Prefabricated building projects (PBPs) have gained worldwide popularity over the past few decades because of their various benefits. Supply chain management (SCM) is critical to the successful delivery of PBPs because supply chains are complex, involving multiple processes and stakeholders. Poor SCM in PBPs causes cost overruns and schedule delays. This study investigates production, transportation, and assembly in a PBP in Hong Kong to quantitatively analyze and critique its SCM. Automated data collection technologies were adopted to obtain real-time information on precast components throughout the supply chain. Findings from the study show that limited consideration of resource planning, significant assembly delay, overproduction, excess inventory, and long lead times are severe problems. The root causes of these problems include poor supply chain planning, poor communication between stakeholders, and poor workflow control. This study objectively reveals the true picture of SCM for PBPs using real-time information on an entire supply chain. The results provide an in-depth understanding of SCM in PBPs, which will be of great value to stakeholders in improving PBP supply chain performance.

Supply chain vulnerability (SCV) is a driver of risk influenced by the defects of stakeholders’ management and decision making as well as the interactions between SCV factors. We adopted the social network analysis to explore SCV in prefabricated building projects (PBPs) from multiple perspectives. A two-mode network was constructed to quantitatively analyze the impact of stakeholders on SCV factors. A one-mode network was also built to explore the interrelationships between SCV factors. Digital technologies (DTs) were then investigated to understand whether and how they contribute to SCV abatement in PBPs. Results show that stakeholders have different degrees of influence on different categories of SCV factors. The main contractor, assembly subcontractor, and manufacturer are the critical stakeholders generating SCV with significant potential for cooperation in reducing SCV in PBPs. Critical SCV factors, links, and the associated influencing paths are analyzed to gain in-depth insights into SCV. Project organizational vulnerabilities account for the largest proportion of critical nodes. The combination of building information modeling, Internet of things, augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence can effectively alleviate SCV in PBPs. This article provides valuable theoretical and practical implications on SCV reduction and DTs promotion.

Given the increased importance of identifying the critical Policy Driving Forces (PDFs) to uptake Modular integrated Construction (MiC) practices in Hong Kong (HK), this study aims to identify and examine the critical PDFs associated with MiC projects in HK from the perspective of industry experts. After drawing on the plentiful relevant literature and conducting a pilot study, an expert opinion survey was conducted to gather the necessary data for this study. The collected data were analysed using relevant significance analysis and factor analysis to identify critical PDFs and appropriate groupings. The results revealed 23 critical PDFs under seven critical components in three stages of the MiC process. Regulative PDFs show the highest criticality for up-taking the MiC in the initiation and planning and design phases, while Greater Bay Area development PDFs are critical in the construction phase. The PDF related to the COVID-19 pandemic is the only critical PDF that appeared in all three stages. As the first study that explores PDFs for MiC uptake throughout all project phases, this study contributes substantially to theory and practice while better informing policymakers on how to initiate MiC-related policies to boost MiC practice in HK, where MiC is achieving greater prominence in application.

Construction Industrialization (CI) tends to improve industrial performance and contributes substantially towards global sustainability. Considering these merits, many countries and regions, including Hong Kong, have released policies to promote CI uptake. However, those policy interventions ignore the dynamic influence of stakeholders and technologies, which significantly influence the efficient management of CI. In response, this study aimed to objectively depict a real socio-technical system of CI uptake based on a representative case study in Hong Kong. Further, this study identified the critical issues associated with the CI uptake and proposed policy-related recommendations to overcome the key issues. In addition, this study proposed a novel approach based on two-mode social network analysis to facilitate the analysis from a socio-technical perspective. Theoretically, this depicts the interactions of construction industry stakeholders and artifacts within a dynamic, complex socio-technical environment, indicating a new stance for construction management. Finally, this research also provides valuable implications for the government to anticipate the impact of different CI policies on promoting its uptake within the complex socio-technical system.

By adopting the concept of ‘factory assembly followed by onsite installation,’ construction industrialisation (CI) plays an increasingly important role in sustainable urban development. CI can enhance construction quality and efficiency while reducing environmental impacts. To promote the CI, several policy interventions have been developed and implemented in different countries and regions. This study reviews the global CI promoting regulations and policies to provide a comprehensive insight into its interrelationship and development tendency. The research selects 105 publications related to practical CI policy from widely utilised databases (i.e., Web of Science and Scopus). Based on the annual publication trend analysis, geospatial distribution, and citation analysis, seven interrelated critical CI policy formulation themes are identified and examined: regulatory policies, standardised policies, promotional policies, urban design and planning policies, technological policies, managerial and educational policies, and sustainability policies. In addition, internal correlations and mutual influence among these seven classified policies are explored and discussed, which helps scholars enhance their grasp of current CI policy research and guide future research. This review provides the research community and industrial practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of various CI-promoting policies and a roadmap to CI-promoting policy development and evaluation.