Construction procurement in industrialised building system

Abstract

The government, through CIDB Malaysia have continuously promoting Industrialised Building System (IBS) to increase the immense efficiency of the building performance structure. However, the level of IBS adoption among the construction players in Malaysia is still low and far from the government expectation. It is evident that most of the IBS projects developments in Malaysia are still conducted by using the conventional procurement method. This creates a number of issues such as reworks, time delay, rising cost, lack of communication and integration problem. Thus, this paper will identify existing procurement process used for IBS projects in Malaysia construction industry. Identifying existing procurement process helps in providing significant elements before creation of a more effective new procurement for IBS projects in Malaysia. Expert interviews was used, whereby 5 (five) interviews sessions were conducted with IBS experts in Malaysia construction industry. Thematic analysis was utilised to analyse the interview result by identifying the existing procurement process adopted in current IBS projects. Findings from expert interviews showed that there are three different procurement process commonly applied in current IBS projects. Result also shown that one of the significant barriers to IBS adoption is the current practice of procurement and team integration. Therefore, a more effective new procurement for IBS projects should be considered and pursued urgently in order to improve IBS implementation in the Malaysian construction industry.