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Modular Facilities—Meeting the Need for Flexibility
Published in James Agalloco, Phil DeSantis, Anthony Grilli, Anthony Pavell, Handbook of Validation in Pharmaceutical Processes, 2021
Maik Jornitz, Sidney Backstrom
Modular construction off-site is generally considered to be building an entire facility at a manufacturing location module by module, then erecting a structure entirely of those modules and connecting the modules, also at the manufacturing location. These modular facilities can contain 60 to 150 modules or containers, which are typically welded together at the final location. The facility is then tested for functionality and disassembled, whereupon the individual modules are shipped and re-erected at the ultimate production site. Figures 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 provide an example of this process. At a high level, the advantage to this approach is being able to build facilities where little to no infrastructure exists. Also, being able to receive a full turnkey solution from one provider can be attractive to prospective facility owners. However, assembling the 60 to 150 units means additional construction time needs and for a certain time period and a larger headcount to assemble and weld. Once the facility is built, it will stay where it is, and it serves the application it was designed for, which makes the option inflexible.
A research on the design appearance that is based on circular economy and incorporated into green building
Published in Artde Donald Kin-Tak Lam, Stephen D. Prior, Siu-Tsen Shen, Sheng-Joue Young, Liang-Wen Ji, Innovation in Design, Communication and Engineering, 2020
Based on aforementioned summary and analysis of concepts and innovative strategies of green building and circular economy, we have found several possible development directions for circular green building, such as: building renovation and revitalization, bionic structure, passive energy saving building, smart building, and modular design. The modular house can lead to cost reduction via the industrial serial production, and the modular design can be used for pre-fabrication, assembly, and circulating utilization; in addition to the saving of resources and construction time, it can also meet various requirements of customization. The structural elements are made of steel or wood, so every element can be recycled, re-assembled, and reused. With the energy shortage nowadays, it can be regarded as a circular green building mode meeting the ecological sustainability, which can be used as private house, holiday cottage, or themed exhibition and activity space. It provides a convenient and compact option for sustainable housing space for our residence or activities which can be moved and expanded at any time.
Modular Systems for Energy Conservation and Efficiency
Published in Yatish T. Shah, Modular Systems for Energy Usage Management, 2020
One of the best parts about building a modular house is that you get superior home energy efficiency as part of the standard package. Evidence of this modular advantage is readily available from the Energy Star initiative, a federal program administered by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency that promotes greater energy efficiency standards in new home construction. An important component of the Energy Star construction program is the tightness of the home. Tests performed for the energy efficiency program show that when a typical modular home is finished correctly by the set crew and general contractor, it does considerably better than a typical stick-built home. One can make one’s modular home even more energy efficient than it already is by having it built to the full Energy Star construction specifications. Conventional builders need to take many extra steps at greater cost to their customers to meet these energy efficiency standards. For modular customers, the Energy Star construction steps require very little effort or expense [30–32].
Implementing modular integrated construction in high-rise high-density cities: perspectives in Hong Kong
Published in Building Research & Information, 2023
Modular construction has been promoted in many jurisdictions under different terms such as modular integrated construction (MiC) in Hong Kong (Pan et al., 2019), prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) in Singapore (Hwang et al., 2018) and modern methods of construction (MMC) in the UK (RICS, 2018). In general, modular construction refers to an innovative construction method whereby three-dimensional (3D) volumetric units that form part of the completed building or structure are produced in an off-site factory, and then transported to the site for on-site assembly (Gibb, 1999; Pan et al., 2019; Thai et al., 2020). Modular construction advances traditional construction methods to allow simultaneous construction and manufacturing by using the Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) theory and advanced manufacturing and logistics technologies (Bao et al. 2022; Yang et al., 2021). Traditional site-based works are mostly transferred to factories where modules are prefabricated integrating structural, architectural and building services works (Gibb, 1999; Pan et al., 2019).
Analysis of safety risk factors of modular construction to identify accident trends
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2022
Gilsu Jeong, Hyunsoo Kim, Hyun-Soo Lee, Moonseo Park, Hosang Hyun
Through comparative analyses with accident trends in general constructions, several characteristics of accidents in modular constructions were identified. Similar to general constructions, safety accidents in modular constructions usually occurred in small projects. In addition, the frequencies of fall accidents based on height were maximized for heights in the range of 3–6 m. Most of the projects which adopted modular construction in the US were residential, low-rise commercial buildings, and medical and educational facilities. From the aspect of fall location, falls were most common on the roof. Poor management regarding the proper use of PPE and the insufficient number of safety devices for the prevention of falls cause fall accidents from the roof. By analyzing the modular accident trends, it is possible to see how modular construction differs from general construction and which risks should be managed more intensively.
Exploring Lean Practices’ Importance in Sustainable Supply Chain Management Trends: An Empirical Study in Canadian Construction Industry
Published in Engineering Management Journal, 2023
Phuoc-Luong Le, Duy-Tan Nguyen
Turning first to the design and engineering practices, VDC, CE, and standardization are the most crucial. Indeed, they are vital contributors to all the key sustainable CSCM trends identified in the previous rounds because they allow integrating all relevant SC processes and actors so that sustainable designs are created with holistic inputs and then transferred and executed consistently in subsequent activities. This result is in line with the extant literature in green CSCM since a firm’s environmental effect is only as good as that of its suppliers (Ofori, 2000). As a result, IPD and design workshops, followed by detailed briefing and TVD, also play important roles in attaining systemwide sustainable CSCM. Modularization in construction means decomposing a built system into modules that can be manufactured offsite (prefabricated) efficiently before being transported onsite for final assembly (J. Liu & Lu, 2018; Rocha & Kemmer, 2018). The economic and environmental benefits of this tool (J. Liu & Lu, 2018; Wang et al., 2018) certainly contribute to sustainable CSCM. The design structure matrix (DSM) is only considered important in sustainable design (trend #2), sustainable procurement (trend #3), and digital transformation (trend #4), but it is still a key tool in sustainable CSCM because it facilitates complex system management via modeling, visualization, and analysis of interdependent entities in the system (Wen et al., 2021). The utilization of the discussed lean tools arguably fuels the advancement of digital transformation in the construction sector to support sustainability practices (Tahmasebinia et al., 2020).