The implementation of Industrialised Building System (IBS) in Malaysia from architects' and engineers' perspective

Abstract

The Industrialised Building System (IBS) was initiated in Malaysia in the 1960s to cope with the increasing demand for housing in Malaysia. Since then, the Malaysian government has put great efforts to increase the usage of Industrialised Building System in Malaysia. As stipulated in Garis Panduandan Peraturan Perancangan Bangunan by UPE (2008) that starting from the year 2008 and above the public building projects must contain at least 70% of Industrialised Building System score. Despite the efforts, the implementation of Industrialised Building System is far from expectations. One of the reasons is found to be the perception of building industry players about Industrialised Building System. There are numerous studies on the perception of manufacturers, clients and contractors, but comparatively less studies on architects and engineers’ perspective about Industrialised Building System. Therefore, this study is to evaluate the perception of architects and engineers about the issues and challenges in the implementation of Industrialised Building System at present and future implementation. The methodology used is the triangulation method where two methods qualitative and quantitative are used. The tools used were a questionnaire survey and semi-structured one-to-one interviews. 250 respondents responded the questionnaire survey which included 114 architects and 93 engineers. semi-structured interviews were held with 19 informants. The data gathered was analysed using descriptive and inferential manner. The questionnaire survey and interviews’ findings indicate that the building industry players had a positive perception of the Industrialised Building System. They agreed that Industrialised Building System offers many benefits such as reduced labour, reduced construction time, less on-site wastage, reduction of reliance on the traditional construction method, reduction of air and noise pollution, reduction of maintenance cost and reduction of the overall cost. They also expressed positive responses that Industrialised Building System will be a cost-saving construction method in future, there will be faster construction and green development, less wastage, more skilled workforce, advanced technology, less labour, safer construction, and better quality products. Whereas, the stakeholders also agreed that despite these advantages, there are some hindrances which are the cause of less usage of Industrialised Building System, these are: skills shortage, lack of coordination among players, high initial cost, lack of awareness, lack of Research and Development, lack of knowledge, resistance from stakeholders to change, availability of cheap labour, failure in transfer of technology, and resistance from public.