Investigating the Effects of Reduced Technological Constraints on Cycle Time Through Simulation Modelling for Automated Steel Wall Framing

Abstract

Off-site construction constitutes a paradigm shift in construction promoting improved sustainability. At present, North America's building construction sector is still dominated by conventional stick-built construction, which is prone to excessive material waste, longer cycle times, high labour costs, and lower quality. In contrast, inspired by the manufacturing industry, off-site construction is an approach in which building components are prefabricated in factories and transported to the construction site for on-site assembly. As the concept of off-site prefabrication gains momentum within the domain of construction, some home builders are bringing the traditional industry practice into a factory setting, thus resulting in stick-building- under-a-roof. This paper describes the development of simulation models for the automated light gauge steel framing process using discrete-event simulation mimicking real-time machine production capacity and cycle time. At present, the literature on the development of such models for automated construction machinery is lacking; in this context, this paper aims to showcase the advantages of simulation as a decision-making support tool. Construction of such models provides a useful tool for understanding bottlenecks in machine operations that can be addressed to meet local demands. Since the steel framing process primarily consists of manual assembly and fastening of cold-formed steel (CFS) frames, these models showcase the potential to increase the level of automation through the addition of various mechanical and control modifications to an existing prototype steel framing machine. The results show that cycle time reductions of 13 percent or greater are possible by applying the proposed modifications.