Transforming Modern Construction through Prefabrication and Digital Technologies

Author

S. Malleswari , T. Devi , S. Harshini , M. Veena Teresa , N. Charan Teja

Abstract

 The construction sector faces continuing pressure to raise productivity and to reduce waste and emissions. Prefabrication and modular construction shift a large share of building work into controlled factory environments, while digital technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), digital twins, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and additive manufacturing support the design, coordination and monitoring of that work.

This paper reviews thirty published studies, dated 2006 to 2027, on the combined use of prefabrication and digital technologies. The studies comprise systematic and bibliometric reviews, case studies, an interview study, a questionnaire survey and technical development work, and they are compared by technology, project phase, reported benefits, limitations and research gaps. BIM emerges as the information backbone, digital twins and IoT contribute real-time two-way feedback, and robotics and 3D printing extend automation to manufacturing and assembly. Reported gains include shorter construction time, lower waste and carbon emissions, better quality control and safer sites; one optimisation study records time and carbon reductions of 19.05% and 13.49% respectively. Weak data interoperability, high cost, skill shortages, organisational resistance and limited validation in real projects remain the main barriers, and operation and maintenance is the least studied phase. The paper concludes that the best outcomes arise from integrating prefabrication with BIM, digital twins, AI, IoT and automation, and it proposes lifecycle-wide integration and real-project testing as directions for further work.

Keywords

Prefabrication, Building Information Modelling, Digital Twin, Internet of Things, Industrialised Construction, Sustainable Construction.

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