Industrialized Building System (IBS) is a common phrase used in Malaysia to describe the construction of a building by assembling the building component that builds from a factory. So in general IBS and Prefabricated or in short Prefab building are referring the same thing.

Introduction

Prefabricated buildings have been gradually promoted by developed countries such as Europe and the United States in the late 1940s. Other countries such as Western Europe and Northern Europe, as well as North America, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, are also well known for its advanced in the prefabricated building. With the rapid urbanization of China, the prefabricated building is also their current top choice for their housing and industry development. Often prefab building offers smaller price tags, environmentally friendly and faster finish built.

Construction chemicals are the chemical formulations between cement, concrete, and other building material to bind them together at the time or before the time of construction. These construction chemicals are widely used in the construction of residential, commercial industries, commercial building, and infrastructure. The Asia Pacific region own the largest market share for construction chemical products, follow up is Europe and North America. Since the reform and opening up of China, the country construction industry has developed unprecedentedly and construction market is vigorously in demand. The increase in demand and functionality building has pushed forward the need of new building materials like construction chemical to counter the demand.

Steel is iron that removed most of the impurities and contains a consistent concentration of carbon. Those impurities like phosphorus, sulfur, silica, oxygen, nitrogen, and copper weaken steel significantly. Steel is one the most recyclable material in the world because of it economically favorable and the process does not downgrade it but make it same again. Steel is sometimes also referred to as iron alloy but that would include wrought iron and cast iron.

Introduction

Cast iron posses higher content of carbon(2% to 4%) and impurities which make it hard, brittle and non-malleable whereas wrought iron with low carbon content less than 0.08% are more malleable and higher tensile strength. The famous Eiffel Tower in France was mainly built from this wrought iron and was once held the tallest man-made structure in the world. Wrought iron was once favorite material to be used on structure building but now is greatly replace with mild steel because of advanced technology. All this was to thank Bessemer converter in the 19th century and the following advanced improvement which makes the production of steel much more economical and quicker. The advantages of steel over other iron alloy is greater balanced in tensile strength, ductility, and versatility.

Applications

Steel is normally separated into two type, one is carbon steel and another stainless steel. Carbon steel or plain-carbon steek is the most productive steel in steel manufacturing. Carbon steel is the composition of mostly iron and carbon. It can be classified into 4 type by the difference of carbon contained in it, low-carbon steel(0.05%-0.30%), medium-carbon steel(0.3%-0.8%), high-carbon steel(0.8%-2.0%), and ultra-high-carbon steel(3.25%-4%). Low-carbon steel or normally refer to as mild steel is the most common form of carbon steel because the price is much more economical and able to use on many applications. Mild steel is so versatile because it's easy to work with, ductile and less brittle. After a form or shape is made, carburizing can be applied to the mild steel to increase its surface hardness. It usually used to make structural steel like roof covering, reinforced cement concrete, rail track, transmission towers, etc. High carbon steel has a greater hardness than low carbon steel and also able to withstand shocks and vibrations. It has great in strength so it was usually used for making tools such as drills, cutting tools, heavy machinery, etc. Unlike stainless steel, most carbon steel has poor corrosion resistance so corrosive environment is not recommended unless certain protective coating, waterproofing or paint is used.

Timber or so-called lumber is usually a trimmed block of wood that process into beams and planks of a building or structure. furniture are usually separate to two main type which is hardwood that usually used for decorative purposes and the other is softwood that often uses as the structural material. These two names are usually misleading because hardwood is not necessarily hard and softwood are not necessarily soft and they are usually distinguished through botanically in terms of their reproduction. Hardwood are usually tend to be denser and therefore sturdier meanwhile softwood are lesser in dense and therefore easier to cut. So in general, the denser of a wood than the easier it will split if you pound a nail into it. Thus in order to nail it the right way, you will have to drill a screw hole or bolt hole. However, softwood or structural lumber which is much softer and lighter able to accepts nail easily without splitting it and thus making it a good material for general construction.

Epoxy is a thermosetting polymer which is the end products of epoxy resin that is a very versatile resin that normally used as a coating for product or material. The coating usually provides extra strength, least susceptible to scratching, fading, chemicals, cracking or staining.

Introduction

The usage includes in metal coating, paint brush manufacturing, structural adhesives, electronic component glue, etc. Above all these usages, epoxy flooring is the most common usage of all. Epoxy flooring has the feature of a smooth surface, easy to clean, wear resistant, scratch resistant, water resistant and chemical resistance. Another competitive and alternative for flooring that has almost the same criteria of epoxy flooring would be the polyurethane flooring. On a certain case, they both can perform the same or overlap each feature so they are compared herein generally only.

