Abstract
Construction Industrialization (CI) tends to improve industrial performance and contributes substantially towards global sustainability. Considering these merits, many countries and regions, including Hong Kong, have released policies to promote CI uptake. However, those policy interventions ignore the dynamic influence of stakeholders and technologies, which significantly influence the efficient management of CI. In response, this study aimed to objectively depict a real socio-technical system of CI uptake based on a representative case study in Hong Kong. Further, this study identified the critical issues associated with the CI uptake and proposed policy-related recommendations to overcome the key issues. In addition, this study proposed a novel approach based on two-mode social network analysis to facilitate the analysis from a socio-technical perspective. Theoretically, this depicts the interactions of construction industry stakeholders and artifacts within a dynamic, complex socio-technical environment, indicating a new stance for construction management. Finally, this research also provides valuable implications for the government to anticipate the impact of different CI policies on promoting its uptake within the complex socio-technical system.
Highlights
Construction Industrialization (CI) is an innovative and effective manufactory-based mode of construction [1]
Policy interventions for promoting the uptake of CI invariably focus on incentive schemes and compulsory requirements while ignoring the dynamic influence of stakeholders and technologies, both of which significantly influence the efficient management of CI
CI is an innovative and effective factory-based construction method, which has been used in public housing projects for many decades in Hong Kong and contributes significantly to residential development
Summary
Construction Industrialization (CI) is an innovative and effective manufactory-based mode of construction [1]. The superior performance of CI in saving production time, reducing waste, more effectively controlling quality, and reducing labor demand has made it popular for public housing projects in Hong Kong [5,6]. Its use in the residential sector has significantly contributed to the sustainability of Hong Kong’s construction industry [5]. Due to the overwhelming demand for high quality, affordable housing in Hong Kong (HK) over recent years, the HK government has implemented compulsory regulations and incentive schemes to adopt CI. Executive’s 2017 Policy Address [7], which implemented new technologies to improve productivity and cost effectiveness, such as CI to build large-scale construction projects to enhance the level of construction automation. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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