Evaluating the contribution of on-site industrialized construction technologies towards industrialization goals

Industrialized construction (IC), encompassing off-site construction (OSC) and on-site industrialized construction (OIC), is pivotal to promoting sustainability in the construction sector. However, existing research in the construction industry has focused predominantly on the advantages of OSC, while overlooking the value of OIC to the broader industrialization of the building sector. In this paper, a systematic evaluation is conducted of key OIC technologies' contributions to industrialization goals (IGs). Through case studies and literature analysis, 8 critical OIC technologies and 7 IGs are identified. An advanced decision-making framework, integrating the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to analyze IGs interactions and weights, hesitant fuzzy numbers to address evaluation uncertainty, and prospect theory to incorporate psychological preferences, is employed to systematically rank the contributions of OIC technologies. Results indicate: (1) the importance ranking of IGs is: labor saving, efficiency improvement, costs reduction, quality enhancement, resource conservation, safety assurance, and pollution reduction. (2) The ranking of OIC technologies based on their contributions to IGs is: Interspersed construction, High-precision lightweight formwork, Centralized steel bar processing and distribution, Digitization and intelligent assistive technologies, Intelligent self-climbing scaffolds, Ready-mixed concrete and pumping, Full cast-in-situ exterior walls, and Floor water interception systems. This study empirically quantifies the contribution of each OIC technology to key IGs and defines an upgrading direction that enables traditional construction practices toward on-site industrialization, thereby reducing the sector's path dependence on OSC. In addition, it establishes an integrated evaluation framework that helps decision-makers identify and prioritise the most suitable OIC technologies.