Abstract:
Industry 4.0 driven technological advancements have accelerated the uptake of Offsite
Construction (OSC), causing the need for re-skilling, up-skilling, and multi-skilling
traditional onsite construction skills and competencies. The purpose of this paper is to
develop a conceptual model that predicts OSC skills as a response to the OSC demand.
The paper is a theoretical presentation of a skill profile prediction model which
introduces the key concepts, OSC typology, OSC skill classification and their
relationships. Components, panels, pods, modules, and complete buildings represent the
OSC typology. Managers, professionals, technicians, and trade workers, clerical and
administration workers, machine operators and drivers, and labourers constitute the
OSC skill classification. The conceptual model takes the OSC project parameters: gross
floor area, OSC value percentage and skill quantities as input and provides predicted
skill variations as the output. The skills are quantified in “manhours/m2” under six skill
categories, for five distinct OSC types. As such, the research presents a comprehensive
conceptual model for the development of an OSC skills predictor to capture the skill
variations and demand in a construction market moving towards rapid industrialisation.
The research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by identifying the key
concepts, parameters, and mutual relationships of those parameters that are needed to
develop a realistic prediction of future trends of OSC skills.
