BIM and lean construction in prefabricated housing construction in China
International Journal of Lean Six Sigma
ISSN: 2040-4166
Article publication date: 28 February 2023
Issue publication date: 7 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Building information modelling (BIM), lean construction (LC) and prefabricated housing construction (PHC) have individually aroused great attention from academia and industry. However, the integration of LC and BIM in PHC projects has not been sufficiently explored. This study aims to assess the current status of the implementation of BIM and LC in China’s PHC sector given, firstly, that China is a developing country characterised by the world’s largest population and a huge housing market, and secondly, that although China’s PHC is strongly supported by the government, the adoption of BIM and LC in PHC varies.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed approach (questionnaire survey and interviews) is adopted in this study. A total of 127 valid questionnaires were collected. This is followed by interviewing 12 interviewees who are key stakeholders in PHC and hold managerial positions.
Findings
The findings of the questionnaire survey show that BIM is more prevalent than LC in PHC projects in China. In addition, the adoption of LC exhibits more maturity in stages associated with production and manufacturing, and logistics and transportation, whereas BIM has seen wider adoption in design and construction. The interviews validated the factors that influence the implementation of BIM and LC in PHC projects in China.
Originality/value
The study uses a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis framework to clarify the opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of BIM and LC in China’s PHC and proposes strategies.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support from the Research Foundation of Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education of China (Grant Number: 22YJC630158).
Declaration of competing interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Citation
Fang, Y., Gao, S., Jiang, Y. and Li, S. (2023), "BIM and lean construction in prefabricated housing construction in China", International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, Vol. 14 No. 7, pp. 1329-1353. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-03-2022-0059
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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