Design Principles and Prescriptions for Planning and Controlling Engineer-to-Order Industrialized Building Systems

Construction projects have a high degree of complexity due to both the high degree of uncertainty in process and goals, and the large number of components and stakeholders’ interdependences. In the case of Engineer-to-order (ETO) building systems, there are other sources of complexity, including short lead time, uncertainty related to design, and interdependences between production units. Previous research efforts on the management of ETO industrialized building systems have been limited to managerial improvements from the perspective of companies in charge of manufacturing and assembling components. However, the literature is still scarce on the management of several industrialized building systems that need to be integrated during site installation, considering the perspective of a construction company in charge of the construction stage. The aim of this paper is to propose a set of design principles and prescriptions for production planning and controlling projects that combine different industrialized building systems, considering the key role played by ETO systems in that context. Design Science Research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation. The development of this set of design principles and prescriptions was based on a literature review and also on an empirical study carried out in a construction project. The outcomes of this investigation are summarized in a framework that establishes interconnections between design prescriptions. The main contribution of this investigation is the development of prescriptive knowledge that can be used to support the design or assessment of planning and control systems that address the requirements of ETO industrialized building systems.