The timber research group at LTU

The Timber Structures research group

of

Division of Structural and Construction

Engineering

Lars StehnProfessor, Div. of Structural Engineering - Timber Structures

Technical drivers

The shift from loose-fit to tight-fit facilities in engineering terms or from projects to processes in business terms :

• Increasing off-site prefabrication to improve productivity

• Facility is seen much more as an engineered system rather than an assembly of components.

• This has implications for

– design (e.g. use of simulation and earlier selection of components);

– supply chain (e.g. earlier involvement of suppliers);

– execution (e.g. production management and quality assurance) and

– operation (e.g. facility and systems management)

Timber engineering development in Sweden

Industrial drivers

• Authority involvement in construction has declined– Functional-based building regulations from 1995

• Low quality and high costs in housing have led to– Acceptance and interest of prefabrication and off-site

production

• Timber has taken two important development steps– Technical verifications to conform with the code

– Developed manufacturing process (roots in single family hosing since 1950:ties)

– Market share: 20% multi dwelling, 95% single family

Timber housing in Sweden

These changes has led to an industrial development where…..

…..construction companies have become solution providers.….

…..so called timber building systems suppliers….

…. Why the industrial focus of attention is the development of these systems suppliers

6

Timber housing market success

Industrialized construction

Site construction

Single family houses High and wide buildings

Timber share 90% Timber share12%

95%

80%5%

20%

7

Concept & idea Pilot-building Strong niches Mass market

Choice of technology and business platform

Technology verification leads to business development

Concept development and market consolidation

Concept development and Strategic expansion

Where is the Swedish timber housing industry

An innovation development perspective

The timber structures research group

The firm is our unit of analysis

• Off-site housing business and production are performed in projects (as in standard construction)….

• ….but with a predefined process based on repetition and standardized handling of information and….

• ….a process organization (the firm) with continuing capacity (process organization) to manage projects.

Focus of R & D attention

• Is on how firm-level resources and capabilities can be employed to response to the volatile economic cycle in construction.

• Meaning an integrated view of the firms market channel, supply chain and its operative platform (Lean)

• The majority of the research is applied where research questions is jointly formulated in cooperation with industrial partners.

• The scientific focus is integration of and advances within

1. Timber Engineering (28%)

2. Construction management (36%)

3. Lean and production management (36%)

Research design

Research and development projects

Development of an off-site (industrialized) house building company

Supply chain process

Customer process

Production and design processes

Timber structures research group

• 18 people (research and education)

– 7 senior researchers

– 10 PhD students (+ 2associated PhD students)

– 1 research engineer

• Annual turnover approx. €1.9 Million/year

– 63% external funding

• Around 18 R&D projects

– 2 large national R&D programs (LWE)

– Cooperation with more than 40 companies and organizations