Benefits and Barriers of Offsite Construction in Hospital Projects

Abstract

Project owners of all types typically want to save time and money and increase the quality and safety of their projects. Owners continue to look towards alternate building methods to realize these benefits on their construction projects. One area that project owners continue to look at is modular construction. This study set out to understand the benefits and barriers of using modular construction on hospital projects. Despite the abundance of research related to offsite construction, there is an underwhelming amount of published literature specific to the benefits and barriers that influence hospital owners to implement modular construction on their hospital projects. Thus, this study collected data through an in-depth literature review and by conducting interviews with industry experts. This methodology resulted in obtaining data from the industry experts about modular cost, labor, schedule, quality, safety, planning and communication, and knowledge. The number one benefit that hospital owners can achieve from using modular construction is a reduced construction schedule. Owners can achieve cost savings on projects as a result of a reduced construction schedule; however, owners are not likely to save directly on modular construction costs. Quality is incredibly important and can positively influence hospital owners to use modular construction. Safety is important but not likely a primary influencer on an owner’s decision to use modular construction. Overall, the construction industry needs to work to update current building codes, which will result in more adoption of modular construction on projects. Improving education and experience could result in better modular knowledge, which would likely lead to an increased use of offsite construction.