uniten iccbt 08 perception of industrialized building system (ibs) within the

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ICCBT 2008 - B - (07) pp75-92

ICCBT2008

Perception of Industrialized Building System (IBS) Within the

Malaysian Market

A. Idrus*,Universiti Teknologi Petronas,MALAYSIA

N. F. K. Hui, Universiti Teknologi Petronas,MALAYSIA

C. Utomo,Universiti Teknologi Petronas,MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT

The Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) has the known theoretical advantages of speed,

safety and quality. However, in Malaysia, wet construction method is still widely accepted as

a convention and safe option despite incurring higher cost and slow production rate. The

objective of this research is to investigate the underlying reasons for the cold reception and

hence for the small market share for industrialized construction in Malaysia (Perak, Penang

& Kedah). IBS only accounts for approximately 15% of the market share due to severalreasons despite a series of promotion campaign by Construction Industry Development Board

(CIDB). Survey research method (SRM) is being implemented in this project. SRM is done

through questionnaire and personal interview method. Fabrication of questionnaire consists

of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. Systematic random sampling is being

selected as this technique spread the sample more evenly over the population and it is easier

to conduct than simple random sample. Questionnaire is distributed through snail mail and

follow up is done subsequently to maintain a consistent number of feedbacks by the

respondents. Feedback is analyzed by implementing descriptive method and then analytical

method. It can be observed from the feedback that the major reasons of the cold reception of

IBS in Malaysia are failure in the transfer of technology, resistance of industry players to

change, conventional system is more open and flexible and IBS generally is more costly thanconventional system

.

Keywords: Perception, IBS, Questionnaire Survey.

*Correspondence Author: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Arazi B Idrus, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia.

e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.uniten.edu.my/newhome/content_list.asp?contentid=4017


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1. INTRODUCTIONThe government has put plenty of efforts to enhance the current conventional, labor-intensive

activities to a more technologically advanced method of construction such as the

Industrialised Building Systems (IBS). This is being done so that Malaysia is capable ofproducing fast and high quality products, and able to compete with the global market.

Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) is a construction process that utilizes techniques,

products, components, or building systems which involve prefabricated components and on-

site installation [1]. IBS promises several advantages over conventional in-situ systems such

as reduction of unskilled workers, less wastage of materials which means cost savings, less

building materials required, faster and better quality control of construction and increased site

cleanliness and safety.

With its current levels of quality, productivity and safety, and excessive reliance on unskilled

foreign workers, the state of the local construction industry is not in line with future

developments planned for Malaysia. Early efforts by the government to promote the usage ofIBS as an alternative to the conventional method had not made a headway. Therefore the

government, through its agency, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had

redesigned its strategies and, with the guidance from CIDBs IBS Steering Committee had, in

2003, formulated a roadmap based on a 5-M strategy (Manpower, Materials-Components-

Machines, Management-Processes-Methods, Monetary and Marketing). Its objective is to

have an industrialized construction industry for Malaysia and achieving Open Building by the

year 2010.Road Map 2003-2010, as it is called [2], evolved on the policy of phased reduction

of dependency on foreign labour and encouragement policy on the investment in technologies,

techniques and the methodology of construction.According to the Road Map, foreign workers

in the construction industry will be decreased to 55% by year 2005, 25% by year 2007 and

15% by year 2010. As an initial pace towards achieving these targets, the CIDB aggressively

holds campaigns nationwide to promote the utilization of IBS components and off-site

construction. Besides these campaigns, and to further enhance the implementation of IBS

utilization, the Government had also formulated a policy requiring a certain minimum

percentage of IBS utilization to be satisfied in government building projects. In addition, a

50% minimum implementation of IBS utilization in a project would entitle CIDB levy

exemptions.

Despite the above campaigns and incentives from the Government, the market share for IBS

in 2003 stood only at 15%, and this figure has not changed much since then. The traditional

in-situ or the so called Dirty, Difficult and Dangerous method of construction seems to bethe preferred choice for most people until today. IBS Survey 2003, and even the more recent

IBS Survey 2005 [3], did not specifically address the underlying reasons for the low market

share of IBS in this country. This paper aims to investigate the perceptions and subsequently

the underlying reasons for the poor reception of Industrialised Building Systems within the

Malaysian construction industry.


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2. METHODOLOGY2.1Population and SampleThe survey research methodology has been used for this research. The target populationconsists of contractors, architects, engineers and developers in the Malaysian construction

industry. Due to financial and time constraints, a target population of 180 respondents was set,

consisting of 90 contractors, 30 developers, 30 architects and 30 engineers. For the same

reasons too, the study population was further confined to only the northern states of

Peninsular Malaysia, namely, Perak, Penang and Kedah. However, considering the objectives

of the research, these states would represent regions away from the influence of the

promotional activities of the CIDB central office and also away from the much-concentrated

existence of IBS manufacturers in the Klang Valley. This would in fact provide a better

picture of the perceptions and the underlying reasons for the cold reception of IBS in

Malaysia.

