Idea Of Industrialization The industrialization of housing industry is defined as the move to change production methods in housing industry from one based on less productive conventional methods employing large number of workers practicing traditional skills to one based on a highly productive,organized industrial methods employing fewer workers,more machines,and repetitive operations.It is also associated with less execution of work on site,increased usage of factory produced components,increased quality of construction products,and shorter construction period resulting in increased productivity and capacity.
The study found that industrialization emerges out of certain necessities and pre-conditions.It is also noted that although there are slight differences in industrializatuon’s introduction and its evolution in different countries,it all revolves around the same needs and concepts.Due to that,all cases of industrialization have a common pattern and the concept behind the pursuance of industrialization changes according to changes in the needs of the housing industry.
The study categorized the pattern of industrialization into two wide categories;"initial" industrialization and "improved" industrialization.
The main objective of industrialization in general is to produce quality houses in large number within a short period.The secondary objectives are to reduce dependence on skilled labor and costs.In order to meet all the objectives,industrialized construction techniques are used.The pursuance of this industrialization is based on a concept of building mass number of housing units.This is termed as the initial industrialization.
The concept behind the initial industrialization is different from the concept behind the improved industrialization (that will replace it).The initial industrialization is characterized by closed industrialization,non-modular components,descriptive regulations,higher percentage of prefabrication (based on large components),and high capital investments for production facilities and installation machinery.The types of industrialized houses built during this initial industrialization period are characterized by the gigantic size of the housing developments,monotonous appearance,rigid designs that cater for average needs,tendency for high rise,and in later years cause many problems ranging from costly maintenance to demolition after a very short life span.
The "improved" industrialization emerges after the initial industrialization drive fulfills/almost fulfills its set main objective.The situation in the housing industry when the improved industrialization emerges is different from when the initial industrialization emerged.Mere roof over the head is no longer accepted.What will be needed now is a house that meets all the basic needs i.e.diversity in design and arrangements,aesthetically attractive,ability to reasonably absorb short and long term variances,etc.,which are normally related to the values found in traditionally popular houses.
If the initial industrialization stride to gain the benefits of industrialized production through the construction of mass number of houses,the concept behind improved industrialization is to gain it through mass production of components using industrial production methods.By using such components,almost any type of houses could be built.The improved industrialization concept are characterized by open industrialization,modular components,performance based regulations,combination of conventional methods and optimum level of prefabrication in order to create better houses,and reduced investments for anyone who wishes to enter the market.As a result,the housing industry now will have a larger number of players,increased level of competition,more selection of "solution" (construction components i.e.wall,door,window,kitchen.etc.),freedom for architects to choose a solution as long as it satisfies the performance requirements,encouragement for innovations,etc.
The type of industrialized houses created by this type of industrialization are characterized by the diversified sizes of housing developments,varieties of design and appearance,tendency for low rise traditional type of houses,and lately,environment consciousness.
Summing up,there are two concept of industrialization of housing industry;based on industrial production of mass houses or based on industrial productions of mass components.The study points out that industrialization of a housing industry should be pursued according to the concept of "improved" industrialization--based on mass production of components.
The statistical analysis on the basis and criticality of relations between the construction of industrialized housing and various other related factors revealed the followings:
・Industrialized Houses and Housing Starts
The analysis revealed the existence of a strong relationship between the two factors.The correlation coefficient between the percentage growth in construction of industrialized houses and the percentage growth of housing start is found to be 0.99 for Britain and 0.69 for Japan.
・Industrialized Housing and Cement Production
Contrary to popular expectation,the statistical analysis revealed that the two factors are almost totally unrelated.The correlation coefficient between the percentage growth in construction of industrialized houses and the percentage growth in cement production was found to be 0.26 for Britain and 0.25 for Japan.
・Industrialized Housing and Steel Production
Again,contrary to popular expectation.these factors revealed that the two factors are almost absolutely unrelated.The correlation coefficient between the percentage growth in construction of industrialized houses and the percentage growth in steel production was found to be 0.014 for Britain and 0.002 for Japan.
・Industrialized Housing and Population Growth
The correlation coefficient between the percentage growth in construction of industrialized houses and the percentage growth in population was found to be 0.26 for Britain and 0.04 for Japan.This indicate that the two factors are almost unrelated.
Summing up,the statistical analysis revealed the following facts:
・Housing start is a critical factor in determining the construction of industrialized housing
・Population growth,cement production,and steel production are at least,not critical factors in determining the construction of industrialized housing.