Acrylic or acrylic glass is also known by its trade name Crylux, Plexiglas, Perspex, Acrylite, and Lucite or the scientific name Polymethyl Methacrylate(PMMA). The acrylic is a transparent plastic that often uses as the replacement for glass as it has characteristics of lightweight and also shatterproof. The material can also be used as a casting resin to make waterproofing, translucent effect, etc. Some modern painting can be found contain acrylic as the acrylic doesn't dissolve in a humid environment and hence able to protect the painting.

Introduction

Acrylic glass has the characteristic of high transparency, high tensile strength, high flexibility, polishable, heat and chemical resistance, and UV tolerance. Although most acrylic glass tends to be brittle when under high impact force but the material itself is much more light and stronger than most glass and able add color and texture to the surface. When the acrylic glass surface contains any scratches it would only need a simple polish and the scratch will be gone. Furthermore, acrylic is more favorable to be export since is stronger than glass and lesser in weight which is very ideal for e-commerce.

A roof is a necessity to a building, it covers up the building’s top and it acts as protection that shields up internal property and people in it. It safeguards them from rain, sunlight’s UV, wind, dust and other foreign substances. Covering is supported by roof structure and framing, it can also create another space for activities, such as a roof garden. Maximizing the roofing space is now getting more common in Malaysia.

Wall acts as a load carrier for slab, roof, beam and other forms of weight units. At the same time, it offers privacy, security, and shelter against foreign matters. Wall can also be a non-load bearing divider, or a partition that separate spaces and create “rooms” in the building. Wall can be used as a defensive barrier in the countryside, either as a permanent structure or temporary erection for a structure either in outdoor or indoor use. External wall usually acts as the shear wall in which load-bearing strength is required, they play the role as superstructure’s basic while block water, dirt as well as unwanted temperature and noise. The acoustic and thermal insulation features can be enhanced through additional infill materials such as polystyrene foam, mineral wool, glass fiber or others.

Flooring is commonly referred to as permanent floor covering, a proper flooring system comprises of a good supportive subfloor including sprung, floating and raised flooring. These are installed to ensure proper structural strength can be provided for the floor covering, for instance, concrete subfloor or plywood subfloor.

TIle is a hard-wearing building material due to its firm in strength, small in weight, resistant to pressure and wear, and can be protected from moisture. Tile are usually use as floor decorative for room or buildings while thinner tile will be usually used on walls rather than on floors because walls require more durable surfaces rather than resist impacts. These tiles are usually made up of marble and granite, ceramic, clay and etc. Although other popular flooring and wall materials like laminate, wood, luxury vinyl, etc are being widely used, floor tiles are still the first choice for many consumers because tiles have a solid texture, easy in cleaning, heat-resistant, wear-resistant, chemical resistant, watertight that makes it high versatility and very durable.

Ceilings are the top surfaces covering product of a building's interior. They are usually used to conceal the roof structure and the pipe or wire under it. For certain type of ceilings, it can even provide the function of sound insulation, energy efficiency, and fire resistance.

Introduction

Despite the fact that functionality is important, people still need their house or space looks nice. For an architect or designer, ceilings are one of the vital design for a home or space as it represents the perfect balance between the other decorative element. There can be many types of ceiling design, it can be decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles, surface treatments, chandeliers, light tube, ceiling fans, skylights, air conditioners, etc.

Applications

The most common type of ceiling is the dropped ceiling which suspended from structural elements above. This type of ceilings is commonly used in airports, stations, office buildings, shopping malls, subway stations, and residential buildings. Other types of ceiling include of the cathedral ceiling, concave ceiling or barrel-shaped ceiling, stretched ceiling, coffered ceiling etc. In the past, traditional houses were mostly made up of straw mats, banquets, and wooden boards. With the advancement of technology, more modern ceiling materials like gypsum board, light steel keel, splint, aluminum strip ceiling, stained glass, PVC ceiling, new plastic steel plate ceiling, etc have been introduced.

Landscape design generally refers to the planning and design of landscapes and gardens for a building project or a household or any places that you wish to preserve the nature and at the same time provide an eyeful scenery. Landscape design and landscape architecture have many similarities which sometimes the difference is minor on specification or detail only.

Introduction

Landscape architectures usually work out by landscape architect which has to be certified. While for a design that works on smaller residential projects, or development usually a landscape designer would be sufficient. Landscape design mainly uses on: urban landscape design(city square, commercial street, office environment, etc), residential landscape design, parking areas, urban park, tourist resort, cultural heritage, etc. For a landscape architecture it would usually cover more scope such as steep slopes, retaining walls, irrigation systems, stormwater management, outdoor structures, driveways, and anything that able to ensure the well being of a project or development whether is before, after or ongoing.

