IBS Modular

Training and Knowldege Management in IBS - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:26:00 +0000

"As with any industry, training and knowledge management is key to ensuring the continued development and application of Industrialised Building System"

ICT based knowledge management systems however can bring a significant advantage to the field. This approach allows for information dissemination from institutionalized knowledge sources in a real-time information feedback flow. Informations are distributed to contractors in the field, and in return they will inform the suppliers whether the information they supply is useful or relevant and offer guidelines to improve it. With knowledge now being viewed as a significant asset, the creation and sharing of knowledge has become an important factor within and between organizations.

Training will provide workers with the skills and expertise needed in IBS
Training for contractors and suppliers of the IBS is just as important issue as knowledge management in ensuring the future of the IBS field in Malaysia. Skilled workers are required for the pre-fabrication of IBS modules, as well as at the final building assembly site. Skilled and knowledgeable crews are also needed for packaging and transporting the modules to their destinations, as well as standby crews for maintenance and repair duties. The requirement of skilled workers falls most heavily upon those involved in the pre-fabrication phase and in the final construction phase.

Workers at the fabrication phase must have the knowledge and training to fully assemble the pre-fab modules (not only the frame, but also wiring and plumbing connections) such that the module is fully functional when it leaves the assembly floor. Workers at the final construction phase on the other hand must know how to place the module within the structure’s frame, as well as make the connections between the modules to enable water, sewerage electricity, communications and alarm systems. Furthermore, they must be able to integrate these systems into the building’s monitoring networks. These tasks require skilled workers, as IBS is not just placing blocks on top of each other. Both knowledge management and training of personnel have a very high market potential for success. Training of personnel is currently being undertaken by many companies.

(Source: Techscope, MIGHT, March 2008)

Prefabricated Way to Cut Work

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:14:00 +0000

Article excerpt from The Star.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prefabricated parts will be used in all Government projects in a bid to reduce the dependence on foreign workers, Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said.

He said the move would begin with projects under the Public Works Department, which are worth RM6.9bil.

The use of prefabricated parts was part of the Industrial Building System (IBS) which would be adopted for all Govern ment projects.

“The Government has ordered all government agencies carrying out development and people’s housing projects to use at least 70% IBS content in those projects,” he told a press conference at his office after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Mohd Zin said to ensure that the IBS was implemented, a National Secretariat on IBS has been incorporated under the Works Ministry.

The secretariat would coordinate, monitor and help all parties, including the private sector, in implementing the IBS, he said.

McDonald Goes Modular

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:47:00 +0000

The Industrialised Building System (IBS), is one of the fastest growing industries in the Malaysian construction sector. Most talks of IBS conjures images of pre-cast blocks being set upon to form offices and apartments, akin to constructing a building using LEGO® blocks. To some extent, this is correct. The key technology to IBS is the preparation of precast building structure off-site, which is then brought to the construction site and assembled. This allows building to be constructed with minimal effort and time at the construction site, which in turn provides tremendous cost savings to the contractors. However, the best savings are enjoyed by the consumers; IBS allows for homes to be owned from as little as RM 42,000.00 a year!

The potential for IBS sector in Malaysia is enormous to say the least. The conservative estimate of the industry is approximately to RM2 billion, making the future of the industry secure. Having to recognize the potential of the industry, the Government of Malaysia has implemented the roadmap for the development of IBS in Malaysia three years ago. Among the key goals of the roadmap are, to reduce the number of foreign workers in the construction sector from 75% in 2005 to 15% in 2009 through IBS, to utilize IBS in government building projects by up to 70% by 2008 and finally to achieve full industrialization by 2010.

In order to achieve these goals, a more structured approach must be taken in implementing IBS. Dishing out contracts haphazardly and hoping that the industry will build itself is a serious error of judgment. This structured approach forms a pyramid, with the bottom layer supporting the upper layers. At the bottom of the pyramid are the small components and accessories suppliers. This forms the largest group, consisting of many small and medium scale industries manufacturing items such as windows, doors, grills and frames etc. This group supports the medium sized and manufactured components group. Smaller than the small components groups, the medium components group is responsible for the sub-assembly of components and individual structure components. This group in turn supports the large component group, which manufactures precast concrete and steel frames as well as the modules. Finally, at the top of the pyramid is the developer, responsible for assembling the building. The creation of a structured system such as the pyramid, enables companies to easily identify which step of the IBS construction process they fall under, who they can sell their products to and who they can buy their components from.

Article Source: TECHSCOPE, March 2008, Malaysian industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT)

Modular Homes - House of the Future

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:42:00 +0000

The current construction industry supply chain is organized along the labour intensive lines with the bulk of work is undertaken in-situ. It involves a combination of formwork preparation, ready mixed concrete usage and extensive sub-contracting. The IBS Supply Chain will transform the industry into a value chain similar to the manufacturing industry. By applying IBS, most of the on-site processes will be taken out from the construction site and put under a factory controlled environment where quality can be controlled and monitored.

The IBS Supply Chain promotes Open System and encourages full industry participation compared to the Prefab Closed System readily available now where only limited industry companies can participate. As can be seen in figure 1, IBS Supply Chain comprises of Modular Component-based products that can be produce and interchangeable between any project thus promote mass customization at the customers end. Therefore, a company that can utilize the IBS supply chain will enable it to sell systems rather than selling single products.

Market Potential

Houses of the future should be similar to products like cars or computers today. It is built mostly in a factory with parts that is easy to replace or maintain. The construction industry can be transform by following what other sectors are already doing; standardize and accessorize.

Standardising the construction industry is a critical factor in establishing an Open Building System (OBS) in Malaysia. The concept of the OBS is similar to what has happened in the ICT industry whereby through standardization of jointing parts such as USB ports, consumers can buy computer equipment such as mouse or scanner anywhere in the world. The equipment can then be easily installed by the users as the connection from the equipment to the computer has been internationally standardized.

