Dynamics in the Adoption of Offsite Construction in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

Abstract

Construction work involves three major activities namely; material selection, fabrication of components and elements and lastly erection or assembling. The methods of fabrication are either onsite or offsite with the offsite construction established in the literature as the most efficient means of erecting high-density housing units within short periods of time. The slow rate of its adoption and innovation in Nigeria’s construction industry is however a matter of concern. This prompted a study towards an evaluation of offsite construction methods across construction supply chains in Abuja with the aim of improving the performance of the housing delivery. The specific objectives are to evaluate the level of use of offsite construction processes across construction supply chains; determine the level of significance of selected factors on the use of offsite construction processes across construction supply chains and examine the mechanisms for increased innovations in offsite construction processes. A Mixed design approach was adopted to achieve this objective while data collected from structured questionnaires were analyzed using mean and Percentages. A total of 70 questionnaires were administered and 56 participants responded. It was concluded that managers of construction projects embrace and implement offsite construction as a decisive approach or strategy of housing delivery as this indirectly affects the performance of the construction industry. The study suggests several measures that stakeholders can adopt to ensure better project outcomes.