different, the need for coordination will be a greater challenge [54,55].…”