scholarly journals Supporting the Reuse of Design Assets in ETO-Based Components—A Case Study from an Industrialised Post and Beam Building System

Buildings ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Fredrik Elgh ◽  
Martin Lennartsson
Keyword(s):  
Parametric Design ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Building System ◽  
Engineer To Order ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
House Building ◽  
Modelling Process

The ability to offer customisation has been considered as a competitive advantage for industrialised house building (IHB) companies. Product platform approaches have been acknowledged as one of the prominent ways to improve both internal and external efficiency. However, the use of traditional platform-based strategies does not suffice for the design of engineer-to-order (ETO)-based components in a building system. The purpose of this research is to test and evaluate how the reuse of design assets can be achieved by using a parametric modelling approach to support the design process of ETO-based components in a post and beam building system. This is an additional study using the design platform approach (DPA) that contributes to expanding the knowledge for designing ETO-based components. This research proposes a parametric design platform method developed by following an inductive approach based on the findings from a detailed study on bracket connection with a single case study in a Swedish multi-storey house building company. The proposed method offers flexibility in modelling ETO building components, facilitates design automation, and shows a 20-times improvement in the modelling process. This approach can be used in any building system with ETO-based components by identifying, formalising, and reusing connected design assets. A key finding is that the ETO components can be shifted towards configurable solutions to achieve platform-based design.

scholarly journals Parametric Modelling of Steel Connectors in a Glulam Based Post and Beam Building System – Towards a Flexible Product Platform Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Martin Lennartsson ◽  
Fredrik Elgh ◽  
Per Johan Persson
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Building System ◽  
Engineer To Order ◽  
Improved Design ◽  
House Building ◽  
Design And Production

House building projects are distinctive, and the degree of customisation creates bottlenecks in the design process and challenges for production, which results in longer lead time and higher costs. Aligned with a product platform approach, previous studies have introduced cost-effective approaches such as standardisation, modularization, configurators, etc. Still, components that cannot be completely modularized and configured due to high complexity level, may require a lot of engineering efforts during development. A platform approach that can be used to support engineer-to-order products that change over time still needs to be explored. The application of parametric modelling to automate the design process in the construction industry has the potential to further increase both the design and production efficiency. Thus, the objective of this research is to apply parametric modelling in the design of steel connectors used in a glulam based post and beam building system as part of a flexible product platform for increased design and production efficiency. A single case study has been carried out with a Swedish multi-storey house building company. Empirical data were gathered from a workshop with the design team followed by interviews, and document analysis. A computer-supported method for the steel bracket connectors has been developed, that connects post and beam components with pre-defined rules and constraints as part of the platform development. The result contributes to expanding knowledge about the development of a flexible product platform for improved design process and downstream production of customised components with parametric modelling support in the industrial post and beam buildng system.

scholarly journals Expanding the Building System into a Product Platform for Improved Design and Manufacture – A Case Study in Industrialised House-Building

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Martin Lennartsson ◽  
Fredrik Elgh
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Design Support ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
Building System ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
Improved Design ◽  
House Building

Industrialised house builders in Sweden have been challenged to meet the demand for housing solutions as the population has increased at a faster rate. As a result, the housing industry is currently faced with objectives to improve productivity and internal efficiency while also controlling the production cost of houses without compromising external efficiency. To remain competitive, many companies developed own building system (BS) based on fixed or partially fixed production systems with different prefabrication techniques. The challenges remain in the design phase and proper methods and tools are required to manage it. In many industries, the product platform approach has been used as a means to achieve both internal and external efficiency. However, little attention has been paid in relating the platform approach to building system support in the design phase of Industrialised house building (IHB). Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of the industrialised house building system and outline design support solutions for the building system from a product platform approach. Qualitative research was conducted by linking a single case company working with post and beam building system in combination with a literature review. Empirical data were gathered from five semi-structured interviews and two workshop sections. A cause-effect analysis has been conducted to realize the potential causes of challenges in the design process. The result illustrates a methodology with principle solutions that can be used as design support for the case company as a path forward and improve further from a product platform perspective.

scholarly journals Construction of All-Wood Trusses with Plywood Nodes and Wooden Pegs: A Strategy towards Resource-Efficient Timber Construction

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2568
Author(s):  
Benjamin Kromoser ◽  
Matthias Braun ◽  
Maximilian Ortner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Gusset Plates ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Timber Construction ◽  
First Results ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Numerical Optimisation ◽  
Special Case

Timber truss systems are very efficient load-bearing structures. They allow for great freedom in design and are characterised by high material use in combination with a low environmental impact. Unfortunately, the extensive effort in design and production have made the manufacturing and application of these structures, in this day and age, a rarity. In addition, the currently mainly used steel gusset plates adversely affect the costs and environmental impact of the trusses. The authors’ goals are to optimise the design of timber trusses and to solely use wood for all building components. The two research areas, (1) optimisation of the truss geometry and (2) optimisation of the joints by using solely wood–wood connections, are addressed in this paper. The numerical optimisation strategy is based on a parametric design of the truss and the use of a genetic solver for the optimisation regarding minimal material consumption. Furthermore, first results of the tensile and compression behaviour of the chosen wood–wood connections are presented. The basic idea for the joints is to use a plywood plate as a connector, which is inserted into the truss members and fixed with wooden pegs. The housing of the new robot laboratory located at BOKU Vienna is considered a special case study for the research and serves as an accompanying example for the application of the research within the present paper.