IBS gives the ability for companies from just being a simple plain brick contractor that is driven by projects to a component builder manufacturer that is driven by consumers. Modular components or also known as volumetric components can be configured into wide variety of end products and the design can be based on customer’s individual needs through unique combinations of the modular components. Mass customization will allow companies to penetrate new markets and capture customers whose demands could not be met with standard products. Developers and contractors who embrace the IBS methodology can even upgrade their capability to export houses in countries that are in need of fast permanent shelters.

IBS Implementation: Industry Responses

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Malaysia has seen 40 years of IBS planning and implementation. Although the pace was slow during the late 1960s and 1970s, the momentum was steadily increased and gradually became part of the industry. In present day, IBS has marked its presence by successful projects throughout Malaysia. Among significant projects that use IBS are:

2007 - Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART Tunnel), Kuala Lumpur, The Spring Shopping Mall, Kuching, Sarawak

2006 - Kuching International Airport, Kuching, Sarawak, Persada Johor International Convention Centre, Johor Bahru

2005 - Serdang Hospital, Serdang, Selangor, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Selangor

2001 - Kuala Lumpur Sentral (KL Sentral), Kuala Lumpur, Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

1998 - Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang, Selangor, Malawati Indoor Stadium, Shah Alam, Selangor

1997 - PETRONAS Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Jalil Hockey Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Selangor

1984 - Dayabumi Complex, Kuala Lumpur

1981 - High end bungalows and low cost houses throughout Selangor

1978 - 1005 units of low-cost, five-storey walk up flats, Taman Tun Sardon, Gelugor, Pulau Pinang

1969 - 6 blocks of 17-storey flats, 3 blocks of 18-storey flats and 66 units of shop houses, Jalan Rifle Range, Air Itam, Pulau Pinang

IBS Pilot Project – 7 blocks of 17-storey flats, Jalan Pekeliling, Kuala Lumpur

Other projects include:

Residential
1. 10,000 units of Teachers’ Quarters, nationwide
2. High-rise apartments in Putrajaya
3. Apartments in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, Selangor
4. CyberVilla Town House, Cyberjaya, Selangor
5. Pangsapuri Dahlia Akademi Audit Negara, Negeri Sembilan
6. Seremban II Township Project, Negeri Sembilan

Schools & Universities
1. Kolej Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu, Johor Bahru, Johor
2. Lim Kok Wing University, Cyberjaya, Selangor
3. Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Semambu, Kuantan, Pahang

Hospitals
1. Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM), Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
2. Kidney Dialysis Centre, Kuching, Sarawak

Shopping Malls
1. Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur
2. IKEA, Mutiara Damansara, Selangor
3. Jaya Jusco, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur
4. Jusco Tebrau City, Johor Bahru, Johor
5. MYDIN Hypermarket, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
6. Carrefour Hypermarket, Seberang Prai, Pulau Pinang

Factories & Warehouses
1. Pelikan Factory, Warehouse and Office, Puchong, Selangor
2. Distripark Warehouse, Westport, Pulau Indah, Selangor
3. Nippon Express Office and Warehouse, Pulau Pinang
4. Flextronics Factory Senai, Johor Bahru

Why Modular is Better?

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:56:00 +0000

Traditional method of building process brings all the workers, machineries, and materials to the ground where the building is to be constructed. It contributes to the same problems plaguing construction industry for so long; over-reliance of cheap labour, inconsistent quality, prone to delays, substantial material waste, and dangerous working environment to name a few.

IBS provides means to improve this building process which give advantages to the industry. Among the benefits of IBS are:

Cost
• Requirement of few on-site workers significantly reducing labour cost for contractors (installers).
• Minimum material waste through quality control and continuous improvement.
• Sustainability as component moulds could be used repeatedly for different projects, allowing economic of scale and reduction in amortisation cost.
• Exemption of the Construction Levy on residential developments with at least 50% of IBS content

Quality
• Consistent high quality-controlled products through practice of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
• Eliminate substandard product through ‘zero-defect’ programme.
• Skilled workers with specific scope of works improve efficiencies and reduce errors.

Time
• Faster completion of projects due to advance off-site preparations and efficient installations.
• Manageable construction schedule by the use of planning control, estimated lead time and forecasted down time.
• Not affected by weather element as off-site production allows 24-hours operation.

Safety
• Promote safe and systematic factory working environment.
• Safer working environment as minimal work is required on-site.
• Cleaner sites due to timely material delivery, systematic components storage, reduction of construction material and waste on-site.

Modular Home Industry Leading in Construction Innovations

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:04:00 +0000

Modular homes are becoming more standardized in their over all construction making them more appealing to potential buyers. This standardization, that makes retrofit and repair constructions for the home owner easier and more convenient have made modular homes look even better when it comes time to construct a new home.

With materials for remodeling and repair easily available, those DIY projects are easier to handle. In the early days of modular home construction, many manufacturers used fit and finish materials that didn't match mainstream construction, materials. They often used materials that were especially designed for fast and machine or special tool construction. Now more and more, because of new innovations in building materials in general, modular home manufacturers are using the same types of tool, equipment and materials that are used in finish for conventional construction methods. None the less, being able to use common materials and supplies has added one more facet to the booming market for modularly constructed homes.

The two very different methods of construction have actually closed the gap between themselves in that with the development of new tools and equipment that first started out only being used in modular home construction facilities, many of the methods of construction once only used in modular construction are now being used in both industries. Contractors like the idea of the quicker methods of framing used in modular factories. Many of the new tools and fastener systems that were developed for factory constructed homes are now common items found at conventional home construction sites.

Many years ago, as new fasteners and finish materials started to emerge into the modular construction industry, they often didn't meet the standards set down for conventional construction methods. Not to say there was any thing wrong with how modular homes were constructed; it was more an issue of how the construction process was handled and what types of materials and fasteners needed to be used under varying construction methods. Inside factory setting vs. outside exposed to the elements conventional construction.

