Comparison of Prefabrication MLS Structure versus Cast in Place Structure

Prefabricated Structure	Description	Cast in place
/	Reduced damage from severe earthquakes	X
/	Produced and quality controlled by standard ISO 0001:2000 factory	X
X	Ease of structural design	/
/	Easily and more precisely checked and controlled at the work site (steel and concrete work)	X
/	Low chance of mistakes occur during construction	X
X	Lower cost of production and transportation	/
/	Standard of construction doesn’t depend entirely on the workers (without a specialized supervisor)	X
/	Lower number of workers required	X
/	Less dust and debris at the work site	X
/	Rain or rainy season cannot obstruct the construction	X
/	Faster structural installation	X
/	Trusted stability and longevity	/

The structure of a building guarantees its longevity. Currently there are two main types of structure—the traditional cast in place and the modern prefabrication. The differences are as follows:

A cast in place structure is a type of structure that starts and ends at the work site. Steel work, concrete mixing and casting are done, and the columns, beams and stairs are cast by the work crew. The concrete is cured for a period before the construction proceeds to the next step. This type of construction is flexible to a narrow space work site. The weak points are the duration for curing the concrete after casting and the standard of the work if not strictly controlled.

The prefabrication structure is an innovation in construction. The parts: columns, beams, stairs are constructed in a standard factory closely controlled by specialized engineers. The parts are closely checked then brought and assembled at the work site. This resolves the issue of a labour shortage, construction duration and dust and debris at the work site. However, there could be a problem if the road access to the work site is too narrow for a heavy truck to transport the parts.

The two types of structures have both benefits and weak points. Which one is used depends on the appropriate factors of the construction done on a case by case basis.