Optioneering of long viaducts via parametric design

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Sobota
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Parametric Design ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Parametric Approach ◽  
Early Design Stage ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Suitable Approximation

<p><br clear="none"/></p><p>During the optioneering phase, engineers face the challenge of choosing between myriads of possible designs, while, simultaneously, several sorts of constraints have to be considered. We show in a case study of a 380 m long viaduct how parametric modelling can facilitate the design process. The main challenge was to satisfy the constraints imposed by several different stakeholders. In order to identify sustainable, aesthetic, economic as well as structurally efficient options, we assessed several key performance indicators in real time. By automatically estimating steel and concrete volumes, a simple, yet suitable approximation of the embodied carbon (considering 85-95%) can be obtained at a very early design stage. In summary, our parametric approach allowed us to consider a wider range of parameters and to react more flexibly to changing conditions during the project.</p><p><br clear="none"/></p>

scholarly journals Smart Manufacturing Support to Product Platforms in Industrialized House Building

2019 ◽  
pp. 284-292
Author(s):  
Djordje Popovic ◽  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Alexander Vestin
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Smart Manufacturing ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
Manufacturing Technologies ◽  
House Building

Swedish house building companies currently face many challenges in terms of fluctuating market demand, need for flexible product offering, non-uniform governmental regulations, high costs, and long lead times. These challenges affect both internal and external efficiency of companies. Product platforms have been used for more than a decade in this industry to improve both internal and external efficiency. However, the industry is still criticized for its inefficient and costly process. Smart manufacturing has emerged as means to improve the efficiency of internal processes and the question is if and how smart manufacturing can complement and support product platforms in industrialized house building. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of smart manufacturing to complement and support product platforms in theory and practice in the context of industrialized house building. A literature review and a multiple case study were chosen to fulfill the study objective. In total fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in two timber house building companies. The data was analyzed within and across cases using four platform assets for categorization: components, processes, knowledge and relationships. The results show that the smart manufacturing technologies are in both theory and practice mainly supporting the process platform asset through developing vertical and horizontal IT systems integration, definition and digitalization of flexible building systems, and transferring explicit drafting and engineering knowledge into parametric modelling tools.

Who Has Potatoes?

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-159
Author(s):  
Keith V. Bletzer
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Farm Labor ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Migrant Work

Migratory farm labor like other forms of migrant work both in and outside agriculture impedes on the opportunity to make choices. The following essay explores particular phases in the life of one man (a single case study) and examines how he considers turning points in his life that led to a long period of substance use, both as an immigrant in the country and as a working man in his home country, followed by a cessation of use and the beginning stages of recovery. / Para el migrante, viajar en busca de trabajo es díficil, ya sea que trabaje en agricultura o en otras labores. Este ensayo examina ciertas etapas en la vida de un hombre (estudio de un solo caso) que examina los cambios que le han ocurrido durante un período en que él consumía grandes cantidades de alcohol en los estados y en su país, seguido por un período de sobriedad (no tomaba alcohol, no usaba drogas) en este país en que él comienza una etapa de rehabilitación.

Contamination Lab of Turin (CLabTo)

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora FIORE ◽  
Giuliano SANSONE ◽  
Chiara Lorenza REMONDINO ◽  
Paolo Marco TAMBORRINI
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Entrepreneurial Skills ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Positive Effect

Interest in offering Entrepreneurship Education (EE) to all kinds of university students is increasing. Therefore, universities are increasing the number of entrepreneurship courses intended for students from different fields of study and with different education levels. Through a single case study of the Contamination Lab of Turin (CLabTo), we suggest how EE may be taught to all kinds of university students. We have combined design methods with EE to create a practical-oriented entrepreneurship course which allows students to work in transdisciplinary teams through a learning-by-doing approach on real-life projects. Professors from different departments have been included to create a multidisciplinary environment. We have drawn on programme assessment data, including pre- and post-surveys. Overall, we have found a positive effect of the programme on the students’ entrepreneurial skills. However, when the data was broken down according to the students’ fields of study and education levels, mixed results emerged.

Business Incubation in Uganda, Services, Processes and Incubatee Perceptions- A case study

10.33117/514 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-108
Keyword(s):  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Business Incubation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Networks ◽  
Private Sector Development ◽  
Statistical Inferences ◽  
Office Space ◽  
Interview Methods ◽  
Entrepreneurial Training

Purpose-This paper examines the nature of services and processes of business incubation. Its specific objectives are to establish the nature of services offered by business incubation centers in Uganda, examine the incubation process and to establish the perception of business incu- batees about business incubation services using a case of FinAfrica a private social enterprise. Methodology-This paper presents findings from one incubation center FinAfrica as a case study. Ethnographic design is adopted while observation and interview methods are used to collect data. Results-Key services offered by FinAfrica incubation center include entrepreneurial training, provision of office space, legal and accounting services, mentoring, coaching, entrepreneurial networks and general office administration. The centre has a unique business incubation model which starts with motivating people to start businesses, capacity building, business registration, and ends with graduation after attaining capability for self-sustainability. Incubatees perceive the services offered by the incubation centre as helpful through training, affordable office space, entrepreneurial ecosystem and opportunities for a lean startup. Implications- While this study does not offer statistical inferences for generalisation because of the qualitative design and single case, the exploration of FinAfrica provides insights about how Incubation centers need to plan for positive and sustainable entrepreneurial impact for startups. There is need for more Government and other development partners’ involvement in business incubation and post incubation support for competiveness and growth. Originality/value- This study provides insights about the key services offered in the incubation process and provides insights into the perceived benefits of business incubation. It also contributes to literature about business incubation with practical evidence from an emerging economy whose focus is on private sector development and innovation promotion.

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