As time progressed and the modular construction industry enhanced, improved and developed new materials, equipment, fasteners and methods, the gap between the standards closed. Today, many types of fast, yet durable methods of construction that were once only used in modular construction are not regularly used in conventional construction. What was once done only with hammer and nails is now done with nail guns and glue. Nail gun and brad nailers were once exclusively used in the modular home construction industry. But as the types of equipment and strength of fasteners improved, they became increasingly popular in the conventional construction trade as well. The increase in speed and durability added greatly to the effectiveness of conventional construction.

Not only were faster durable framing techniques born from the modular housing industry, but also many other aspects of home construction as well. From drywall, electrical and plumbing all the way through to the fit and finish of cabinetry in some manner or fashion today employ methods that were first proven in the modular home construction industry. So today, with the gap between the two methods, material and construction wise ever closing and the gap in costs still significant, modular homes are becoming a better choice for many homes buyers, with good reason

New methods and techniques are always on the horizon and the modular home industry, being in the forefront , always looking for ways to improve, will certainly bring to light new ideas and innovations that will only make modular homes even more durable, affordable and appealing to home buyers.

Source:-
Scott Best is a freelance writer in association with http://newmodularinfo.comRead more of his articles at http://newmodularinfo.com/articles/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Best

Modular Buildings - A Portable and Low Cost Construction Alternative

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:14:00 +0000

We are often surprised by the rapid transformation of a vast landscape - a shopping center, a business park etc. Some of those buildings are built using modular construction techniques. These buildings are constructed in a factory and then shipped in sections to the chosen building site. Modular buildings can be built as offices, medical buildings, portable classrooms, and buildings for retail businesses. Modular building solutions can also be used for healthcare, education, commercial, construction, or government purposes. Whether you need a modular building for extra storage or for your up and coming business, there is a modular building solution available for these types of buildings as well as many others.

Modular buildings have great solutions to all of your building needs. When you need a mobile office, a portable classroom, a new building for your retail business, or an arena for sports and entertainment do not hesitate to consider modular buildings. Even if you desire a building for medical uses like a clinic or a lab, modular building solutions can be the answer to your building prayers. If you desire temporary office space, a mobile office will give you just that. These types of buildings offer a faster building time and the construction is dependable and durable. Modular buildings are built in a factory and therefore they do not suffer from weather damage like traditional buildings do when they are constructed at the chosen building site. Modular buildings are energy efficient, the buildings are inspected, and they met all building codes.

When looking for flexible construction that can be built to meet your specific wants and needs, look no further than modular buildings. Modular building solutions are of service for construction offices, industrial or commercial buildings, and residential sales offices. Almost every type of building, business, or home can be easily built through modular construction. Modular buildings guarantee high quality construction with an attractive finish.

Floor plans are available to give you the look that you desire or you can customize your new modular building to achieve a unique floor plan not found anywhere else. You also get to choose the interior and exterior designs of your modular building to fit your wants and needs. All you will need to do is to find a company who is willing to work around your ideas and then they will help you to create a floor plan that is a one of a kind modular building for your business, home, or storage needs. Modular building solutions are an easy and effective way to get the look that you want for the business or home that you are creating at a price and floor plan that you can live with.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalie_Aranda

IBS Modular Homes

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:43:00 +0000

IBS Modular Building

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 10 May 2008 07:37:00 +0000

IBS Gaining Ground

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:36:00 +0000

Source: News Straits Times, March 1st, 2008

It's still early days, but the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is confident that usage of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) in construction will pick up momentum. "In the Klang Valley, we are noting an increased use of IBS in certain construction activities," said its chief executive officer Datuk Ir. Hamzah Hasan. "Before, many builders preferred to use cheap foreign workers to perform labour-intensive construction activities, but they are now recognising the advantages of IBS - speed, better quality and saving the environment. "We hope that with the promotions made by our IBS Centre, the system will become accepted as the normal way of construction. "

CIDB is aiming for an industrialised construction sector by the year 2010." UM Land Bhd operations director Zulkifly Garib said the prospect of IBS succeeding is good, but said its usage "depends on the type of project being undertaken". "It would be more feasible in the development of certain higher-end properties as the cost of engaging (IBS) isn't economically attractive enough ... at least not at the moment," he said. Zulkifly also said before it can be implemented full-scale, developers "have to ensure that the infrastructure and operational requisites are in place". National House Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong, said there is a 2005 incentive that exempts developers from paying the CIDB construction levy of 0.125 per cent for projects that have at least 50 per cent IBS content. Except for projects costing less than RM500,000 as well as low-, low-medium- and medium-cost houses, all projects were previously imposed the levy. "

The system will improve productivity, reduce site wastages, give rise to better quality end products, make the industry less dependent on foreign workers and help the environment," Chang said. As much as 70 per cent of the waste created in the home-building process can be removed by adopting IBS. Among the developers that are using IBS are SP Setia Bhd, Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, IJM Building System Sdn Bhd, and MTD-ACPI Engineering Bhd. Buildings that have been built with the system include Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Petronas Twin Towers, Putrajaya and the KL International Airport. Coined in America in the late 80s, IBS involves making various components that go into a building's construction in a factory and thereafter transporting them to a worksite for assembly.

Toyota Homes - Live in your next Toyota

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:45:00 +0000

By the Associated Press

Cubicles that are bits of homes, tucked with stairways, built-in closets and pink bathtubs, roll off the assembly line at a bustling Toyota plant in central Japan -- not the usual rows of shiny cars. Kasugai Housing Works, a plant for prefabricated housing run by Toyota Motor Corp., prides itself on the same production methods that gave the Japanese auto maker a reputation for quality and efficiency around the world. The plant was shown to reporters on a rare tour recently.

A house in 6 hours

Housing makes up less than 1% of Toyota's $183 billion annual sales. But company officials say technology acquired from years of making cars is central to homebuilding Toyota style. A "smart key" similar to the car key you don't need to take out of your pocket to unlock your Toyota opens and closes the front door. A mechanism for reducing engine noise and tremors is installed under the floor to quiet upstairs shakes. Car paint-job skills deliver even scratch-resistant coating on walls.

