Principles of design for automation applied to construction tasks

Abstract

Experience from other sectors of industry suggests that any attempt to automate construction tasks will require consideration of the principles of Design for Automation both at the task level and also at the process level. Research at the University of Reading led to the formulation of an integrated construction system comprising an industrialised building system, on-site automation tools and an off-site computer-aided building design system. The kit of parts of the building system were redesigned in a rational manner, using Design for Automation, and were then emobodies in a CAD system which was used for the design and evaluation of commercial office buildings. The rationalisation of the components reduced the number of automation tools that were needed, to the point where a family of tools could be evolved for most of the on-site work. The design of the components was seen to be crucial to the success of both the on-site and off-site efforts in automation. The final conclusion was that the use of automation will necessitate changes in the way that design teams are organised and how buildings are procured by clients.