Home Construction Benefits From High-Tech Research

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Two years ago, in response to industry needs, HUD began an ongoing research project to advance the use of technological innovation in homebuilding. Prepared by the Center for Housing Research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Industrializing the Residential Construction Site, Phase II is the second product to come from that research. (The first focused on the state of industrialization in housing and other industries and identified promising techniques.)

Industrializing the Residential Construction Site analyzes the internal flow, filtering, and timely availability of information of five homebuilders who were chosen based on their varying volumes of business. They use the same materials, operate on the eastern seaboard, have product lines ranging from starter homes to more expensive homes, and share the same fundamental process. Researchers examined three areas: process data relating to field construction and management of the construction system, documents that support field construction, and management of the system and supplier and component relationships.

Using data they gathered, researchers developed case studies, which included individualized process maps that gave them an opportunity to develop an understanding of information paths and to see disconnects for each builder. The maps also permitted an analysis of information filtering. From these maps, researchers determined that the builders' primary challenge is communicating change. They suggest that round-the-clock access to current, accurate information describing changes, appropriately filtered and distributed to all affected parties, would eliminate most disconnects.

Researchers noted that forging solid information flows among departments, suppliers, subcontractors, and field superintendents is necessary to develop a stable information system. The most significant links include sales to design to production, production to design and engineering, and customer to design to production. To ensure that all information is current, these links must be constructed through a central data warehouse because informal information paths quickly degrade the integrity and level of integration of the data.

Based on what they had learned from the five builders, the researchers then formulated a generalized data system information model with goals that hardly differ from those of large manufacturers or industrial producers. At the model's center is a data warehouse to make project information available to sales, design and engineering, purchasing and inventory control, production, customer service, and corporate management.

Researchers then mapped the proposed model data system and described how each party would interact with others using the system. Such a system would reduce the amount of redundant data being entered; reduce the errors associated with redundant data entry; increase the response time of the business to changes; increase the pricing accuracy of changes; decrease contingency costs to customers associated with change; improve accuracy; and reduce rework associated with filtering, scheduling, and communication errors.

The researchers conclude that recognition of the inherent differences in the focus between office-based and field-based activities must form the foundation of any companywide information system development. They suggest that the next steps toward the development of information systems to industrialize the residential construction site include:

• The development of more detailed information maps and prototype application of information technology to specific bottleneck activities to evaluate potential costs and benefits.
• The investigation and documentation of greater detail in event triggers used in the field for planning, staging, and deployment of labor by superintendents and subcontractors.
• The development and testing of prototype processes and tools to digitally link field progress to central schedules.