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EXPORT DATE: 19 June 2026

@CONFERENCE{Rathnayake2026,
author={Rathnayake, Asitha and Murguia, Danny and Asmone, Ashan Senel and Middleton, Campbell },
editor={Hamzeh, Farook and Poshdar, Mani and Garcia-Lopez,, Nelly P. },
title={Understanding performance limits in off-site structural frame construction}, 
journal={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
booktitle={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
year={2026},
pages={775-786},
url={http://www.iglc.net/papers/details/2514},
doi={10.24928/2026/0212},
affiliation={Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, asithar@uom.lk, orcid.org/0000-0002-1389-7801 ; Assistant Research Professor, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK, dem52@cam.ac.uk, orcid.org/0000-0003-1009-4058 ; Research Associate, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK, asa79@cam.ac.uk, orcid.org/0000-0002-2173-3890 ; Deceased; formerly, Emeritus Professor, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK, orcid.org/0000-0002-9672-0680 },
abstract={Off-site construction is promoted as a means of improving productivity in the construction industry. Its standardised production processes create a favourable environment for applying lean principles. However, evidence suggests it does not always result in faster construction. We investigate the reasons by analysing the superstructure work package of a 14-storey residential building in London, using installation data for 2,070 precast columns, twin-wall cores, and lattice slab components. Construction speed, measured as the production rate (m² of floor area per day), showed a significant linear relationship with installation variability. Variability arose from factories producing similar components in batches for multiple projects, delays in issuing designs to factories, and out-of-sequence deliveries to sites with limited storage capacity. Handovers between off-site and on-site activities also exhibited greater variability than purely on-site handovers. The findings suggest that, if variability were minimised, construction speed would follow an inverse U-shaped trend, with initial improvements due to workers’ learning effects, followed by subsequent reductions associated with longer transportation distances for pre-manufactured components at higher levels. This study quantifies the variability-performance relationship in off-site construction and identifies the interface variability gradient between off-site and on-site handovers. },
author_keywords={Modular and off-site construction, productivity, variability, logistics, learning. },
address={Singapore, Singapore },
issn={2789-0015 },
publisher={ },
language={English},
document_type={Conference Paper},
source={IGLC},
}