Doors and windows are an important part of the building as an openable barrier. The requirement for doors and windows is usually low thermal conductivity, sound insulation, waterproof, fire resistant, etc. Currently, the new requirement is energy saving where the cold areas are separated and lesser energy consume on cooling or heating. Another is the important part of the architectural design of a building so their shape, size, and color will have a big impact on the overall view of the building.

Introduction

The type of doors and windows are louver, frame, ironmongery, sliding, overhang, awning, French etc. The casement doors and windows are one of those common types which the framework are usually wood, steel, aluminium, glass, or combination of any of these materials. The material for shutter can be timber, plywood, glass, block or any material that should meet the minimum requirement of the industrialization of buildings which is sturdy, durable, flexible to open, tightly closed and easy to repair and clean.

Electronic technology is an emerging technology developed by western countries such as Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 20th century, electronic products are having a breakthrough in communication and transport thus contributed to the advancement of modern science and technology. Electronic products require electricity from an electrical grid. Thus an electrical grid transmits electricity from the power station then distributes the electricity to the substations and finally to individual customers.

Introduction

With the advancement of technology, the power station or electric generator can now shrink to a more scalable size and can be mobile at the same time. A Genset is an electrical generator that combines an engine to form a self-contained equipment. The kind of electrical generator has the advantages on independently supply electricity without the necessity of connection with electrical grid and also act as an emergency power supply if the grid fails. There are different types of Genset (Natural gas generators, gasoline generators, etc) and one of the most common ones is the diesel generators which is mostly used in industrial and commercial establishments like industrial plants, hospital, office building, etc.

Infrastructure refers to the necessary facility that ensures normal social and economic activities of the country or region. It is usually a prior system that allows better living condition and development of society. Infrastructure has a so-called 'multiplier effect' which is total social demand and national income that can bring several times the investment amount.

Introduction

The infrastructure is an important basis for a country or region to allow its economy to sustain stable development in the long run. Type of infrastructure includes transportation, communication, water supply, power supply, public amenities, scientific research, environmental protection, etc. Establishing a good infrastructure often takes a long time and huge investment so a careful planning and hiring expert is a must to complete the project.

Aggregate is a granular material that acts as a basis and infills in concrete for the used in construction. It generally separated into fine aggregates and coarse aggregates. Normally fine aggregate particles that less than 4.75mm in diameter. Natural sand, such as river sand, sea sand, valley sand and artificial sand ground from hard rock can be the fine aggregate. While coarse aggregate particles require diameter size larger than 4.75mm are usually obtained from a crushed stone. The material that used up as coarse aggregate is normally gravel and pebbles.

Introduction

A mixture like an asphalt and concrete uses these aggregate as the additives. All these aggregate serves as reinforcement and also add strength towards a composite material. Concrete mix usually contains 60% to 80% of aggregate. If it is not added when doing a cement mixture, the mixture would not solidify and thus cannot be used. Bigger aggregates or coarse aggregates usually help in maintaining the strength of the concrete but reduces the amount of cement used and also the cost of the concrete mix too. The strength of gravel aggregates in concrete is higher compared to pebble concrete but the process of getting it from crushed stone make its prices higher than the pebble materials.

Industrial supplies and hardware can be separated into two type which is a hardware tool and hardware accessories. Hardware tools are referred to as metal part that made of iron, steel, and aluminium by the processing of forging, rolling or cutting. These tools include various machine, electric, pneumatic, cutting tools, auto maintenance tools, agricultural tools, lifting tools, measuring tools, jigs, molds, grinding wheels, drill bits, abrasives, etc. Most hardware tools are sold worldwide and exported from China. Furthermore, in 2013 developed countries like Europe and the United States are having rapid development on production technology and rising labor prices only produce premium or special tool which left China a strong market potential on transporting normal grade tool throughout the world.

Heavy equipment and machines are heavy-duty vehicles that are specially designed to work on construction tasks like earthwork operations, bulldozers, forklifts, cranes, shovels, backhoes etc. It is often referred to as hydraulic machines because most of this machine uses the basic principle of that hydraulic system to operate.

Introduction

The interesting thing about the hydraulic system is that the force multiplication is very easy to be added to the system and make the machine to have amazing strength and versatility. For example, an excavator which is one of the large hydraulic machines that can be seen in the most construction site. Either is small or medium or large these excavator actions are quite swift and able to scoop out 1 to 1.5 tons of dirt and move it around with no difficulty at all. This heavy equipment also posses track and a free-spinning toothed wheel and a set of rollers to allow the track to move freely.