Date of Award
5-2007
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Legacy Department
Career and Technology Education
Committee Chair/Advisor
Paige, William
Abstract
ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine the current utilization of offsite construction techniques in the building sector of the U.S. construction industry, and to investigate the architects'/engineers' (A/Es') and general contractors' (GCs') perceptions of benefits and barriers of using these techniques, and also to identify the motivations and barriers of using these techniques by A/Es' and GCs' responses. A self-administrated survey questionnaire was developed as primary research methodology. 1200 A/Es and GCs were randomly selected as research subjects, and T-tests and regression tests were utilized in the study to achieve the research objectives. The study found that both A/Es and GCs identified that using offsite construction techniques would increase product quality, overall labor productivity, and onsite safety performance. It also reduces the overall project schedule, onsite disruption of other adjunct operations and negative environmental impact of construction operations. The transportation restraints, the inability of making changes onsite, and limited design options appeared to be most significant challenges of using offsite construction techniques based on the finding. In addition, this study found that the residential, commercial and industrial respondents perceived the use of these techniques differently regarding to the impact of product quality, design options, jobsite management efficiency, overall project cost, owner's negative perceptions, and local building regulations. The finding also indicated that the people who had used these techniques before had more positive attitude than those never utilized these techniques. The findings also indicated majority respondents believed the use of these techniques would increase in the next 5-10 years. Several practical recommendations were proposed in this study regarding to overcome transportation restraints, increase the design options and eliminate the impact of inability to make onsite changes by using these techniques.
Recommended Citation
Lu, Na, "Investigation of Designers' and General Contractors' Perceptions of Offsite Construction Techniques in the United States Construction Industry" (2007). All Dissertations. 81.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/81