Toyota homes are mass produced like Toyota cars. About 85% of the work on the metal-frame cubicles is finished at the plant. The prefabricated cubicles, made to order for the customer, are stacked like toy blocks with a huge crane and topped with a roof in just six hours. The cubicles, called units, vary in size, with the bigger ones measuring 20 feet long. An average Japanese home requires 12 units. A buyer chooses from several designs, ranging from sleek modern to standard fare with tiled roofing and balcony windows.

Individual homeowners visit "housing parks" in Japan, where Toyota and rival homebuilders have set up model homes. Customers place orders by mixing and matching layout, interiors and material to meet their needs.

Cars, not homes, still rule Toyota

Toyota, the world's second-biggest auto maker behind General Motors, entered the housing business in 1975 and is still a minor player in housing. One challenge is that apartments make up more than half of housing construction in Japan because of high land prices.

Even the nation's so-called "Big Five" builders in prefabricated homes control only about 14% of the housing market because Japanese tend to buy existing homes or hire neighborhood carpenters. But a recent scandal involving an architect suspected of designing buildings with faked earthquake-resistance data is boosting the attraction of brand names in housing.

Toyota made just 4,600 homes last year, and is planning 5,000 homes this year. But it's on a roll, recording 50 straight months of on-year sales growth. It's targeting 7,000 homes per year by 2010. Toyota Housing President Teiji Tachibana acknowledged Japanese homes suffer a bad image as tiny, shabby "rabbit hutches" compared to more spacious European and American homes. But Toyota homes, which cost about $227,000 each -- average for a middle-class Japanese home -- are built to endure earthquakes common in Japan and boast intelligent use of cramped space, a must for this island nation, according to Toyota.

"We may not be able to compete in space," Tachibana said. "But Toyota homes deliver top global quality." Akio Fukuda, researcher at Real Estate Economic Institute in Tokyo, believes Toyota Housing holds potential, although it faces tough competition from the Big Five. Toyota should be able to put up bigger numbers if it gets really serious about the housing business," he said in a telephone interview. "It has the powerful backbone of the Toyota name."

The Toyota plant -- where hammering on wood blends with the buzz of drills and robotic arms -- relies on the company's prized "just-in-time" method that manufactures to order and keeps track of stock through Toyota's paper memos called "kanban," which means "signs" in Japanese. Workers on the assembly line can at any time pull on a dangling cord to stop the assembly line -- another trademark of Toyota production.

"We pursue the Toyota Way not only in Japan, but globally, and we will pursue the same in housing," said Senta Morioka, Toyota managing officer.

Industrialised Building System - A Brief Background

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:37:00 +0000

Industrialised Construction System or Industrialised Building System is a system which use industrial production techniques either in the production of components or assembly of the building or both. (Farid Wardi 1997). Under this system, the industry operate more like a manufacturing sector where most parts of building is made up of manufactured components and installed on site.

The system can either be Open or Closed system.

Close Industrialised Building system

Is a system where all elements of industrial production of components to be used for specific designs for specific projects. The system does not allow for the interchangeability of components from different factories.

Open Industralised Building System

Is a system which allows the production of building components by various factories and to be compatible with each other to be used in any building project.

The successful implementation of open industrialisation building system requires a modular coordination.

Where Modular coordination :-

Is an international system of dimensional standardisation in building where buildings and components are sized in term of a basic unit or module.

The aims:-

1) To assist the building industry and its associated industries, through standardisation

2) To improve workmanship and reduce cost.

3) To facilitate coorporation between building designers, manufacturers, contractors and
authorities.

4) To enable buildings to be so dimensioned that they can be erected with standard components
without restriction on freedom of design.

5) To permit a flexible type of standardisation, which encourages the use of a limited number of
standardised building components for the construction of different types of building.

6) To optimise the number of standard sizes of building components

7) To encourage the interchangeability of component and

8) To simplify site operations.

Global initiatives on IBS

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:36:00 +0000

Throughout the world, there has been several initiatives to change the construction industry into a more productive and efficient industry. As can be seen in table 1, several countries in the world including Malaysia has been aggressively putting up programmes to further enhance the construction sector.

Among the global leaders in offsite construction are notably Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. This is due to the fact that in these countries, the construction season is short and therefore speed is critical in their construction industry.

Other developed countries such as United Kingdom and United States are fast catching up in the off-site construction. It is estimated that the modular market in the United Kingdom will grow by 60% to €4.6 billion by the year 2009 (source: Internet: http://www.offsiteconstruction.ie/). Meanwhile in the US, one in six new houses is a prefab, which is estimated to be about 400,000 units a year (source: Modular Muddle”. Internet: http://society.guardian.co.uk/ )

Modular Construction: Evolution of the Construction Industry

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:55:00 +0000

The major advantage of full industrialisation of the building industry is that quality architecture can be delivered to the vast majority of people. Industrialisation also means the aggregation of a pool of project or large market into fractions of works that can be divided among smaller productions and therefore simplifying the production and reducing the costs. The status quo of the industry is still on the first four degrees of the industrialisation that consists of prefabrication, mechanisation, automation and robotics. Whereas, industrialisation of the building industry covers the fifth degree, reproduction. Reproduction simply means to find innovative process that eventually will short-cut the repetitive linear operations of the traditional production line. Industrialised Building System are much more evolved from the traditional prefabrication or precast method and it requires a major overhaul of the current industry practise.

Below are a video showing modular construction in other parts of the world

Construction Sector Grows Under 9MP

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:35:00 +0000

THE construction industry should aim for an efficient, productive, innovative and environmentally responsible industry, Deputy Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said at the official launch of the International Construction Week (ICW 2007) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) recently.

