University of Waterloo

Published purpose

The objective of this Project is to identify the impact of contractual modes on construction productivity and on the environmental performance of projects with a large percentage of prefabrication. This Project is based on synthesis of the theoretical input from scientific literature, as well as on interviews with domain experts, statistical data provided by industry stakeholders (construction associations, public owners, professional unions) and real-world case studies provided by industrial partners (general contractors, manufacturers, developers and consultants). The objective is to compare the overall productivity of the construction of similar projects executed onsite or offsite, depending also on the contractual mode. The impact of the following types of contracts will be investigated: Design–Bid–Build; Progressive Design–Build; and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Additionally, environmental analysis (i.e., emissions and energy efficiency during construction and simulated operations) will be performed on the same projects.