Major Project: The Use of Modular Construction in Australia

This major project delves into the use of modular construction in Australia, analyzing its benefits, challenges, and integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM). The project begins with an introduction to modular construction, defining it as factory-built units transported to a construction site. It highlights the advantages such as improved quality, reduced project schedules, enhanced safety, and environmental benefits. The project investigates the importance of modular construction and current modular design. Initial findings explore innovative approaches and material findings, including a case study of the Royal Adelaide Hospital Project. The project also discusses real-life applications and concludes with an executive summary emphasizing the potential of modular construction in Australia, while acknowledging the need for effective project planning, coordination, and the effective use of BIM in addressing challenges. The project also provides a comprehensive list of references.

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Contents
Project Title.................................................................................................................................................2
Objectives....................................................................................................................................................2
Specific Objectives...................................................................................................................................2
Introduction/Background............................................................................................................................2
Importance of the modular Construction....................................................................................................3
Initial Findings.............................................................................................................................................4
Innovative approach................................................................................................................................4
Material Findings.................................................................................................................................5
Real Life Applications...........................................................................................................................5
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................7
Project Title
The use of modular construction in Australia.
Objectives
The core objective of this particular project is representation of the view of the use of modular
construction in Australia while focusing on the possible challenges which impede its
application alongside the integration with the BIM. The focus is also the exploration on the
possible opportunities for modular construction in Australia.
Specific Objectives
 To highlight the need for modular construction in Australia

 To carry out comprehensive research on the possible advantages of adopting modular
construction in Australia
 To establish the reason why the construction and building industry are so keen at
adopting this technique while focusing on the other options available in the market
Introduction/Background
Modular construction is a term that has been used commonly in reference to factory building
units which have been assembled completely o just fabricated in a plant for manufacturing whose
location is away from the site of the job and later transported and assembled on the construction
site (Succar, Saleeb and Sher 2016). In the Australian context, modular building is made up of
several rooms that have three-dimensional units that have been constructed as well as pre-
assembled with complete mechanical, trim work, plumbing and electrical components installed.
Several research work that have been carried out on the same topic in Australia as we’ll as other
parts of the world have shown that use of the modular construction have very many benefits
(Steinhardt and Manley 2016).
One of the most difficult tasks which have been identified in the case of the modular construction
is fabrication and coordination of the Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing commonly refered to
as MEP challenge. The fabrication as well as coordination process usually involves definition of
the locations for the systems of the building components. The MEP technicalities are attributed
to at least three reasons. First, the process is regarded to be highly fragmented between the
construction and design firms. Secondly, there is varying level of technology that is applied in
various scenarios of the coordination historically between the construction contractors and
engineers and finally failure of the process to effectively provide a model for use the specific
contractors (Steinhardt and Manley 2016).

Importance of the modular Construction
 The improvement of the quality of the product
 Reduction of the overall schedules of the project
 Increased safety performance on the site of the construction
 Reduction in the negative impacts on the environment and finally reduction in the need
for the skilled workers for certain operations.
Current Modular Design In the market
Figure 1: Models of BIM architecture in the modular walls (Navaratnam et al, 2019).

Figure 2: Prefabrication roofs installation (Navaratnam et al, 2019).
Figure 3: Prefabricated panels of the walls (Navaratnam et al, 2019).
Initial Findings
Innovative approach
The studies in the Australia context have proved modular construction has several benefits to the
built environment some of which includes reduction in the required workforce, improvement in
the schedule of the construction, onsite Green House Gas emission reduction, improvement of
the quality of the product among others (Steinhardt and Manley 2016). The extensive demand of
the project planning as well as coordination however has led to the significant impediment of the
technique application in the context of Australia.
Material Findings
Royal Adelaide Hospital Project was found to be one of the beneficiaries of the modular
construction with the BIM integrations. The study identified Royal Adelaide Hospital Project as
the case study. In this particular project, all coordination of MEP was carried out through the
platform of BIM. It was discovered that its application was primarily to reduce the cost of the
construction as well as elimination of the human error (Woo 2017)

Real Life Applications
Not only the clients of various structures are interested in having cheap and executive buildings,
but also the contractors are interested in getting the work done within the scheduled time frame
and as per the prescribed costs. This has led to the rapid adoption of the modular construction
which is integrated with the BIM techniques (Steinhardt and Manley 2016).
Executive Summary
Modular construction is made up of single or several units of the structure which have been
fabricated in a plant of manufacturing far away from the site of the job. In the industry of the
construction and building in Australia, the modules for the prefabrication are usually completed
with trim work, mechanical, electrical and finally plumbing installed(Kamali and Hewage 2016).
The studies in the Australia context have proved modular construction has several benefits to the
built environment some of which includes reduction in the required workforce, improvement in
the schedule of the construction, onsite Green House Gas emission reduction, improvement of
the quality of the product among others(Sutrisna, Lofthouse and Goulding 2017).
The extensive demand of the project planning as well as coordination however has led to the
significant impediment of the technique application in the context of Australia. It is important to
note that the present development of the Building Information Modeling can be used effectively
in the addressing the challenges while exploiting the platform of the BIM. Through specific case
studies, the advantages as well as demerits of the use of BIM in the modular construction can be
identified clearly. The present model of the construction does not however support the
techniques of the modular construction. This is due to the fact that the extensive planning of the
project as well as the involved MEP coordination despite technologies of modular building

which are known to offer several advantages to the industry of the construction (Navaratnam et
al, 2019).
As the integrations of the BIM in the modular construction increases, the incorporation of the
techniques of the modular building into most of the projects has been regarded to be effective as
well as desirable. This is because it allows for streamlining of design, entire planning,
developments of the shop drawing, construction process and finally manufacturing. The physical
conflict between the mechanical, structural, electrical and plumbing system can be identified in
the early stages easily with the expedited resolutions (Kamali and Hewage 2016). The buildings
of the trade are never restricted to the written specifications or just paper plans.
REFERENCES
Kamali, M. and Hewage, K., 2016. Life cycle performance of modular buildings in Australia: A
critical review. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 62, pp.1171-1183.
Navaratnam, S., Ngo, T., Gunawardena, T. and Henderson, D., 2019. Performance review of
prefabricated building systems and future research in Australia. Buildings, 9(2), p.38.

Steinhardt, D.A. and Manley, K., 2016. Exploring the beliefs of Australian prefabricated house
builders. Construction Economics and Building, 16(2), pp.27-41.
Succar, B., Saleeb, N. and Sher, W., 2016. Model uses: foundations for modular requirements
clarification language. Australasian Universities Building Education (AUBEA2016).
Sutrisna, M., Lofthouse, B. and Goulding, J., 2017. Exploring the potential of offsite
construction to alleviate constraints to house building in Western Australia. WELCOME TO
DELEGATES IRC 2017, p.896.
Woo, J., 2017. A post-occupancy evaluation of a modular multi-residential development in
Melbourne, Australia. Procedia Engineering, 180, pp.365-372.