CONCEPT OF STANDARDIZATION IN BUILDING DESIGN

Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards. Standardization can help to
maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality. It can also facilitate commoditization of
formerly custom processes.

In social sciences, including economics, the idea of standardization is close to the solution for a coordination problem,
a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions.

Standardization is a preventive measure and not a curative measure, So it is not very easy to convince top
management of organizations for adopting standardization.
The reasons for opting for standardization are:
1. Consistency: It is experienced that many times, people of same organization react differently to a same or
similar problem. Standards ensure that the responses and solutions offered are consistent, even though they
are handled by different people in the organization.
2. Consistent approaches often lead to higher levels of productivity and achieving high levels of efficiency.
Consistent approaches also help in developing a brand and ultimately brand value.

Advantages of standardization
Benefits of standardization are many. The major ones are:

Reducing experience level of staff: Since standards elaborate various processes, experience level requirement of
staff and ultimately age of staff can be brought down and emphasis can shift to competence of staff .
Integration of data of various projects is easier if standard process is followed at every project. Enterprise wide
software applications can be implemented easily and organizations can reap benefits of Enterprise wide software
applications.
Consistent processes across organizations enable objective performance evaluation of different project units.
Reduced need to guide project teams on items which are standardized, since processes are well described in these
organization level standards. This leads to 'reduced management involvement'.
Project implementation is faster once standards are in place since the advantage of repetition is available
Higher productivity, reduced age of staff, easy integration of organizational data leads to cost competitiveness
Innovation is one of the essential ingredients of futuristic organizations.

Standardization is basic and first step in implementing innovative practices since standardization only will allow
innovations to be implemented and to be effective.
Top management of the organization needs to be convinced of the benefits of organization level standardization.
Organization needs to be committed to continuous development and updating of organization level standards and
organization level manuals.

Importance of standards
1. Encapsulation of best practice- avoids repetition of past mistakes.

2. They are a framework for quality assurance processes - they involve checking compliance to standards.

3. They provide continuity - new staff can understand the organisation by understanding the standards that are used.
 Problems with standards
1. They may not be seen as relevant and up-to-date by software engineers.

2. They often involve too much bureaucratic form filling.

3. If they are unsupported by software tools, tedious manual work is often involved to maintain the documentation
associated with the standards.

Standards development
Involve practitioners in development. Engineers should understand the rationale underlying a standard.

Review standards and their usage regularly.

Standards can quickly become outdated and this reduces their credibility amongst practitioners.

Detailed standards should have associated tool support. Excessive clerical work is the most significant complaint against
standards.

Modular coordination
Modular coordination is a concept of coordination of dimension and space in which buildings and components are
dimensioned and positioned in terms of basic unit or module.

The basic module is known as 1M which is equivalent to 100mm.

It is internationally accepted by the International Standard Organization and many other countries including
Malaysia.
The Module developed has the following characteristics
Industrialization friendly i.e. able to cater for manufacturing, transportation and assembly requirements.
Small enough in term of size in order to provide the necessary flexibility in design.
Large enough to promote simplification of the number of sizes for various components.
Internationally accepted to ensure that it can be mass produced to cater for global market.
Ergonomic i.e. able to improve people efficiency by providing adequate space for human livings and working conditions.

Why modular coordination?

It provides a practical and coherent: method for coordinating- the position and dimension of elements, components and
spaces in the planning and design of buildings.
To improve productivity in the building industry through industrialization. MC can facilitate the achievement of
industrialization.
Provide guide to building component sizing: this can reduce as much as possible the needs to further trim and shape the
materials to fit together in construction; thus, reducing wastage of labour and material. Mass production of building
components
factories: thus, ensuring good and consistent of workmanship and quality.

To permit standardization, which encourages the use of standardized building components for the construction of
different types of building; to simplify site operation by rationalizing setting out, positioning and assembling of building
components at the site.

Benefits
Facilitates the attainment of three objectives of all industrial developments:-
Mass production of selected components by specialist firms thus achieving economy of scale
The components can be sold on the open and possibly international market as they are of standard dimensions; and
Other specialist firms can concentrate on the assembly of components into a final consumers products.
Mc concept
1- DIMENTIONAL CO-ORDINATION
A convention for the co-ordination of the dimensions of building components and building incorporating them in their
design, manufacture and assembly by means of a three dimensional spatial references system points, lines and planes to
which the position and size of a components, assembly of element may be related.

The dimensional coordination is essential in order to:-

simplify design and documentation procedures and allow the implementation of computer techniques;
achieve optima efficiency in the manufacture and use of components and assemblies;
avoid cutting or modifying components and assemblies on site;
standardize the profile and detail of joints between components;
Reduce non-standard or dimensionally incompatible components and assemblies; and
maximize the Interchangeability of components and assemblies

2- MODULAR CO-ORDINATION
Dimensional co-ordination employing the basic module or some whole multiple thereof as basic dimensional unit and
increments of it. The basic module which is generally accepted at an international level is 100mm which may be
represented by the letter M. Basic planning

Planning really means making tomorrows decisions today. Planning entails choosing goals and the courses of action to
achieve them. Therefore, when you make a plan, youre actually deciding now what you are going to do in the future. In
that sense, a plan is simply a set of premade decisions that will allow you to achieve a future goal. As such, planning lets
you assess today the consequences tomorrow of your various courses of action.

1. Analyzing and interpreting data and situations

2. Diagnosing problems and identifying relevant causal factors
3. Predicting and forecasting
4. Goal setting and identifying possible courses of action
5. Evaluating and comparing possible courses of action
6. Communicating
7. Implementing actions and monitoring them.