ABSTRACT
Construction activities are generally complex due to the vast number of tradesmen, materials, machineries and construction methods used in any one construction project. As a subset of the construction industry, the prefabrication sector should gain from this comparison of the construction and manufacturing industries and derive a framework within which Just in time (JIT) may be applied for precast concrete production. The fundamental differences between the construction and manufacturing industries should not negate nor inhibit the applicability of the JIT concept in the former. The final product of construction is usually of unique design and often differs from one project to another. Where design is concerned, no two buildings or civil engineering structures are exactly alike in the construction industry. Construction often involves large-scale complex assemblies of components for “one-off” type of site operations. New construction works often involve an initial outlay of capital due to the sizeable mobilisation of resources to start off the project.