.The contractors, architects, engineers and developers were respectively selected from the

Contractors Directory in the CIDB website, Architects Directory in the Pertubuhan Arkitek

Malaysia (PAM) website, 2006/2007 Consulting Engineers Directory of the Association of

Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) and the Members Directory in the Real Estate and

Housing Developers Association (REHDA) website. The number of respondents for each

category is evenly distributed according to the respective three states of Perak, Kedah and

Penang (each): 30 contractors, 10 architects, 10 engineers and 10 developers. The systematic

random sampling technique was used in selecting the samples. Contractors formed the highest

percentage in the distribution because they were thought to be the key players in the industry

who handle first hand experience with IBS components. To obtain a consistent result of the

feedback, a minimum of 30 replies was set for statistical analysis [4].

2.2 Questionnaire Outline

The structured questionnaire format was designed to be simple and which would require

minimal filling-in time. A three-point Semantic Differential Scale [5] was used to rate

respondents opinions. The questionnaire form consisted of five Sections A, B, C, D and E.

The information gathered was as follows:

Section A

- Company Profile- Position of respondent in the company.

- Company address and contact number for reference.

- CIDB Registration grade of the company.

- Survey on Completed Projects

- Number of completed projects by the company concerned.

- Number of completed projects utilizing IBS

Section B, C & D

- Opinion Survey

- The perceived benefits of using IBS.


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- IBS knowledge of architects, engineers, clients and government (approving)

authorities.

- Acceptance towards IBS usage by architects, engineers, clients and contractors.

- Using IBS in future construction projects.

- Making compulsory IBS usage in construction.- Respondents comments on the usage of IBS in construction projects.

Section E - Comments and Suggestions

-Suggestions for enhancement.

2.3Facto-face interviewsA total of five face-to-face interviews were conducted to selected samples obtained by the

systematic random sampling process. Out of these, three were contractors and two engineers.

The interviews were meant to complement the results from questionnaire survey. Although

basically the interview format was the same as the questionnaire, it also contained additionalquestions to probe further information regarding the topic, in particular, the underlying

reasons for the responses.

2.4Method of AnalysisAll data obtained will be analyzed by descriptive and analytical methods. Analytical method

will be conducted if the feedback received is high in quantity. Descriptive statistical analysis

presents data that have been retrieved into tabular and figure form. Data will be analyzed

using the Index Average Method [6] as follows:

( ) = ii xaAverageIndex ix (Eqn. 1)

Where:

ai= constant

xi = variables representing respondents frequency

3. RESULTS3.1

Response Rate (Figure 1)

The respondents were given the option of returning the questionnaire forms by mail or fax. A

total 35 respondents out of 180 returned the questionnaire. Though only 19.4% of the

respondents replied, this low percentage had been expected for a mailed and questionnaire-

based survey research.


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3.6Respondents Knowledge in IBS (Table 5, Figure 5)Most of the respondents (56%) have good knowledge of IBS while 25% of them were

reported to be having poor knowledge in IBS. Some 19% of the respondents have excellent

knowledge in IBS. A few respondents did not state anything about their IBS knowledge,which could reflect on their unfamiliarity with IBS. With more than 50% of respondents who

have at least good knowledge in IBS, we can expect that the results of the feedback or views

received would be sufficiently reliable.

3.7Perception of IBS3.7.1 Advantages of IBS (Table 6, Figure 6)As seen in Figure 6, most of the respondents agreed that IBS enhanced the quality of the

finished work of construction (71%). For example, by using the conventional system whereby

timber and nails are involved, the probability of the timber bulging is high, causing unevensurface. Also, IBS was perceived to be able to provide cleaner, neater, and safer construction

(63%). Less formwork and falsework are used in IBS construction so the method is less

hazardous to the workers. IBS proved to be neater as it uses a systematic method, and can be

reused for repeated type of construction. Also, 57% of respondents disagreed that IBS is

comparatively cheaper than conventional system. This might have occurred due to the low

scale of economy often associated with IBS projects. Thus, at the current situation, the cost

for IBS construction may he higher than conventional system, causing most industry players

to choose conventional method for their projects. 57 % respondents at least agreed that IBS

would lead to labour reduction. However, 43% of them felt that by using IBS, labour force

still cannot be reduced. This implied that IBS-knowledgeable labour are still very much

needed for design, fabrication and installation works. Further, 40% of respondents felt that

IBS is not easy to install, indicating insufficient knowledge in IBS design and installation

among workers.

