——An interview with Huang Rufu, researcher at the China Academy of Building Research
 
    This is real data from a construction enterprise, reflecting a common dilemma faced by many Chinese construction companies: total construction output value grows year by year, yet profit margins decline year by year, falling from 5.5% in 2008 to 1.1% in 2012.
    Another set of authoritative statistical analysis data shows that the average business scale of Chinese construction enterprises has reached parity with, or is even slightly higher than, that of advanced international enterprises; yet in terms of the capital market, the average market capitalization of advanced international enterprises is twice that of Chinese enterprises.
    How do these problems and gaps arise? What should we learn from abroad? Recently, Huang Rufu, a seasoned industry expert and researcher at the China Academy of Building Research, gave an interview to our reporter, proposing: draw on international experience, accelerate transformation and upgrading, and take the path of new-type building industrialization.
    Transformation and upgrading must be accelerated
    The accelerated development of industrialization and urbanization brings valuable opportunities for the rapid development of the construction industry. In recent years, the national capital construction situation has been favorable, with ample construction tasks. “Business scale expansion is no longer the priority issue for Chinese construction enterprises,” Huang Rufu said. “Accelerating transformation and upgrading and improving profitability—that is the most urgent issue.”
    He made a comparative analysis of two evenly matched Chinese and foreign construction giants——China Railway Group Limited (referred to as “China Railway”) and France’s VINCI Group (referred to as “VINCI”): in 2010, China Railway’s business volume was 473.7 billion yuan, while VINCI’s was 284.2 billion yuan; China Railway’s annual output value was much larger than VINCI’s. But in the capital market, China Railway’s market capitalization was 45.5 billion yuan, while VINCI’s was 178.9 billion yuan—a huge gap.
    Where does the difference lie? Huang Rufu believes that the current bottleneck in the development of Chinese construction enterprises is: neglecting the importance of “following procedures according to systems.” Many systems formulated at great cost in manpower and material resources are often implemented in a flexible, expedient way rather than strictly following the procedures of the systems themselves, resulting in a serious disconnect between systems and procedure-based execution. The degree of standardization in enterprise management is low, and execution is poor. “For Chinese construction enterprises to upgrade,” Huang Rufu said, “we must first upgrade our thinking and upgrade our management—not only in tactics and strategy, but more importantly in action!” He believes that standardized management is the commanding height of enterprise competition, and that applying information technology to optimize and upgrade enterprise management is the only way forward.
    Take the path of new-type building industrialization
    At present, China is in an important stage of accelerated industrialization and urbanization. This stage is also a valuable window of opportunity for the rapid development of the construction industry, with broad prospects and huge growth potential. At the same time, this stage is also a period in which the contradiction between resource and environmental constraints and rapid economic and social development is prominent; during this period, the situation for energy conservation and emission reduction is severe, and pressure continues to increase. Based on advanced international experience and the results of a study visit to the United Kingdom, Huang Rufu proposed that taking the path of new-type building industrialization is an important way to resolve this contradiction. “New-type building industrialization refers to a production mode aimed at energy conservation and emission reduction, characterized by standardized design, factory-based production, assembly-based construction, integrated decoration, and information-based management. The key to adopting this production mode is to focus on enhancing enterprise capabilities, accelerating transformation and upgrading, deeply integrating building industrialization with informatization, and advancing and developing them interactively,” Huang Rufu said.
    He also emphasized that China must not pursue blind construction or laissez-faire development in new-type building industrialization, especially regarding “building innovation science and technology parks,” “building industrial parks,” or “prefabricated component factories.” Any construction must follow market rules and undergo top-level design. Do not build a “building industrial park” or “prefabricated component factory” on “a tiny patch of land” for the sake of “political achievements,” “GDP,” or temporary development.
    Indeed, some people are also “calling for” top-level design, but who exactly will do it, who will manage it, and how will it be implemented? “Those qualified to undertake this top-level design should at least be authorized management departments at the provincial level or above, and the top-level design must include unified planning, with scientific and reasonable site selection based on resources, costs, and demand; formulate standards (green building and material standard evaluation systems) and unify standards. With standards in place, only projects that meet and satisfy the standards may be approved for construction; those that do not meet the standards must not be allowed to proceed,” Huang Rufu said.
    He emphasized that China’s new-type building industrialization should do three things starting now: first, determine the organization and responsibilities for top-level design and strengthen planning and construction—do not build wherever there is enthusiasm, or build more wherever enthusiasm is greater; second, accelerate the research and development of green building and material standard evaluation systems, or introduce them; finally, formulate relevant policies and measures to promote the modernization of the construction industry. For example, government projects, residential projects, hospitals, schools, and multi-story buildings must meet certain standards or be built according to certain standards. For example, multi-story housing construction projects must use environmentally friendly and energy-saving materials and achieve factory-based production and assembly-based construction.
