From construction site to production line: How the construction
industry is changing
The construction industry is facing numerous challenges: A shortage of skilled labour, increasing sustainability requirements, the variety of standards and complicated approval procedures, to name a few. Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Christoph van Treeck, holder of the Chair at the Institute of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building at the RWTH Aachen University, and his team are conducting intensive research into these topics.
In this interview, we shed light on the current problems and discuss possible solutions, focusing on how the construction industry can be rethought and reorganised to effectively overcome these challenges.
Professor van Treeck, what challenges do you currently see in the construction industry?
There are a number of issues that the industry currently has to deal with.
For example, there is an extremely high demand for affordable housing, currently estimated at around 800,000 units per year. This demand in turn is offset by rising construction costs due to higher financing costs, energy, and material prices, as well as high labour costs. Additionally, project efficiency is hampered by longer construction times and time-consuming approval procedures, adding complexity to construction projects. At the same time, we have observed consistently poor labour productivity on construction sites for the past 30 years.
Another significant issue is the lack of qualified personnel, which will potentially become even more acute in the future. This illustrates why change is needed in the construction industry.
Unfortunately, it is not that simple. The construction industry is not known for its willingness to invest in research and development. Moreover, no one is really interested in changing the established awarding processes because money is made from contracts. Therefore, I do not believe that the upcoming changes will come from within the main construction industry. This would require a completely new industry sector.
There are also external influencing factors such as the climate crisis, which is also omnipresent in the construction industry. There is a considerable need for sustainable approaches and technologies to reduce the industry's ecological footprint and better meet the requirements for environmentally friendly construction.
In view of these diverse challenges, new solutions need to be identified, and old approaches reconsidered. One promising approach is the industrialisation of the construction industry.
Industrialisation of the construction industry? What exactly do you mean by that?
When I talk about the industrialisation of the construction industry, I mean that we need to completely rethink construction. We can only achieve the required number of residential units through massive industrialisation. A good example of this is the automotive industry: we should establish large-scale industrialised prefabricated construction processes. However, this does not mean a return to the old prefabricated construction. Incidentally, we are not talking about classic modular construction either.
Instead, modular construction allows us to develop a customised design language and adapt to specific requirements without having to reinvent the wheel every time. Modular building systems allow us to adapt flexibly to different requirements and aesthetic ideas without losing production efficiency, as the building production process itself always remains the same.
What could something like this look like?
A central point of industrialisation would be the separation of production from the construction site, albeit after development and foundation. Essential parts of the construction process should be relocated to a factory environment. In the automotive industry, vehicles are manufactured under controlled conditions in factories and only then brought to market. Similarly, construction elements should be manufactured and only assembled on the construction site. This significantly reduces construction times and increases construction quality simultaneously.
By the way, I don't just mean precast concrete parts. There is a lot of potential in the technical finishing trades in particular. In the construction industry, technical building services are often the most complex and critical element of the construction process. Thanks to industrialisation, MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) can also be prefabricated, integrated into components and standardised, which considerably simplifies and accelerates the entire construction process. This is not just about mechanisation, but also about the intelligent linking of processes, trades and interfaces.
Industrialisation also means considering the entire life cycle of a building - from planning and the construction phase through to operation and maintenance. To achieve this, everyone involved must work closely together. In this way, we can ensure that the end product meets the requirements and can be operated efficiently.
Is this kind of industrialisation easy to implement? What do you think is needed for this?
The industrialisation of construction is not only a technical challenge, but also a cultural one, as I mentioned earlier. It requires a rethink across the entire industry and a willingness to question and change traditional methods and processes. This is the only way we can sustainably improve efficiency and quality in the construction industry and meet the current challenges. Unfortunately, this will not be achieved by the construction industry per se.
A first step is to move away from the conventional awarding of construction services and instead consider construction units as the objects to be assigned. This requires the introduction of standardised production processes and corresponding type approvals. In this context, prefabricated modules and construction elements should be produced in factories and assembled on construction sites.
Digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) will certainly help to improve the holistic planning and coordination of these processes. BIM enables end-to-end digital planning and networking of all parties involved, from the initial design phase through to completion and beyond. This means that everyone involved can access up-to-date data in real time, enabling an integrated construction process and ensuring that everyone is always on the same level of knowledge. However, BIM is not the game changer at this point, but industrialisation.
