Wajiha Shahzad

Natural disasters cause significant adverse social and financial impacts by damaging homes and infrastructure. These disasters also need a quick and immediate solution to post-disaster housing problems, to provide temporary housing services for short-term disaster relief and reconstruction of lost and damaged houses for complete recovery. Reconstruction of new permanent housing for disaster victims is one of the most time-consuming post-disaster activities. However, time is a vital consideration that should be minimized for the reconstruction of houses for affected populations. Modular offsite construction technology has the potential to enhance the post-disaster housing reconstruction process due to its intrinsic characteristics of time-efficiency. This study aimed to assess the potential of the modular offsite construction method as an approach that could promote the design and construction process of post-disaster reconstruction in New Zealand in emergencies. An extensive literat...

In light of climate change, the construction industry plays a crucial part in alleviating carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. The focus on improving the public procurement process poses an important opportunity for the successful implementation of carbon reduction strategies in construction projects. There is a growing body of literature mapping green and sustainable procurement practices in construction. However, previous studies have not treated the implementation of procurement in a particular area, such as carbon reduction, in much detail. This study aims to investigate the implementation of construction procurement incorporating carbon reduction strategies, with a specific focus on the public sector in New Zealand. The research was conducted through 13 semi-structured interviews with construction procurement experts in New Zealand. The results shed light on the current implementation of carbon reduction strategies in construction procurement and its challenges, su...

Public private partnerships (PPPs) have gained widespread adoption as an innovative way of procuring public infrastructure projects over the last two decades. Risk identification, assessment, and allocation have received considerable attention from researchers due to the risk heavy nature of PPP projects. Adoption of PPPs has triggered a sudden increase in research interest in the area in recent years. This study attempts to provide an updated systematic review of literature related to risks in PPPs using a PRISMA flowchart. The results of the study offer some valuable insights into the future and current state of research. The study found that the focus of research on PPPs has shifted from an overall risk identification and assessment approach to individual risk analysis. Moreover, this research trend is on the rise in developing countries, and that quantitative methods for risk management in PPP research and qualitative methods in practice are preferred. In developed economies, du...

Different industries are modernising their systems and introducing innovations to their management practices. However, the construction industry is recognised for its lack of technological systems on which the success of this sector is deemed to be heavily dependent. Previous studies have focused on enhancing the off-site construction supply chain. However, studies on the importance and utilisation of technology in this sub-sector are scarce, predominantly where the efficiency of off-site supply chain management is stalled as a consequence of the slow implementation of technology. Thus, this article employs an exploratory approach by providing insight into the applicability of blockchain technology in New Zealand’s off-site construction and demonstrates the benefits associated with the adoption of this technology. A literature review was used to identify stakeholders’ interrelationships in different stages of prefabrication projects. Then, a pilot interview from industry experts fol...

Off-site manufacturing (OSM) of building components could be leveraged to improve the reported low productivity trend in the New Zealand (NZ) construction industry. Despite the numerous known benefits of OSM, the uptake of the technology in the industry has been discouragingly low. Previous studies offer little help in terms of prioritising identified barriers to the uptake of OSM. As a result, improvement efforts have been daunted by numerous barriers in the face of limited resources. This study aims to contribute to bridging the gap in the extant literature by identifying and prioritising the key constraints to the industry-wide uptake of prefabrication and the improvement measures. Through a nation-wide survey of consultants, contractors, employers and manufacturers, feedback was received and analysed using the multiattribute analytical technique. Results show that the broad categories of constraints to the adoption of prefabrication in NZ are (in order of decreasing impact and relative contributions): industry and market culture (16.2%), skills and knowledge (15.5%), logistics and site operations (14.8%), cost/value/productivity (14%), supply chain and procurement (13.7%), process and programme (13.6%), and regulatory (12.2%). The subcomponents of the broad constraint categories and their relative levels of impact on the uptake of the technology were reported. In addition to addressing the key barriers identified in the study, further measures for improving the uptake of the technology in New Zealand include promotion by client through specifying OSM in the design briefs, improved education and training on the use of OSM, more marketing/ awareness campaign on the benefits of the technology and better supply chain management and transportation logistics. To enable a methodical evaluation of the marginal value achievable by the use of a variant of OSM over and above that of the traditional stick-built system at the design and life-cycle phases of the procurement process, a decision support model was developed. The model incorporates the key performance indicators (KP1s) underlying clients’ value system at the development and operational phases and compares the extent to which each variant of OSM delivers each value criterion relative to the conventional system. The sum of the marginal values at each phase of the procurement iii | P a g e system provides the rationale basis for choosing either the OSM variant or the conventional system based on the approach that delivers the highest marginal value. The model application to real life project was demonstrated using the modular variant of the OSM compared to the conventional stick-built system. Results of the model application at the development phase shows that the OSM was more beneficial to the client than the conventional system with an overall marginal value of 34% relative to the conventional construction approach. Individual results showed 22% improvement in the completion time for the project, 9% improvement in quality and 3% reduction in the carbon footprint at the development phase. However, the technology was found to be 2.4% more expensive than the traditional stick-built system. Results of the model application at the operation and life-cycle phases also show that the technology achieved superior value compared to the conventional stick-built system. The overall marginal value achieved by the modular OSM application at the operation phase was 49% compared to the traditional stick-built system; this comprised 23% reduction in the running and maintenance costs, 18% reduction in the maintenance frequency of the structure and fabric, and an annual 8% reduction in the carbon footprint. Overall, the use of modular variant of the OSM was found to deliver superior value to clients compared to the conventional system at the development, operational and lifecycle phases of the procurement process

