The Monetary and Non-Monetary Impacts of Prefabrication on Construction : The Effects of Product Modularity

dc.contributorAalto-yliopistofi
dc.contributorAalto Universityen
dc.contributor.authorChauhan, Krishnaen_US
dc.contributor.authorPeltokorpi, Anttien_US
dc.contributor.authorLavikka, Ritaen_US
dc.contributor.authorSeppänen, Ollien_US
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Civil Engineeringen
dc.contributor.groupauthorStructures – Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computationen
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-10T10:33:55Z
dc.date.available2022-05-10T10:33:55Z
dc.date.issued2022-04en_US
dc.descriptionFunding Information: Funding: This research was financially supported by the Building 2030 Esivalmistuksen pilotointi project 4106599. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
dc.description.abstractPrefabrication is rapidly increasing in construction, and previous research has identified various impacts of prefabrication on projects. Modular product architecture is a great enabler for prefabrication; however, practitioners would benefit from more explicit knowledge on the impacts of prefabricated product types with different levels of product modularity. This study investigates the connection between the modularity level and the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. First, the literature on prefabrication and modularity is used to form three propositions which are related to product modularity and the benefits of prefabrication. The level of modularity is considered with two dimensions: the proportion of modules and the module de-scription detail. Second, four prefabricated products are analyzed to test the propositions. The analysis revealed that (1) the level of modularity adopted in the product is directly proportional to the benefits. More specifically, (2) a higher proportion of modules in a project product contributes to higher cost-benefits. On the other hand, (3) prefabricated products with highly detailed module descriptions seem to lead to higher non-monetary benefits, such as better ergonomics and work satisfaction. The study reveals new empirical evidence on the relationship between product mod-ularity and the benefits of prefabricated products. Cost-benefit analysis revealed that even though some prefabricated products could have higher direct costs, the total cost can still be lower than conventional construction when also considering the indirect benefits. Practitioners can utilize the findings when selecting modular and prefabricated products that best fulfil their project objectives.en
dc.description.versionPeer revieweden
dc.format.extent19
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationChauhan, K, Peltokorpi, A, Lavikka, R & Seppänen, O 2022, 'The Monetary and Non-Monetary Impacts of Prefabrication on Construction : The Effects of Product Modularity', Buildings, vol. 12, no. 4, 459. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12040459en
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/buildings12040459en_US
dc.identifier.issn2075-5309
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 8522a31a-9c3f-4a50-9c25-e6a52b975ed3en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE ITEMURL: https://research.aalto.fi/en/publications/8522a31a-9c3f-4a50-9c25-e6a52b975ed3en_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE LINK: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128726172&partnerID=8YFLogxKen_US
dc.identifier.otherPURE FILEURL: https://research.aalto.fi/files/82522906/buildings_12_00459.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/114169
dc.identifier.urnURN:NBN:fi:aalto-202205103033
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherMDPI AG
dc.relation.ispartofseriesBuildingsen
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVolume 12, issue 4en
dc.rightsopenAccessen
dc.subject.keywordchoosing-by-advantageen_US
dc.subject.keywordcost-benefit analysisen_US
dc.subject.keywordmultiple case studyen_US
dc.subject.keywordprefabricationen_US
dc.subject.keywordproduct modularityen_US
dc.titleThe Monetary and Non-Monetary Impacts of Prefabrication on Construction : The Effects of Product Modularityen
dc.typeA1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessäfi
dc.type.versionpublishedVersion

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