The Australian construction industry has faced severe challenges over the past few years. Spiralling costs of building materials and construction have made housing less affordable.
Productivity, sustainability, health and well-being, and safety imperatives together with the market-wide expectation for high-quality design have further challenged traditional construction.
This project developed a roadmap for Smart Prefab and Industry 4.0 for the Australian building industry. This was developed through a thorough review of world best practice and industry 4.0 principals coupled with a series of workshops with industry leaders in construction in Australia to better understand opportunities and barriers facing them
Researchers on project included: Dr Philip Christopher, Dr Siddhesh Godbole, Dr Aravinda Rao,
Dr Francisca Rodriguez Leonard, Dr Sahar Soltani, Dr Ali Rashidi, Prof Tuan Ngo & Dr Duncan Maxwell.
Date commenced and duration
April 2021 - April 2022Lead researcher
Partners
Organisations
- Various Building 4.0 CRC Industry Partners (submissions and contributions will be received from all Industry Partners in the CRC)
People, Practices and Culture
- Building Materials & Systems
- Digital Project Management
- IoT, Sensors and Construction Tech
- User Interface, Visualisation and Analytics
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Digital and Automated Fabrication (Robotics)
- Platforms and Process
- Policy and Regulation
- Digital Twins & 3D Modelling
- Business Model Innovation
- Supply Chain Management, Logistics
Digital Project Management
Projects
Light House Project #7: Platform Delivery of Affordable Housing
#61 Building Productivity – Product, Process, People
#17 The implication of Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: towards smart prefab
#12 VR/AR technologies in vocational education and training (scoping study)
#6 Field Data Collation to support real-time operational management
IoT, Sensors and Construction Tech
Theme coordinator

Dr Aravinda Rao
Projects
Light House Project #1: Monash Smart Manufacturing Hub (mSMH) – A Digital Twin Living Lab
#29 Real-time EH&S Intervention to Improve Site Safety (Scoping Study)
#33 Evaluation of emerging technologies for remote inspections of building work
#17 The implication of Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: towards smart prefab
#6 Field Data Collation to support real-time operational management
User Interface, Visualisation and Analytics
Theme coordinator

Dr Barrett Ens
Projects
Light House Project #13: Mixed Reality Carpentry Demonstration
Light House Project #1: Monash Smart Manufacturing Hub (mSMH) – A Digital Twin Living Lab
#29 Real-time EH&S Intervention to Improve Site Safety (Scoping Study)
#46 Data analytics for structural fibre resources optimisation
#17 The implication of Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: towards smart prefab
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Theme coordinator

Dr Buser Say
Projects
#53 Process Engineering, and Design and Estimating Automation of Fleetwood’s Product Platform
#50 Development of Artificial Neural Network and Automated Life Cycle Assessments for Cloud Based Residential Energy Estimations
#29 Real-time EH&S Intervention to Improve Site Safety (Scoping Study)
#33 Evaluation of emerging technologies for remote inspections of building work
#44 Generative Architectural Design Engine
Platforms and Process
Theme coordinator

Dr Duncan Maxwell
Projects
#53 Process Engineering, and Design and Estimating Automation of Fleetwood’s Product Platform
#61 Building Productivity – Product, Process, People
Light House Project #6: Malvern East Apartment Development
#38 Victorian Government Digital Build – Translating theory into practice
#25 Operational Excellence framework of steel fabrication and processing in the OSM and prefabrication sector (Phase 1)
Digital Twins & 3D Modelling
Theme coordinator

Dr Kourosh Khoshelham
Projects
Light House Project #13: Mixed Reality Carpentry Demonstration
Light House Project #1: Monash Smart Manufacturing Hub (mSMH) – A Digital Twin Living Lab
#29 Real-time EH&S Intervention to Improve Site Safety (Scoping Study)
#17 The implication of Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: towards smart prefab
#12 VR/AR technologies in vocational education and training (scoping study)
Business Model Innovation
Theme coordinator

Robert Moehler
Projects
#25 Operational Excellence framework of steel fabrication and processing in the OSM and prefabrication sector (Phase 1)
#3 Projects to Platforms: Investigating New Forms of Collaboration – Scoping Study
#31 Demystifying Volumetric Construction: A Study of the Bathroom Pod
#30 Critical Path IMPACT through Productisation
#17 The implication of Industry 4.0 for the construction industry: towards smart prefab
Supply Chain Management, Logistics
Theme coordinator

Dr Wen Li
Projects
Light House Project #7: Platform Delivery of Affordable Housing
#61 Building Productivity – Product, Process, People
#15 Using the Whole Tree for Future Timber-Based Construction – Scoping Study
#25 Operational Excellence framework of steel fabrication and processing in the OSM and prefabrication sector (Phase 1)
#31 Demystifying Volumetric Construction: A Study of the Bathroom Pod
Keywords
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Augmented Reality
- Australian Building Industry
- Digital Engineering
- Industry 4.0
- Internet of Things
- Robotics
- Smart Prefab
- Virtual Reality