Design for manufacturing and assembly for sustainable, quick and cost-effective prefabricated construction – a review

Abstract

Recently, researchers have reported that by the amalgamation of concepts of design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA), construction practices and technologies can be further improved. As DfMA is based on the principles of optimization of materials and coordination. The optimization and coordination achieved through DfMA at the early design stage can significantly contribute best practices, reduce time and delays and improve safety, and thereby enhance the overall productivity of the prefabricated construction project. However, the literature on DfMA is limited in prefabricated construction. This paper presents an updated and comprehensive review of DfMA approaches and their applications in manufacturing and prefabrication. The review is based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines with a slight modification. Scopus database was used to obtain relevant articles from the literature, and three search attempts were taken to ensure that the identified publications thoroughly cover the focus of this review. Prefabrication and manufacturing processes are compared and discussed with examples. The findings of this paper show practical analogies between prefabrication and manufacturing. Finally, the review is concluded with recommendations for future works and the potential opportunities for the application of DfMA in construction.