modular construction in India is growing rapidly and has immense opportunities in the field of architecture and construction industry.
Modular construction technology is a boon to the economic sector.
Modular construction is defined as a construction methodology that is partially built in the manufacturing plant, then bringing prefab components to the site, and installing on the foundation, after which the rooftop, exterior, and interior finishes were completed.
It is rapidly evolving as an alternative method to conventional on-site buildings.
So, in this article, we will try to cover the adoption rate of the Indian population to this modern method and also the Advantages and challenges of this new technology in India.
modular construction
Modular construction is a technique or method where three dimensional or prefab units are used for the construction of the building. These prefab or modular elements are manufactured in the factories then transported to the site and assembled, this has to be done through proper planning, Integration, and communication.
Modular construction is also known to be a modular system, building system, or volumetric construction.
The Modular construction becomes more reliable when the prefab elements are manufactured according to the building code requirements as conventional construction methods. In many cases, these modular building codes exceed local building specifications. So, through the collaboration of the manufacturing industry with the construction industry, we can achieve a good amount of results in this field.
Using modular construction methods, we can reduce our timelines by 30% to 50% because site preparation and fabrication will be done simultaneously.
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Modular construction in India
As many developed countries are already adopted and accepting this method because of many advantages when compared with conventional methods.
Modular building systems in India are slowly adopting by some contractors and builders which comprise merely 1% of the total construction industry. But this number will grow significantly in the coming years.
If the conventional method it takes 1 or 2 years for constructing a housing project, but it takes only 6 or 7 months for completion of the same project.
In India, the government is planning to provide housing for everyone by 2022, for this, we require to construct at least 30 million low-cost houses along with 98 smart cities. so this will definitely boost the modular construction in India.
Modular construction process
The process of modular construction is shown below, Observe carefully.
Advantages of Modular construction
- High-quality repetitive modular units are manufactured under excellent supervision. so there is no wastage of material on the site.
- Construction is done under a controlled environment, so this prevents wastage, Improves quality management, and promotes sustainability.
- Faster project schedule: The modular units are manufactured away from the site, so the work will be done simultaneously on the field and off-field. It reduces half the amount of time as compared to the conventional construction process.
- Appealing: It looks very similar to the conventional building because the modular building is produced with the same material, same building standards, and architectural specifications.
- These buildings are flexible and re-usable, as the components are dismantled and can be moved to any other location for new construction.
- Manufacturing and Installation costs are reduced because of good co-ordination between quality and cost.
- Safety in the modular process is higher since 85% of the work is done in off-site conditions.
- It requires less-skilled workers or laborers on the site because the work is less complicated.
Disadvantages or Challenges in modular construction
- Project planning: It requires intense pre-planning and design of sections to eradicate mistakes while installing the prefab components.
- Initial cost and site constraints: It requires high capital amount for construction and the lack of experienced professional engineers and designers is also a big challenge in this industry.
- Reduced adaptability: Once the design is finalized and work has been started, we can’t be able to change the design.
- Transportation: It is hard to transport modules far away also time delays may happen due to transmit permits for heavy components.
Methodology
So, based on the above-mentioned methodology the cost estimates were taken per square foot for both conventional and prefabricated buildings, and the most economical one is selected among them.
Conclusion
- We have to adopt an analysis method to evaluate the construction methods and based on quantity, cost, transportation per square foot, the most economical one is adopted for a single or multi-story building.
- The cost per square foot (as per market research) is approximate; for modular construction, it is 800-1000/- and for conventional construction it is, 1400-1600/-
- From this study, we can say that modular construction saves nearly 30% of the total cost of the construction.
Check one case study in china: Modular construction boom on the anvil
