Mass-customisation of cross-laminated timber wall systems at early design stages

• Published in: Automation in construction 2021-12, Vol.132, p.103938, Article 103938
• Main Authors: Jalali Yazdi, Alireza, Ahmadian Fard Fini, Alireza, Forsythe, Perry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Building design; Configuration management; Construction industry; Cross laminating; Cross-laminated timber; Customization; Design automation; Design for manufacture and assembly; Genetic algorithms; Load bearing elements; Mass-customisation; Mathematical programming; Optimization; Prefabrication; Production methods; Profitability; Supply chains; Wood laminates
• ISSN: 0926-5805; 1872-7891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2021.103938

Low profitability of the building industry has driven the adoption of industrialised production methods in this sector. In an industrialised context, mass-customisation (MC) is a set of strategies aimed to offer tailored products at prices close to those of mass-production. MC can be achieved through integrating market knowledge and supply-chain processes into the building design. Nonetheless, the MC-related literature is slim in optimising designs for such an integration. The goal is to find optimal design configurations for the load-bearing spanning systems that incur minimum product waste and manufacturing process waste. The paper uses Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) buildings as cases of highly prefabricated systems. The preliminary layout of a building is first mathematically modelled. Then, genetic algorithms are adapted to optimise wall dimensions and billet cutting plan. The example case demonstrated significant waste reduction compared to the building industry benchmarks. This highlights the practical benefits of the systematical implementation of MC from the early design stages. The present study contributes to the body of knowledge by introducing a novel design support tool that facilitates the adoption of MC in the building industry. •A structural design support tool is introduced to increase mass-customisability.•Preliminary design of the load-bearing walls in CLT buildings is focused upon.•GA is used to mimic cutting stock problem and generative structural layout.•Building product and process wastes are minimised while design is customised.•The tool reduced wastes to less than half compared to industry benchmarks.