Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M21942/01
Title:	MARKET-LED HOMEBUILDING AS A MANUFACTURING PROCESS- PHASE II
Principal Investigator:	Roy, Professor R
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	British Ceramic Research Ltd Marshalls Flooring Ltd Pre Nexus Migration Westbury plc
Department:	Sch of Engineering
Organisation:	University of Warwick
Scheme:	LINK
Starts:	01 October 1998	Ends:	30 September 2001	Value (£):	492,133
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Construction Ops & Management
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Construction
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The housebuilding industry has been slow to adopt new working practices essential for product quality and customer focused operations. The proposal is aimed at four areas to support a move towards a mass customisation industry and improvements in product quality. Rapid product configuration to customer specification and consistency of the build process will require an increasing use of pre-fabricated parts, and the first project will study the connectivity of various build technologies and customisation options they provide. The supply lead times for fixtures and fittings will also need to be reduced and just-in-time principles adopted for effective materials control; the second project will formulate policies for a supplier development programme, and study the implementation process. Mass customisation requires a customer to play a direct role in product design, and the third project will research and develop a product configuration and visualisation customer interface for the new order fulfilment process. A clear definition of the build process, effective communication of best practice and feedback are important to develop a culture for quality; the fourth project will research and develop a process engineering information system to help create such a culture, and deal effectively with product variants to support mass customisation.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.warwick.ac.uk