Performance analysis of engineering, procurement and construction projects in modular construction

Abstract

The construction industry is well known for exceeding time plans and affectedly overrun budgets. Today over 50% of projects that are started will not be delivered at the planned deadline or not within the stated budget. More buildings projects are produced through modular construction, producing buildings in an off-site facility with a closed environment and equal conditions for every project. This enables eas ier transfers of methodologies and tools from the manufacturing industry towards construction usages. This research investigated the most critical performance mea surements for Engineering, Procurement and Construction projects (EPC) and how concepts as continuous improvements and visual planning from Lean methodologies could be helpful for modular construction companies. This research was performed together with a case company called Emtunga So lutions AB, which produces Living quarters for mainly off-shore oil rigs through modular construction. Ten semi-structured interviews with open questions to gather knowledge of the existing execution process at Emtunga was executed. Through the findings in the interviews, a survey was conducted to further confirm and determine these findings in a broader context. Several areas were found that seemed to have a significant impact on the project performance. The main findings were the importance of continuous improvements, the possibili ties with visual planning tool and the problematic interference in the process from change order by customer. These are three critical areas that severely influence organisations within modular construction that uses the EPC framework. If these are handled correctly, problems could be prevented, and it will enable an efficient project process.