Organised by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD). ICW2007 was themed “Strengthening Construction Capabilities for Global Competitiveness”. “The Malaysian construction industry has contributed to the nation’s growth and it’s ready to venture overseas. The industry grew to 4.0 per cent during the first quarter under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and the formulation of a comprehensive Master Plan is timely to trigger a paradigm shift.

“However, there is a need to address issues and weaknesses before embarking on the vision of a progressive sector that thrives on knowledge, creativity for its survival.” CIBD chairman Tan Sri Jamilus Hussein said the event was a momentum and hallmark of the efforts to penetrate the challenging global market. “Malaysia has been transformed from a nation dependent on foreign experts and service providers to a major construction service exporter in the international market.

“Malaysian builders abroad have accumulated RM61 billion worth of projects covering about 38 countries. These projects are over a period of 10 years and currently our biggest overseas projects are in India and the Middle East. “We are also venturing into the Industrialised Building System (IBS) to reduce our dependency on foreign labour. IBS is not a new thing but merely a different trend. “IBS, which presents a cheaper cost in volume and time, takes work from the site to the factories but it will take some time for the industry to get used to the idea,” said Jamilus. He added that the future outlook for the industry was that it would be very busy over the next years.

At the event, Mohd Zin also opened the 24th Malaysian International Building Exposition (Malbex 2007) held in conjunction with ICW 2007. Organised by Reeds Exhibitions Sdn Bhd and co organised by CIBD, Malbex 2007 ran for four days. Reeds Exhibitions general manager Michelle Lim said last years, exhibitors made some RM86.5mil worth of sales and a further RM325 mil of sales was expected to be concluded this year.

“About 200 companies, comprising leading international manufacturers from 19 countries, including at least 51 first-time participants, took part in the expo. “It is recognised regionally as an outstanding industry-wide event for the building and construction sector, organised for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and technology.” She added that more than 14,000 trade visitors were expected at Malbex 2007, including architects, developers, interiors, designers, contractors, and top buyers. For details on Malbex 2007, visit http://www.malbex.com.my/

(Source: The Star, 29th September 2007)

Cheap homes price to stay

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:17:00 +0000

BAHAU: The price of low-cost houses will not be increased, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The Prime Minister said developers should not cite the increase in prices of building materials as a reason to raise the prices of the houses.

“We can’t do this ... If we allow an increase, the common man will not be able to own a house.
“Also, we do not want to do something which will create a lot of unhappiness (among people from the lower-income group),” he said after performing the ground-breaking ceremony for a Universiti Teknologi Mara campus in Kg Beting, near here.

Abdullah said developers should instead find ways to reduce their costs such as adopting new construction methods. “You can adopt the IBS (Industrialised Building System) method which can reduce your cost of doing business,” he said.

He was responding to a statement by Real Estate and Housing Developers Association deputy president Datuk Michael Yam that developers were unable to absorb the increase in prices of construction materials. The association had proposed that prices of low-cost houses and flats be increased from RM42,000 to RM60,000.

Abdullah said the IBS method was effective as developers would not have to rely heavily on skilled workers. He said if developers built houses quickly, they would also be able to service their bank loans faster.

“Pemudah has come up with recommendations that can help speed up business,” he said.
Pemudah is a public-private sector initiative which aims to simplify business operations in Malaysia by improving government services. Abdullah said it was unfair to allow an increase simply because government servants recently got a salary hike.

“They were unable to buy houses previously. If you increase the price, then the civil servants who recently got a pay increase will never be able to own a house,” he said.

(Source: The Star 24th August 2007)

MIGHT Annual Report 2006 - Industrialised Building System

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:08:00 +0000

Global Scenario

With the impact of globalization have run deep into many industries, more efficient methods have been introduced and implemented in order to survive the challenging market ahead. Every product have improved dramatically and been produced in a higher quality and at a lower cost but with the exception of houses and buildings. Whilst, other industries have been thriving in terms of technology application, only small improvement has been made in making building processes more efficient.

Houses of the future should be similar to products like cars or computers today. It is built mostly in a factory with parts that is easy to replace or maintain. The construction industry can be transform by following what other sectors are already doing; standardize and accessorize. This effort can be achieve by overhauling the industry through technology implementation such as Industrialised Building System or IBS. IBS based on Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) is defined as “Construction technique in which components are manufactured in a factory, on or off site, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal additional site works.”

In many parts of the world, IBS takes its forms in an initiative called open building concept. Open building is an approach to the design of buildings and said to be representing a new wave in architecture. Open building is defined as an innovative approach to design and construction that enhances the efficiency of the building process, while increasing the variety, flexibility and quality of the product [1].

Developed countries such as Japan, Netherlands and USA to name a few, have already started to develop concept that is called ‘Open Source Building’. The concept of the open source building is similar to what has happened in the ICT industry whereby through standardization of jointing parts such as USB ports, consumers can buy computer equipment such as mouse or scanner anywhere in the world. The equipment can then be easily installed by the users as the connection from the equipment to the computer has been internationally standardized.

Local Scenario

The Malaysian construction industry as envisaged in the Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) 2001-2010, is expected to grow at 6.6% per annum during the period of OPP3 and contributes 3.1% to the GDP in the year 2010 [2]. The only way for the country to achieve this target is by increasing the industry’s efficiency and productivity to a higher level than it is now. In recognizing these critical factors, the Government has introduced a master plan to overhaul the construction industry into a more technology based industry. The master plan is called the “Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Roadmap 2003-2010”. Endorsed by the Cabinet in October 2003, the plan’s ultimate objective is for the industry to achieve Open Building by the year 2010.

The IBS agenda was further boosted as the Government have announced in Budget 2005, whereby all new Government projects are required to have at least 50 per cent IBS content. This was subsequently followed by another announcement in Budget 2006 whereby IBS manufacturers would be given tax incentives through Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA) for expenses occurred in the purchase of moulds used for production of precast concrete components. In the year 2006 also, an IBS Centre was established under CIDB that will act as a one stop agency for IBS implementation. These initiatives done by the Government have given the IBS agenda the momentum that was badly needed before. It has also put the construction industry into the right path of achieving higher efficiency and productivity by the year 2020.

