Prefabricated construction has been proven effective, environmentally-friendly, and labor-friendly. It is widely considered a sustainable approach to the construction industry. China is still in the initial process of adopting prefabricated construction practices and has conducted a few studies to date on the constraints of prefabricated construction up to the operation stage. This paper focuses on the major factors obstructing prefabricated construction development in China. Twenty-three variables affecting said development are summarized per the results of a literature review and a semi-structured interview. A questionnaire was delivered to developers, designers, contractors, engineers, component suppliers, and property managers. A total of 160 valid respondents were collected. Twenty-three variables were ranked by the mean score after an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated that no statistical differences in the data from six stakeholders. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was employed to reduce the dimensionality of four factors: industry chain, cost, social climate and public opinion, and risk. The risk is found to be the main influencing factor even though it is rarely the focal point of research on prefabricated construction. The findings presented in this paper may assist different stakeholders in better understanding issues with prefabricated construction practices in China at present and, therefore, find workable solutions.
Despite the consensus that enhanced cooperation among stakeholders is critical to the successful delivery of public-private partnership (PPP) mega-infrastructure projects, there has been a limited utilization of the quantitative approach to explore the cooperation mechanism. Drawing on research and the actual practice of PPP projects in China, a quantitative mathematical model using evolutionary game theory is constructed to explore the internal cooperation mechanism. Numerical simulation is implemented to investigate the impact of the punitive mechanism and allocation mechanism on the enhanced cooperation. The simulation result indicates that reasonable benefit allocation and a strong punitive mechanism are crucial to enhanced cooperation. Action research supported by a case study in Dalian was conducted to verify the scientific practicalities of the simulation method. An enhanced cooperation framework was proposed. The role conversion of the government and the private sectors makes the enhanced cooperation feasible. This evolution model and cooperation framework can facilitate enhanced cooperation in PPP mega-infrastructure projects.
Compared with the conventional building, the industrialized building (IB) promotes the sustainable development of the construction industry, which will become a growth trend in the future. Nevertheless, the progress of industrialized building is intimately affected through the scientific evaluating mechanism, which still requires more research. Thus, this study establishes a conceptual framework of industrialized building assessment (IBA), which is validated through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The impact between efficiency and the other five dimensions are studied by the structural equations model (SEM). The findings indicated that the conceptual framework is valid, and the efficiency has a positive impact on economic factors, livability, safety, environmental factors, and social benefits. Consequently, the improvement of efficiency has turned out to be the primary issue for improving the growth of the industrialized building. This research explores the basic framework of industrialized building assessment and provides a basis to establish a comprehensive and precise industrial building evaluation mechanism in the near future.
Intelligent construction is vital for achieving new building industrialization by enhancing prefabricated buildings through integrated, digital, and intelligent management across production and construction processes. Despite its significance, detailed research on evaluating the intelligent construction management (ICM) level of prefabricated projects remains limited. This study aims to develop a comprehensive, multi-level, multi-dimensional ICM assessment system. By reviewing the literature, engaging in expert discussions, and conducting case studies—specifically using a project in Guangzhou as an example—this study employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and entropy weight methods to assign indicator weights. Utilizing cloud model theory, it establishes evaluation standards for intelligent construction management. This model identifies the project’s ICM level, suggests practical improvement methods, and validates its applicability. This work not only advances theoretical understanding but also provides a practical framework for assessing ICM levels in prefabricated projects, thus contributing significantly to the field by offering new research perspectives and empirical evidence.