Where possible, we should also digitise and automate construction processes to increase efficiency and quality. Robots, for example, can carry out repetitive and precise work faster and without errors. However, this also means a rethink for skilled workers, who have to adapt to the new technologies and working methods.
What do you mean by that?
In view of the shortage of skilled labour and the enormous demand for living space, I don't believe that skilled workers will become unemployed. The shortage of skilled labour is keeping us all in suspense. The industrialisation of the construction industry offers real prospects here but also underlines the ambition: the future viability of building construction depends on how well we succeed in taking people along on the journey of industrialisation. Technological innovation requires targeted qualification programmes. Knowledge transfer is becoming more important than ever.
Employees must be trained to deal with the new technologies and processes. This means that training and development programmes are crucial to prepare the workforce for the demands of industrialised construction. By developing the expertise and skills of the workforce, we can ensure that the industry successfully navigates change and remains fit for the future.
What you are outlining is indeed very similar to manufacturing processes in the automotive industry. What could such series production actually look like in the construction industry?
We are all familiar with the images of cars being assembled on production lines. Series production for standardised construction elements can look similar, with production taking place in highly specialised factories. These elements can then be assembled into customisable modules for different construction projects.
It is also important to rethink the supply processes: just-in-time delivery of components directly from the manufacturer to the construction site in order to minimise storage costs and speed up the construction process. Finally, robotics and automated machines can be used on the construction site itself to further optimise construction and ensure quality. These technologies enable precise and efficient assembly of the modules.
What advantages do you see in such industrialisation for the construction industry?
There are many undeniable advantages of industrialising the construction industry. Firstly, we can achieve high volumes through industrialisation alone. Secondly, from the customer's point of view, we come much closer to the model of a fixed price and therefore cost certainty. Standardised processes and prefabricated modules enable precise calculations and the timely completion of construction projects within budget. In addition, construction times can be significantly reduced thanks to the efficient production and assembly of the modules.
Construction quality is also improved through industrialisation. Prefabricated modules are manufactured in controlled factory environments under optimal conditions and standardised processes. This also simplifies work on the construction site. Different construction conditions often lead to challenges, but standardised production minimises the error rate and ensures consistently high quality. Inspections and certifications at the production sites provide additional support.
That really sounds as if it would advance the entire construction sector. Do you also see advantages that go beyond the industry?
Definitely! Standardised production not only reduces construction waste through precise planning, but also ensures efficient use of materials. Precise advance planning and the use of digital information technologies mean that material requirements can be better predicted and surpluses avoided.
The same applies to serial refurbishment. Here too, modular systems will become established in the long term, as can already be seen in the bathroom sector.
Overall, industrialisation offers potential for a more sustainable, more efficient and higher-quality construction method, which brings both economic and ecological benefits.
Are there already examples that show that these approaches work in practice?
Yes, there are already successful pilot projects. In Scandinavia and the USA in particular, modular construction methods have been successfully implemented in residential and commercial buildings. These projects have shown that modular construction methods not only work in theory, but also enable considerable time and cost savings in practice. In these regions, positive feedback has been received regarding the time and cost savings as well as the quality of the buildings.
However, fabrication approaches must also be critically scrutinised. Approaches are often limited to timber construction or ‘simple’ hybrid construction forms or are focused on precast concrete elements. There are also some examples of failed fabrication plants.
But one of my favourite examples is Singapore. The automation and industrialisation of the construction industry there is driven by numerous guidelines. In Singapore, 65 per cent of all above-ground buildings are already modular. The implementation of these technologies shows that industrialisation of the construction industry is not only feasible, but also brings benefits. The knowledge gained from these projects can serve as a blueprint for similar projects in other countries and provide orientation for the development towards a more effective and productive construction industry.
In summary: Why is the industrialisation of the construction industry necessary?
We have to keep it in mind: high volumes in multi-storey residential construction require massive industrialisation of the construction sector. However, I do not see this innovation coming from the main construction industry, but rather in the form of a new industrial sector between information and communication technology and the field of production technology. The consistent implementation of industrialisation will revolutionise the construction industry. It has the potential to significantly increase efficiency, productivity, sustainability and quality, enable new business models and strengthen the industry's global competitiveness. The future of the construction industry is digital and industrialised, and this transformation will pave the way for a new era of construction.
Thank you very much!
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Christoph van Treeck holds the Chair at the Institute of Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Building at the RWTH Aachen University and specializes in the construction of the future.