Company’s activities

For the year 2006, the company has been actively promoting the use of IBS through partnership with various parties and Government agencies. Among the key activities are:

Project Implementation

IBS Modular is now actively implementing IBS product development through an IBS Technopreneur programme. The programme is in line with the Government aspiration of creating more IBS suppliers by 2010.

Human Capital Development

IBS Industrial Skills Enhancement Programme (INSEP)
The programme consists of 60 students that started on September 2006. The objective of the programme is to enhance the skill of the participants with the knowledge of IBS and therefore creating more job opportunities for them in the market place. The programme partner for this program is Housing Research Centre (HRC), UPM.

International and Business Programme

International Outreach Programme.
The objective of the programme is to create IBS awareness among developing countries through the platform of international seminars and workshops such as Langkawi International Dialogue and OIC meetings.

Reference:
1. Whitepaper 2003. About Open Building. Bensonwood Homes
2. Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3) 2001-2010
3. 2005 Budget Speech, www.pmo.gov.my
4. 2006 Budget Speech, www.pmo.gov.my
5. Economic Stimulus Package Speech, 2003, www.mten.gov.my

IBS Technology Series Certificate Giving Ceremony - 2nd Batch

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Tue, 29 May 2007 02:45:00 +0000

Serdang, 26 May 2007 - The IBS Technology Series Certificate Giving Ceremony for the 2nd INSEP-IBS trainees was held at the Dewan Taklimat, Engineering Faculty, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) on May 25, 2007 at 11.00 am.

It was a much anticipated event for all the trainees who had attended the programme since January 2007. Two special guests graced this event - Prof. Ir. Abang Abdullah Abang Ali, Director, Housing Research Centre (HRC), and Prof. Madya Ir. Dr. Mohd. Razali Abdul Kadir, Deputy Director, HRC.

The event started with a speech by the Student’s Representative, Mohammad Khairul Anuar M. Noor Kamil. He thanked the lecturers and trainees, saying, “My personal experience with each of you has enriched my understanding of the challenges and issues faced by graduates. Every one of you here inspires me to continue to work with positive mind and attitude.”

Prof. Ir. Abang Abdullah, in his speech, highlighted the current issues of building quality and maintenance in Malaysia and its relation to human capital development programme like INSEP-IBS. He also thanked IBS Modular for working hand in hand with HRC to fulfill the objectives of INSEP in enhancing the employability, adoptability and marketability of the graduates and widen their work scope through re-training in high technology sectors that provides high employment potential.

Prof. Ir. Abang Abdullah and Dr. Mohd. Razali then presented the trainees with a certificate confirming that they had completed the “IBS Technology Series” course. The ceremony ended with a delicious nasi minyak lunch, followed by a group photo session.

During 3-months of “Technology Series”, the trainees have been exposed to wide range of IBS knowledge & design skills. The trainees also gained valuable soft skills and motivational training. For that, IBS Modular would like to thank:

- Professor Madya Ir. Dr. Mohd Saleh b. Jaafar, Professor Madya Datin Dr. Napsiah Ismail, and - Professor Madya Dr. Rosnah Mohd. Yusuff (UPM) for the inputs and guidance
- Illiana Azizan and Siti Hajar (HRC) for the event supports and
- CIDB, Pusat IBS, Setia Precast, Eastern Pretech and He-Con for the informative visits.

Thank you very much – you have made a tremendous impact on the trainees!

INSEP IBS 2007 - 2nd Batch

Modular Coordination in Construction Industry

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 18 May 2007 08:51:00 +0000

What is Standard MS 1064?

MS 1064 is a guide line towards the usage of Modular Coordination (MC) in building constructions which consists of Part 1 to Part 10 under the general title, "Guide to Modular Construction in Buildings". It provides the general principles, room and storey heights, coordinating sizes and preferred sizes for various building components, dimensions of elements, components and spaces in the planning and design of building.

Modular Coordination (MC) is a concept for coordinating dimension and space for which buildings and components are dimensionalised and positioned in basic units or modules. MS1064 introduces a certain geometric discipline using practical approaches which relate to set-up coordination and measurement of components and spaces in the building design. The standard specifies that the module basic M = 100mm as the basic unit to be used in a square of M. The introduction of MC in the industry is to improve productivity and quality in building construction construction as well as to act as a tool towards rationalisation and industrialisation of the building industry.

MC has been introduced in Malaysia since 1986, but has not been widely implemented in the building industry. The main factors limiting the uses of MC in building industries is lack of knowledge on MC concept and it requires precision dimensioning and proper planning.

The characteristis of MC are:
- The basic module is small in terms of odd size in order to provide design flexibility, yet large enough to promote simplification in the components' variation in sizes.
- Industry friendly features that not only cater for manufacturing but also the transportation and assembly requirements.
- Ergonomically designed to promote efficiency
- Internationally accepted to support international market

MC Concept

MC may be applied to the design, manufacture and assembly of buildings, its components and installations. It also affects the work positioning and dimensioning during construction. At the work level, MC allows for relative independence in decision making with the common dimensional language. The concept of MC is based on:
- The used of modules (basic modules and multi-modules)
- A reference system to define coordinating spaces and zones for building elements and for the components which form them
- Rules for locating building elements within the reference system
- Rules for sizing building components in order to determine their work size
- Rules for defining preferred sizes for building components and coordinating dimensions for building

The principal objective of implementing MC is to improve productivity through the reduction of wastages in the production, installation process, to improve quality in the construction industry and to encourage an open system. With Open System approach, building components could combine in a variety of individual building projects while ensuring the architect freedom in their designs.

MC is an important factor in application of Industrialised Building System by way of standardization of components ad dimensions such as reduce time of production and installation of components, achieving repeatability and able to construct building at lower cost.

