Great article as always. If folks are not aware, there are now standards that are associated with pre-fab offsite construction for different assemblies. ICC has two ( https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/safety-toolkits/offsite-construction/ ) and ASSE has one ( https://assewebstore.com/asse-lec-2012-2021a-download/ ) specific to plumbing and mechanical systems. It wasn’t long ago that when a PE needed a rooftop air handler, they would design the entire system themselves by specifying individual compressors, coils, fans, etc. Today, they select a packaged RTU. A similar trend is starting up with packaged plumbing system available from manufacturers. Will be interesting how and where GC's and engineers adopt the concept.
You discuss the replication crisis but I note that this is strongest, by far, in the social Sciences. In the hard Sciences, not nearly so much.
Presumably, assuming equally honest individuals, this is because there are so many, many more uncontrolled, and uncontrollable, variables when individuals or groups of people are involved.
In that sense, factory manufacturing is more like physics and construction is more like psychology... It could probably be easily shown, if one had better math than I, that psychology can never be as reproducible as physics and, similarly, construction can never be as efficient as factory type manufacturing...
Great article as always. If folks are not aware, there are now standards that are associated with pre-fab offsite construction for different assemblies. ICC has two ( https://www.iccsafe.org/advocacy/safety-toolkits/offsite-construction/ ) and ASSE has one ( https://assewebstore.com/asse-lec-2012-2021a-download/ ) specific to plumbing and mechanical systems. It wasn’t long ago that when a PE needed a rooftop air handler, they would design the entire system themselves by specifying individual compressors, coils, fans, etc. Today, they select a packaged RTU. A similar trend is starting up with packaged plumbing system available from manufacturers. Will be interesting how and where GC's and engineers adopt the concept.
Thank you Brian. I enjoyed reading the review and learned new concepts.
You discuss the replication crisis but I note that this is strongest, by far, in the social Sciences. In the hard Sciences, not nearly so much.
Presumably, assuming equally honest individuals, this is because there are so many, many more uncontrolled, and uncontrollable, variables when individuals or groups of people are involved.
In that sense, factory manufacturing is more like physics and construction is more like psychology... It could probably be easily shown, if one had better math than I, that psychology can never be as reproducible as physics and, similarly, construction can never be as efficient as factory type manufacturing...
I'm wondering if design-build firms do better at controlling their processes and if so, why the subcontractor model is more common?