Information Management in Off-Site Construction: Case Study of Mid-Rise Building Construction in Québec

Construction projects are known to have frequent cost overruns. These are caused by various issues, some of which stem from traditional construction methods. According to the literature, off-site construction (OSC) using factory-produced components and efficient manufacturing processes could help to overcome this issue by improving productivity and project quality. The prefabricated wood sector is expected to reduce the over-growing demand for multi-storey housing in Québec, thanks to the opportunities provided by OSC for Québec’s residential constructions. While several building projects have benefited from this process, it is commonly used mainly for the construction of single-unit houses. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the barriers that limit the use of off-site construction for larger buildings. To achieve this objective, an in-depth case study was carried out on a construction project of 144 units using prefabricated modular components. Through interviews with stakeholders, it was found that to benefit from the potential of OSC, effective information management is necessary early on, at the design stage. The issues discussed in this paper are related to the design stage of the project.