Excerpted from CIDB, IBS Digest Oct-Dec 2005

Kontraktor kelas F disaran serta IBS

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:06:00 +0000

Berita Harian, Khamis, 29 Mac 2007

SUBANG JAYA: Kerajaan mensasarkan lebih 20 kontraktor Bumiputera terutama kelas F mampu menjadi vendor industri pembinaan negara, khususnya dalam Sistem Binaan Berindustri (IBS) dan pengedar bahan binaan.

Timbalan Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi, Datuk Khamsiyah Yeop, berkata pembabitan hanya 40 kontraktor Bumiputera seluruh negara dalam sistem berkenaan termasuk sebahagian kecil kontraktor kelas F, pada tempoh tiga tahun, menunjukkan perkembangan agak perlahan.

Jumlah itu, katanya, adalah terlalu kecil berbanding bilangan kontraktor berdaftar dengan Pusat Khidmat Kontraktor (PKK) sehingga bulan lalu, seramai 46,473 kontraktor dan 32,022 daripadanya adalah kontraktor kelas F.

Beliau berkata, jumlah itu juga membabitkan kontraktor yang mengeluarkan produk binaan secara kecil-kecilan.

Sehubungan itu, katanya, kesedaran supaya kontraktor terutama kelas F memperluaskan cabang kerja masing-masing perlu dipertingkatkan, bagi memastikan mereka tidak berharap terhadap kerja pembinaan semata-mata.

“Kontraktor perlu didedahkan dengan meluas faedah menyertai IBS yang menggunakan teknologi berbeza, berbanding cara konvensional digunakan sebelum ini,” katanya pada sidang media, di sini, semalam.

Why Knowledge Management Crucial for the Realization of National IBS Roadmap

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:13:00 +0000

IBS DIGEST (CIDB) ISSUE NO.2 2006

Authors :Nik Ahmad Faizul, Industry Development Director, Innovacia Sdn Bhd & Wan Amrul Wan Mustafa, Chief Knowledge Architect, Innovacia Sdn Bhd

Knowledge was the driving force behind the Industrial Age. It was somehow subsided and nearly forgotten until the next wave arrived which is the Digital Age. This new age has re-surfaced knowledge again as one of the key dimension to propel global growth. Hence, Knowledge Management (KM) is now an important discipline and an essential source that our economy cannot afford to do without, if we are to have competitive advantage and remain relevant.

In Wikipedia, KM refers to a range of practices used by organizations to identify, create, represent, and distribute knowledge for reuse, awareness and learning across the organization.From business standpoint, Harvard Business Review refers KM as the way companies generate, communicate, and leverage their intellectual assets.

We have also seen over the last ten years, highly significant event took placed on the advancement and explosion of information and communication technology (ICT) driven by the liberalization of global economies. This has lead to tremendous transformation in the manner businesses are being executed. The world is not only becoming borderless but also flatter instead of round as the bestseller writer, Thomas L Friedman put it. Information are now highly accessible and being exploited to an unimaginable scale. The rat race for market positioning is as fierce as ever through the capitalization of information, knowledge and innovation.
This scenario has also lead major economies to have greater access than ever before into countries such as India and China to exploit its competitive resources leading to a more competitive product and services in the marketplace.

With this challenging phenomenon, it is now overdue and absolutely critical that we need to expedite our readiness, the know-how and competitiveness of our Malaysian Construction Industry in order to survive and sustain; an industry which is now minus 1.6% growth based on year 2005 government statistic. The fragmented nature of our industry need to be consolidated and reconstructed in order to realize the government’s aspirations on the National IBS Roadmap which targets the industry to be industrialized by the year 2010.

As part of efforts to steer various sectors towards our Vision 2020, the Malaysian government has also launched the National Knowledge-Based Economy Masterplan which was first announced by the government in the Budget 2000. This masterplan marks yet another key government initiative to further accelerate the development of the nation into a knowledge-based economy. It provides strategic framework outlining the changes to the fundamentals of the economy.

These National IBS Roadmap and Knowledge-Based Economy Masterplan have provided a good base information related the policy targets and objectives. However, this information alone will not progress our industrialisation effort. It is only a reference document on policy direction. As such, strategies still need to be formulated downstream within each sector. In doing so, we need to capture our industry knowledge, consolidate, reconfigure and strategise to our best competitive advantage, in order to progress.

To one of KM guru, the late Peter Drucker, leaders often mistake information for knowledge. Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose. Converting data into information thus required knowledge. And knowledge, by definition, is specialized.
Another misconception on KM is that it is ICT oriented. ICT is purely a tool to an end. It should not be treated as the driving factor for KM. Business strategies and direction instead, are the true drivers for KM.

With a cohesive and collaborative effort involving government and industry, we are in position to consolidate our fragmented industry information and ignite our latent intellectual assets. We believe such assets do exist based on our exposure in national mega infrastructural projects over the past 15 years as well as the world is now being flatten with information at the press of a button.

“A company(as an industry member) is not a machine but a living organism”.- Ikujiro Nonaka, KM Guru specialising on Japanese Business Strategies. However, efforts on the ‘HOW TO’ for the National IBS Roadmap seems way behind and need to be urgently accelerated. One of the key factor for this delay is that the industry by nature, is very much project based instead of program based. The soft aspect has not been fully exploited especially on the management of industry knowledge.

A knowledge based construction industry would induce a conducive environment to propel the acceleration of our IBS Roadmap. However, current mindset on ‘information protectionism’ need to be phased out. This is very much due to the current ‘Red Ocean’ overcrowded marketplace whereby companies are engaged in head-to-head competition struggling to survive, let alone to sustain.

IBS on the other hand, is a new industry with endless opportunities. In order to commence with this exploration, it has to start with knowledge sharing as the new working culture within the industry. This approach encourages investment on ‘trust’ which in turn, will lead companies who used to be in competition, to better understand each other and collaborate for improved market positioning in this new ‘Blue Ocean’ industry.

