3.

0 DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDY

These case studies were conducted to identify the systems, technology, techniques,
process and implementation of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) and the conventional
construction for the projects around Penang. The selected projects were the Sekolah
Kebangsaan Minden Heights and the Jamek Mosque in Sungai Gelugor.
Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Height is situated at Lot 3432, Bandar Gelugor, Daerah
Timur Laut, Pulau Pinang. The client involve is Ministry of Education and the main
contractor is Azrul Enterprise Sdn. Bhd. It is a propose project to build and complete an IBS
project for 10 classroom and facilities involved. This project consists of one four-storey
building which is for administration and academic use (Block A) and one two-storey building
for science laboratories (Block B). Precast concrete is being used for this project as an IBS
method. Furthermore, they used two IBS component specialists from Creative Precast
Technics Sdn. Bhd. for beams, half slabs and stairs and Acotec Wall Panel for wall panels.
As for the second choosen case study project, Jamek Mosque Sungai Gelugor is an
old Malay mosque in Gelugor. Jamek Mosque located on a 1ha plot of land, in Jalan
Akuarium, Gelugor, Penang, can now accommodate up to 1,800 people at a time. The
previous 102 years old mosque building, which was demolished in February 2012 for the
rebuilding project, was able to take in only 500 people. With an allocation of RM3.26mil
from the Federal Government and RM1mil from the Penang Islamic Religious Affairs
Department, the new mosque was completed within 20 months. The two-storey mosque with
a sky blue dome has an administration room, toilets for the physically-challenged, wool
carpeting at the main hall and non-slip tiles at the ablution room.






3.1 Systems
In terms of system, the project involving the construction of Sekolah Kebangsaan
Minden Heights, it took less than three months to erect the structure for the building as a
whole, as IBS provide more advance system when the product used is being standardized
according to its sizes, quality, shape and more. The IBS product that being used in the project
which is precast concrete that been manufactured from factory, subsequently, can cut down
on the overall construction period while in the case of the Jamek Mosque in Gelugor, a period
of four to five months was required to complete the building structure element by element
because of their traditional method that is in-situ construction which can be altered or change
the design on site is being used to erect building. Statistically, IBS construction projects can
save up to 30% in time compared to conventional methods as stated by (Rojas, 2003) and
cited by (Sani, 2014).

3.2 Technology
Technology casted by IBS for Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights building works
are incorporated into large prefabricated assemblies with minimum erection, jointing and
finishing work onsite. Moreover, materials and component handling on site is extensively
mechanized such as crane is used to install the precast concrete to erect building structure and
skilled worker is necessary. This method of construction has reduced the amount of site
labour involved in building operations and increased the productivity of the industry. As for
Jamek Mosque, there is no heavy machinery or high technology involved. Formwork is used
as a mould where wet concrete is poured into a temporary system. The temporary system also
acts as a temporary support for the structures. The steel reinforcement is placed within the
formwork as they are being erected and concrete is poured into the mould. When the concrete
is set according to the required strength, the moulds are dismantled. The workers can be
easily trained to erect the moulds and set the steel reinforcement.












Figure 3.2.1: Erection of IBS structural components at Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights









Figure 3.2.2: The use of wooden formworks for conventional construction at Jamek Mosque
site



3.3 Techniques
For techniques that been used by IBS, Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights can be
completed rapidly because of the earlier manufacturing and assembling of pre-cast
components in factories. Apart from this, it offers minimal wastage, less site materials,
cleaner and neater environment, controlled quality, and literally lower total construction
costs. This is because fewer workers needed at construction site. Distinguishly, projects that
install the conventional method which is Jamek Mosque are difficult to complete within a
short period of time. This technique necessitates a long duration before completion since
moulds need to be built and the concrete has to be given enough time to set and so on. The
construction process will take a long time to complete and is a waste of construction
materials, plus, conventional techniques involve more construction workers at the
construction site that will make a mass of disorderly site. These do not only pose threats to
the safety of the workers but also disrupt their movements in and around the construction
sites.







Figure 3.3.1: Dirty and untidy construction site at Jamek Mosque

3.4 Process
Besides that, for processes also, the IBS sustains lower costs for building large and
repetitive designs within a short period of time in Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights.
Consequently, this will leads to the lowering of the overall cost of the project, provided that
the project is a large one which involves a high degree of repetition. (Sani, 2014) stated that ,
however, the costs of the initial stages of construction are usually higher because during these
phases the participation of complex machineries is fundamental for the preparation, casting,
curing and treatment, stripping and de-moulding as well as the inspection, lifting and
handling processes. Apart from that, IBS components are also considered to be costly due to
the small number of manufacturers of IBS components in Malaysia. Figure 3.4.1 shows the
use of steel formworks for a repetitive building to minimize costs and wastage at the
construction site of Sekolah Kebangsaan Minden Heights.







Figure 3.4.1: The use of steel formwork for repeated construction

3.5 Implementation
By implementing IBS application is able to diminish labour at the construction sites.
The pre-cast construction method is moderately less labour-intensive, but it still requires
skilled labour to perform on-site work, such as the installation of the IBS components. This
explains the minimal number of labourers because they are only used for the installation of
the IBS components. Contrary to conventional methods, which entail more labour to
complete work such as formwork fabrications, reinforcement bars or steel cage fabrications,
formwork installations, reinforcement bar installations, concrete placements and formwork
dismantling, the use of the IBS method will reduce the reliance on foreign labour.



REFERENCES
Sani, M., Othman, M. A., and Phius, A. F. (2014) Investigation of Industrialised Building
System Performance in Comparison to Conventional Construction Method , pp. 1-6.