Today, technology is available to support a radically different approach to construction. Productization is a strategy for delivering hyper-customized, efficient construction solutions at scale. This approach uses virtual construction twins to enable the application of generative, configurable design strategies to the factory construction and management of modular systems.

In contrast to off-site manufacturing that preserves trade-based workflows, productization delivers to the construction site “integration-ready modules” that offer substantial gains in quality, speed and versatility.

Integration-Ready Modules: Rethinking the Core Elements of Construction

Modularization is a key concept in productization, yet it is often misunderstood. A recalibrated take on modularity reveals how these elements can be easily configured across a platform without sacrificing creativity. Modules can be much more sophisticated than mobile trailers, as is the misconception in the United States.

In the automotive industry, we see that vehicle production gains cost efficiency because each vehicle is an assembly of standard, modular components that can be engineered en masse. However, cars all take the same general form. Buildings, on the other hand, are approached as one-off projects, each with a unique shape. Uniformity is not achievable in construction — nor should it be the goal. No one wants the same building as their neighbor and variation between site requirements makes this idea impractical.

MODULARIZATION SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPERFORMS OFF-SITE MANUFACTURING & ASSEMBLY

Uniformity is not achievable in construction — nor should it be the goal.

A modular approach to building design offers a high degree of configurability. It also enables the engineering of building systems outside of a project cycle, increasing scalability and cost efficiency.

We can already see construction productization in action on a small scale with elevators, which have been integrated into buildings as complete assemblies for decades. In essence, an elevator is a module that contains a complex array of components and systems. Taking an “everything is an elevator” mentality can give birth to a whole new industry of multi-trade, integration-ready construction modules.

An integration-ready module is one that includes standardized interfaces, multi-trade assemblies and generative variants. You can learn more about what productization means for the construction industry. Read more in our white paper.

This article is excerpted from THE PRODUCTIZATION EFFECT: How integration-ready modules will transform the roles of general contractors, specialty contractors and the entire construction value chain. This white paper maps the path to productization and defines how general contractors, specialty contractors and the entire construction value chain can leverage virtual twins on an end-to-end collaboration platform, transcend the limitations of classic industrialization and leapfrog to personalized construction.

RELATED LINKS

• Dassault Systèmes Construction Solutions
• Dassault Systèmes Building Solutions
• Reinvent the Construction Industry With Productization
• Integrated Built Environment for collaboration & project management
• Building Design for Fabrication for digital continuity
• How to Accelerate Next Gen Data Center Innovation
• Build Smarter and Greener for Sustainable Construction

While building information modeling (BIM) was once considered a critical piece in efficiency driving construction project delivery, the truth is that BIM applications have not met the needs of GCs and specialty contractors. After more than a decade in use by architects and engineers, few construction companies can credit cost savings to BIM because the applications are not used in the field.

BIM’s usefulness as a specifications solution for architects does not translate well to construction. A BIM model of a door, for example, may contain sizing, acoustic information, fire performance and other characteristics, but it will not include the granular definitions of components needed to make a purchasing list. As a workaround, contractors are likely to flatten the BIM model into a paper drawing and create a spreadsheet from which to order components.

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Prefabrication is one strategy that has gained traction within construction and allows a team to mature from managing pure site-built projects, the vast majority of developments happening today, to an off-site manufacturing and assembly approach.

Moving construction processes off site into a prefab shop offers nominal advantages. The controlled environment permits work to continue regardless of inclement weather, quality is improved in a controlled environment, and skilled labor can be concentrated in the warehouse while unskilled labor can be deployed to perform on-site assembly.

While prefabrication solves some logistical problems, it also carries some critical limitations. Prefabricated components are limited to a maximum size and weight since they still must be transported to the jobsite. This process creates two locations to control because some assembly work happens in the prefab shop, while other activities take place on the construction site. These logistical issues increase the cost of large, low-density prefabricated assemblies.

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Over the last decade, the construction industry has come to terms with the need to make significant changes. Most major players have taken steps to improve efficiency, borrowing lessons from manufacturing industries and adopting digital design, off-site construction and prefabrication strategies. However, there are critical differences between high-volume, mass-production, industrialized manufacturing and one-off, hyper-customized, large-scale construction projects. These differences demonstrate the need for an altogether new approach to construction delivery.

Lessons from the Industrial Revolution

Until the Industrial Revolution, craftsmanship was the sole solution for creating goods, including buildings. Each product was developed by hand, with the potential for quality to vary across goods produced.

THE TRAJECTORY OF PRODUCTION STRATEGIES THROUGH THE INDUSTRIAL AGE

REFERENCE: “The drivers to new paradigms are market and society needs.” The Global Manufacturing Revolution: Product-Process-Business Integration and Reconfigurable Systems by Yoram Koren (November 2010). Reprinted with permission from John Wiley & Sons.

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers were able to mass-produce goods to satisfy demand with a high volume of products. The tradeoff is that mass production relies on component standardization and limited product variety to achieve cost efficiencies. This standardization at high volumes removes any opportunity for personalized production.

Manufacturers of mass-produced goods are now beginning to navigate this challenge as they recognize the limits of industrialization in their own context. The emergence of Industry 4.0 is meant to support manufacturers in harnessing data to drive greater flexibility in production processes and the mass customization of goods. (more…)