A number of theoretical methodologies for the selection of best adaptive reuse alternatives have been reported from empirical evidence. However, these frameworks have their distinct weaknesses when applied in the selection process for optimal adaptive reuse alternative. This paper therefore focuses on developing and testing an integrated multiple-criteria decision assessment framework for the selection of best adaptive reuse alternative from two case study buildings, in New Zealand, toward achieving sustainable town-centre living.fals

Prefabrication of building components could be leveraged to improve reported low productivity trend in construction industry. Despite numerous known benefits of prefabrication, uptake of this technology has been discouragingly low. A nation-wide survey of consultants, contractors, employers and manufacturers was carried out in New Zealand and the received feedback was analysed. The subcomponents of the broad constraint categories and their relative levels of impact on the uptake of the technology were reported. Additionally measures for improving the uptake of the technology in construction industry were suggested. For a methodical evaluation of the marginal value achievable by the use of prefabrication variant over and above that of the traditional stick-built system at the design and life-cycle phases of the procurement process, a decision support model was developed and tested using the modular variant of the prefabrication compared to the traditional stick-built system. Results ...

ABSTRACT Prefabrication of building components could be leveraged to improve the reported low productivity trend in the New Zealand (NZ) construction industry. Despite the numerous known benefits of prefabrication, the uptake of the technology in the industry has been discouragingly low. This paper aims to identify the key constraints to the industry-wide uptake of prefabrication and the improvement measures. Through a nation-wide survey of consultants, contractors, employers and manufacturers, feedback was received and analysed using the multi-attribute analytical technique. Results showed that, out of the identified seven broad categories of constraints to the uptake of prefabrication in New Zealand, industry and market culture, skills and knowledge, and logistics and site operations were the most serious constraints, contributing more than half of the problem. The major and sub-components of the constraint categories and their relative levels of impact on the uptake of the technology were reported, along with the mitigation measures.

Off-site manufacturing (OSM) of building components could be leveraged to improve the reported low productivity trend in the New Zealand (NZ) construction industry. Despite the numerous known benefits of OSM, the uptake of the technology in the industry has been ...

The benefits of prefabrication are well known and include increased efficiency, greater economy, and safety in construction operations. There have also been anecdotal references to the reduction of construction waste as a result of prefabrication but there are little empirical studies to support this assertion. The current study undertakes an investigation to establish the influence, prefabrication can have on the amount of construction waste generation. Data was gathered through the collation of the perspective views of 47 construction practitioners and stakeholders who have professional experience in the New Zealand construction industry. Quantitative method of analysis was chosen for ease of understanding. The results indicated greater levels of prefabrication corresponded to lower levels of construction waste generation. However, the key to achieving construction waste minimisation targets lies in better supervision of the quality of prefabricated products. The study concludes t...

New Zealand’s rising demand for new and affordable homes is driving innovative and effective methods for project delivery. Prefabrication or off-site construction is considered an innovative approach to project delivery that eliminates the limitations of traditional construction methods. However, the prefabrication industry struggles with several challenges, including poor coordination and low supply chain integration amongst its partner organisations. There has been previous literature on improving the prefabrication supply chain integration, but few studies about the role of technology in this sector. Therefore, this article provides intuitions into the applicability and benefits of advanced technologies, namely blockchain, for improving supply chain integration in the context of prefabrication in New Zealand. A questionnaire survey was used to identify the channels used for information exchange between clients and contractors. Moreover, the questionnaire ascertained the positive ...

PurposeAutomation facilitates production activities within offsite construction (OSC) projects through computer-controlled and mechanised systems that can be programmed to deliver various products in a self-regulating sequence. Despite known benefits of automation to offsite production, the level of automation adoption in New Zealand is low. This study is an effort to understand the current status of automation within the New Zealand construction industry and to identify the barriers and enablers to its uptake.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilises the qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews (open-ended questions). Using a referral sampling strategy (snowballing), fifteen New Zealand industry experts were interviewed, and the data collected were analysed using qualitative content analysis.FindingsThe study found that there is a weak business case for full automation. Four main categories of barriers to the uptake of automated OSC were identified, including require...

The attention onprefabricated modules and components is resurging in the New Zealand residential construction industry. This isdriven by its relative benefitsand technological advancements.However inspite of thisattention, there has not been commensurate understanding of its manufacturing supply chainand the enhancement of theirperformance. Similarly, there has been little research considering the supply chain and supply chain integration in module/component manufacturing in residential constructionin New Zealand. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive overviewof the modular manufacturing process andthebarriers and enablers for supply chain integration in module manufacturing.The identified barriers are discussed with theirrelevant enablers. Informationfor the study investigation was collected through twelve semi-structured face to face interviews withprefabricationexperts. The information obtained was analysed using contentanalysis that enabled the development of a framewor...

Purpose This study aims to answer the ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions about the key role players’ influence on the overall productivity outcomes in the lifecycle of residential buildings procured through the traditional route. Design/methodology/approach A mix of exploratory and descriptive research methods was used to obtain feedback from 179 role-players involved in various phases of the residential building lifecycle (RBLC) in New Zealand. Empirical data were analysed using content analysis, multi-attribute method and Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance. Findings Results showed that designers, building owners, main contractors and project managers were the greatest influencers of the productivity outcomes in the RBLC. The priority drivers of these key role-players’ influences on the RBLC productivity outcomes comprised poor brief interpretation, inclination to lowest tender, inadequate prior risk analysis and miscommunication of owner’s requirements and preferences to service prov...