Critical Factors in Supply Management of Industrialised Building System Components for Island Construction Project: A Case Study of Perhentian Island

Abstract

The importance of construction based on the industrialised building system(IBS)approach in accelerating the achievement of development objectives cannot be denied, including in countries such as Malaysia. In fact, this system has been given a new lease of life in the construction industry development plan lately to strengthen its contribution to the country. The availability of building materials from the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia is a crucial factor for the successful installation of IBScomponents at construction sites.Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the criticalfactors in the supply management of IBScomponents at the Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu’s construction site. In order toachieve the objective of this study, a qualitative study that is a structured interview with sixteen (16) construction contractors, three (3) each from supplier companies and transport ships/vesselor ‘barges’that are directly involved in the supply of this IBScomponents have been carried out. Seven (7) criticalfactors have been identified which are: 1) compliance with government directives; 2) accuracy of work planning and scheduling; 3) the contractor’s current financial position is good; 4) good relationship (tolerance) between contractor and supplier; 5) availability of components; 6) availability of transport ship/vessel or ‘barge’and machinery; and 7) able to predict weather conditions. These criticalfactors can be used as a useful basis in providing a more effective industrialisedbuilding system-based project implementation environment in the future on Perhentian Island in particular and other islands in general. The findings of this study have opened up a new research space towards providing a more perfect environment for the implementation of management activities for the supply of IBScomponents at the construction site.