It is only with this ‘Open Collaboration’ environment that we are able to induce participation, develop and steer, impactful downstream strategies to support the roadmap implementation.
This effort on KM however, need to be driven from both top and bottom ends of industry heirarchy. Apart from being policy driven, each industry organization plays an equally crucial role in developing industry’s intellectual capability. This effort will result in the organization to be more specialize and therefore provides an improved strategic positioning for the industry as a whole.

“ To remain competitive – maybe even to survive, businesses will have to convert themselves into organizations of knowledgeable specialists.” - Peter Drucker

Based on the above, we need to create our own speciality and niche in order to sustain. It is only through KM that this can be achieved and therefore, necessitates companies to review their internal organizational strategies and methodologies.

The essence of KM in an organization is best put forward by Alex Bennet, former Chief Knowledge Officer of US Department of Navy. She describes the essence of knowledge management is built on intellectual capital, which includes human capital, social capital and corporate capital. All three are essential components of enterprise knowledge (see diagram).
Human capital is our greatest resource. It is made up of an individual’s past, present and future. Social capital related to communications, human and virtual networks, relationship, collaborations, etc. As for Corporate Capital, it covers intellectual property, corporate assets and organizational processes. Knowledge Management can be viewed as a process for optimizing the effective application of intellectual capital to achieve organizational objectives.

The current industry however, perceived as having assets, financial capital and staff would be sufficient to realize company objectives. It is more focus on the tangible aspect of the organization. The crucial intangible elements were completely overlooked and this has impacted our competitiveness.

In conclusion and as way forward, we clearly need to diagnose ourselves as individual, company, associations, industry as well as the policy makers on how far are we in our positioning to persevere the demanding and exhaustive rat race for market positioning, and most critically our existence and sustainability in the current Globalization era.

The ultimate way forward is for us to inject into ourselves intellectual knowledge which will lead us to the Know-How by becoming the specialist within the marketplace. This can be achieved by being more open minded, unbiased, neutral, patriotic, emotional and aggressive in our efforts to support and participate in the realization of the National IBS Agenda.

Better Houses for All

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:48:00 +0000

By LOONG MENG YEE and WANI MUTHIAH
The Star, Saturday April 22, 2006

SHAH ALAM: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants good quality and affordable homes set in comfortable neighbourhoods for the people. The houses must also be the result of responsible development, he said at the launch of the Housing and Local Government’s computerised “open registration system” for low-cost houses at the state secretariat building here.

LIGHT MOMENT: Abdullah, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo laughing at the antics of a low-cost housing applicant being interviewed through video conferencing in Shah Alam yesterday. — Bernamapic

Abdullah said houses of good quality could be built with the implementation of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) in which component parts like windows and doors would be mass-produced. The system could stabilise the price of building materials as mass production would help to reduce costs, he said. He said the IBS would ensure the quality of houses as all parts would come from factories. “This is crucial as contractors usually don’t follow specifications and people complain that the houses they get in the end are not as advertised,” he said.

Abdullah also wanted a comprehensive ICT database set up to help house buyers obtain necessary information like the location of housing projects and pricing, among other things.
“Some people (want to) buy homes in places far from where they are living, some near their kampungs to settle down in after retirement,” he said. “So, it is good to have a database on homes giving details like where they are to be built, pricing, and whether they are located near towns.”

Abdullah said housing developers must be responsible and look into various factors like environmental implications before launching projects. “One cannot foresee what can happen in housing areas. Places which had never been flooded before have become flood prone after houses are built there,” he noted. He said irresponsible developers often took the easy way out like cutting down trees and dumping soil into rivers for their housing projects, which in the end caused flooding.

The House of the Future

noreply@blogger.com (IBS Modular Sdn Bhd) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:19:00 +0000

Building Blocks

Article excerpted from Popular Science Magazine, November 2006

Imagine if cars were built the way most houses are. A procession of trucks would deliver materials and parts to your driveway – sheet metal, spools of wire, screws, pistons, a roll of carpet, bumpers and a steering wheel. Then day laborers would arrive to put it all together. In the rain. It sounds absurdly efficient, yet that’s the accepted way of constructing a modern American house.

While cars, computers and other products have improved dramatically in recent decades, houses have changed almost as little as the methods used to build them. “Every product except homes has become more sophisticated, with higher quality at lower cost,” says architect Kent Larson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology."Homes are just the opposite.”

Larson is perhaps the country’s lead proponent of a radical new approach to designing and constructing homes. The house of the future, he says, should be more like a personal computer or a car. It should be affordable, built mostly in a factory, and with parts that are easy to repair or replace. You should be able to design your own home online, just as you can today with a Dell laptop or a Honda minivan. The key to making it happen? Follow the lead of other industries: standardize and accessorize.

Take personal computers. Products made by competing manufacturers are standardized for compatibility. You can buy virtually any printer or mouse on the market, and it will work with the computer you already own. “Nobody has to agree on what a mouse is; you just have to agree on the USB port,” Larson says.

Before houses can be built this way, though, the industry needs standards analogous to the USB standard for computers. “You don’t have to agree on the toilet, but you have to agree on how the toilet connects to the wall or the floor,” Larson explains. That may sound easy enough, but getting dozens of manufacturers to sync their johns will require fundamental changes in the homebuilding industry.

A House Made to Order

Prefabricated components – like walls, floors and plumbing – make home construction a snap

One of the key components of the MIT Open Source house is the core wall [A], a prefab unit into which all of the plumbing is already installed. Even the toilet [B] is built directly into the wall instead of attached to a waste drain on the floor. The core wall is simply hooked up to the service lines, and then the tiling and fixtures (sink, shower) are added to complete the bathroom. The house’s flooring is fitted with adjustable feet [C], which rest on the subfloor and provide soundproofing and space for HVAC ductwork [D]. The electrical wiring [E] is easily accessible behind removable paneling [F], making installation of extra outlets easy. Finally, the interior walls [G], which also arrive fully assembled, are snapped into place to form rooms.