    Deep integration with informatization
    From the perspective of the future development of the construction industry, information technology will become an important tool and means of building industrialization. Huang Rufu proposed that in order to deeply integrate informatization into new-type building industrialization, six information technology applications should be emphasized:
    First, integrate resources. Establish “construction online” platforms, such as “Jianye Online” of Shanghai Jianye Technology Information Co. and the UK’s construction information online platform. Such platforms can gather nationwide, even global, information and technical standards and specifications on “building industrial parks” or “prefabricated component factories,” material manufacturers, and machinery and equipment suppliers, and on the various components, materials, and machinery and equipment they produce or can provide, so as to satisfy designers’ consultation and use of materials, equipment, and technologies that meet new building requirements, and to facilitate builders’ price inquiries and procurement of materials, equipment, and construction technologies that meet design requirements. In addition, such platforms can also aggregate engineering bidding information from around the world, across the country, and across industries, as well as investment and financing and guarantee business information, and provide online consulting services and order management, among other things.
    It can thus be seen that the greatest advantage of such platforms is integrating the resources of all parties and optimizing the application of resources. Manufacturers can accept orders according to production capacity and produce in a planned manner according to orders, ensuring schedules and saving costs and resources.
    Second, scientific planning. Planning is a systematic project with a large amount of information and complex environmental factors to consider. To carry out planning and design from the height of a province, the whole country, or even the globe, and with a higher vision, one can rely on software systems such as the UK’s PLACELOGIC and apply GIS technology to identify the best site selection plans for “building industrial parks” and park planning schemes. For any materials that are available abroad and whose procurement price is comparable to or cheaper than domestic ones, no new sites or production should be established. For example, some of the components and materials needed in the UK are procured from Germany, Belgium, and elsewhere, because the materials there have better performance and lower prices than domestic ones.
    Third, optimize design. Design is divided into prefabricated component design and construction project design. The core value of applying information technology represented by BIM in design is: it has three-dimensional digital and visual effects and can greatly improve design quality and efficiency. In addition, another value of applying information technology represented by BIM in prefabricated component design is: automatic material cutting, cutting (section steel, steel plate, etc.), drilling, bending (reinforcement), and forming according to design parameters. At present, for steel structures, cutting and drilling according to joint detail drawings can be said to have reached a relatively high degree of digitalization and automation. For concrete prefabricated components, according to design drawings, in such professional aspects as reinforcement bending (reinforcement), forming, concrete mixing (mix proportion), and concrete curing, the degree of digitalization, automation, and intelligence is also developing rapidly. Another value of applying information technology represented by BIM in construction project design is: selecting suitable building materials and equipment; automatically calculating the environmental and energy-saving performance of buildings and adjusting building structures, materials, and equipment; controlling the cost of construction projects from the source of design; and optimizing building space, among other things.
    Fourth, construction management. In the construction stage, project management informatization and remote video monitoring management have already been used by many construction enterprises, with the purpose of resolving information communication, coordinating resources, ensuring contract schedules and project quality, and controlling costs. At present, the focus of research and application of informatization in construction-stage management, represented by BIM technology, is to establish project information models and then realize detailed design, digital automated production, prefabricated component production management, on-site construction management, and remote monitoring management. Key breakthroughs needed are: simulating the construction process and formulating construction plans according to on-site conditions, environment, and machinery and equipment; making price inquiries and procurement according to the building materials and equipment required by the design (BIM system); formulating management plans and conducting project management according to the quantities determined by the design (BIM system); and carrying out accurate on-site assembly according to the design (BIM system) (prefabricated components are tagged with electronic chips according to design positioning). That is to say, with this informatization system, the project department can dynamically control the production progress, warehousing, and logistics of prefabricated components as well as on-site construction progress, ensuring project schedule, quality, and cost.
    Fifth, logistics management. With factory-based building production and assembly-based construction, and with changes in the integration of building resources and comprehensive application methods, informatization of logistics management business is becoming increasingly important. The important value of informatization in logistics management business lies in: different regions can enjoy building materials (prefabricated components) and technologies of the same quality; optimizing distribution plans, routes, and times, balancing supply and demand, arranging production scientifically and reasonably, and ensuring schedules; creating “processing added” value (purchasing finished or semi-finished products costs less than self-processing) and reducing project costs.
    Sixth, operations management. Certification of any green building cannot cover the entire building life cycle at the certification stage; it is phased. For example, the UK’s BREEAM assessment system also requires this: after the building is delivered and put into use for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months, performance verification must be carried out to ensure that the constructed building meets the design performance requirements. It can thus be seen that in the building operation stage, digital monitoring of environmental and energy-saving performance during operation is very important, especially for public buildings. The key points to monitor in the building operation stage are: whether the building meets design performance requirements; the energy consumption of the building, building materials, and equipment; and the “embodied” energy consumption of building prefabricated components, materials, and equipment from raw material extraction and production to transport to the destination, among other things. “The purpose of the deep integration of informatization and building industrialization is to realize the industrialization and automation of the building process and the digitalization and informatization of the production management process, so that buildings better meet green and environmental protection requirements and better meet the needs of human production and life,” Huang Rufu emphasized. “The deep integration of informatization and building industrialization has far-reaching significance, a wide scope, and enormous effects.”