Figure 5. Respondents IBS Knowledge

Table 5. Respondents Knowledge of IBS


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Table 6. Advantages of IBS

Figure 6. Advantages of IBS


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3.7.3Perception of Conventional Construction (Table 7, Figure 8)Generally, 57% of the respondents agreed that for the current situation of construction

industry in Malaysia, using the conventional system is comparatively cheap compared to IBS

system. This might be because of the low scale of economy often associated with IBS asmentioned earlier. The number of projects in Malaysia utilizing IBS is generally low and

therefore, the market demand for IBS manufacturers and IBS usage is low as well, thus giving

rise to the high cost. In addition, 44% strongly agreed that they preferred conventional system

than IBS because they found that conventional system is more open and flexible. An open or

flexible system would be easier to implement since mostly timber, steel bar and nails only are

required for construction. These items does not need to be custom-fabricated and can be

fabricated on site. However, majority (89%) of respondents, especially from the contractors,

strongly disagreed that conventional method is cleaner, safer and neater. In fact, 74% of

respondents did not think that conventional systems will decrease labor, compared with 43%

in the case of IBS (Figure 6).

Figure 7. Problems of IBS in Construction Industry


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Figure 8. Perception on Conventional Construction

Table 8. Perception on Conventional Construction


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3.11 IBS Prospect in Future Projects (Table 14, Figure 12)Referring to Figure 12, sadly more than half of the respondents (18 or 51%) suggested that

they will not recommend their respective companies to implement IBS in their next project.Only a minority (8 or 23%) supported the usage of IBS in their next project. Only this group

of people believed that IBS has the potential to be a trustable system at least for short term.

Whereby 9 respondents (26%) had no opinion at all on whether they will suggest their

companies to implement IBS. This might happen as they were still unsure of the usage of IBS

in their projects.

Figure 11. Suggestion and Comments on the Usage of IBS in Malaysia

Table 14. IBS Prospect in the Future Project

Figure 12. Willingness to recommend the

implementation of IBS for next project


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4. DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

4.1DiscussionDuring the interviews, the author has gathered beneficial information concerning the IBS and

also general overview of the current situation in Malaysia. The number of IBS manufacturers

in Malaysia are comparatively low, recording only 50 companies registered in Malaysia, with

only three companies operating in the northern states of Malaysia at present, all three situated

in Perak.

According to some respondents, not more than 50 high-rise housing projects throughout

Malaysia have implemented IBS. Perhaps IBS has not fully recovered from the stigma of

low- cost and leaking image often associated with the system in the past but the main

reason that consultants, contractors, developers and especially clients still prefer conventional

construction is because of the relatively cheap and abundant supply of foreign labour fromneighbouring Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam and the sub-coentinent. The rate of labour in

Malaysia is cheap compared with, for example, Finland in which the rate of labour is ten time

higher [7]. Besides, implementing IBS at this stage where there is no scale of economy would

be very expensive for contractors, especially those from the lower classes, as they do not have

sufficient capital funding to afford IBS. Besides, due to failures of the closed system in the

past, they do not want to risk their respective companies by implementing a comparatively

new system especially when they are still unfamiliar with the systems. Furthermore, the

failure of technology transfer also results in the low reception of IBS in the Malaysian Market.

For instance, before the proper guidelines laid down by CIDB, there was no standards for

contractors or consultants to follow and abide. Also, contributing to this scenario is poor

industry practice which includes poor planning and manufacturer driven.

As one assistant director of Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) Perak commented, IBS is not

favorable for the current industry because of the new technology implied. Contractors

inclusive of engineers and technical personnel do not possess adequate knowledge of the

technology, especially at the critical jointing area between precast units where leakages often

occur if not installed with the right method, such as in the bathroom area whereby the joint

must be properly sealed and waterproof.

Most contractors are still practicing conventional construction because they have been used to

the system before the introduction of IBS. They resist IBS and cannot adapt themselves to the

new technology as they do not possess the required knowledge. CIDB has sponsored andconducted several seminars concerning IBS throughout the year. However, the seminar has

not received positive feedback from consultants, contractors and engineer. Besides, CIDB

only organizes IBS seminar about once a year which, to many respondents, is inadequate.

Although ideally, a survey covering the whole of Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak, due

to time and financial constraints, the study had to be based on a survey population covering

the northern states of Perak, Kedah and Penang only. Nevertheless, considering the objectives

of the research, this region would represent regions away (but not too far away) from the

influence of the promotional activities of the CIDB central office and also away from the

more-concentrated existence of IBS manufacturers in the Klang Valley. As a blessing in


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