https://doi.org/10.24928/2024/0208

Process Modularity – a Lean Approach to Develop Industrialised Building Platforms

Mohaimeen Islam¹, Victor Bunster², Rachel Couper³, Alireza Jalali Yazdi⁴ & Duncan Maxwell⁵

¹PhD Candidate, Future Building Initiative-MADA, Monash University, Australia, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0001-6322-6697
²Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Associate Director, Future Building Initiative-MADA, Monash University, Australia, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-7665-4567
³Lecturer, Department of Architecture, Future Building Initiative-MADA, Monash University, Australia, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-3762-7996
⁴Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Future Building Initiative-MADA, Monash University, Australia, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-4419-9504
⁵Director, Future Building Initiative-MADA, Monash University, and Research Program Lead, Building 4.0 CRC, Australia, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-9039-1441

Abstract

The concept of modularity within product platforms and lean thinking has drawn attention in recent years, to achieve a balance between standardisation and customisation in industrialised building (IB). Modularity plays an important role in IB, where companies use standardised modules on common platforms for product development. Although the application of product modularity is widely discussed in the literature, the concept of modularity is not fully explored as a mechanism for process development, aiding to improve cost efficiency, quality and coordination across the IB value chain. Previous research within lean construction emphasises the importance of modularity in both product and process dimensions. However, a lack of clear understanding has impeded the full adoption of process modularity in IB platforms. This paper examines the work processes of a Japanese case company to identify modular patterns in the technical systems for varied house production. By analysing qualitative data, the findings present potential advantages of modularity in the case company’s lean approach to standardise the design, production, assembly and logistics processes. The study contributes in presenting a concept of process modularity to support developing process platforms in IB.

Keywords

Process modularity, industrialised building, lean construction, platforms, technical system

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Reference

Islam, M. , Bunster, V. , Couper, R. , Yazdi, A. J. & Maxwell, D. 2024. Process Modularity – a Lean Approach to Develop Industrialised Building Platforms, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 32) , 894-905. doi.org/10.24928/2024/0208

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