In 1954 the first settlements were created using H-shaped blocks (Chan, 1998). Today, however, building block styles include Double H-shaped, Cruciform, Twin Tower, Trident, and Linear (Wong & Yau, 1999). These are designed to be easily constructed and work well for heating and cooling, but they are also designed to prevent a total building collapse in case of a fire. Re-engineering a process that needs some assistance has become popular in many areas of industry but the construction industry has been slow to make changes (Koskela, 1992). Much of this has to do with the fact that re-engineering usually has to do with processes, and the construction industry is primarily project based, instead (Chan & Yu, 1999). This re-engineering to help protect against fire and other dangers, however, is expected to focus on projects that are designed for the customer and therefore work to enhance the final outcome that these customers receive from working with the company (Mohamed, 1997). It has also been seen to be innovative and holistic while setting very high standards for quality, safety, and customer satisfaction (Love, et al., 1997). Examples of this re-engineering process have also been given by many other researchers that have cited innovative technology and an increase in productivity (Chan & Kumaraswamy, 1995; Deng, et al., 1999). This higher productivity and lower fire danger present a winning situation for those who build homes and business and those who inhabit them.

Bibliography

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Chan, D.W.M. (1998). Modelling Construction Durations for Public Housing Projects in Hong Kong. PhD thesis, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Deng, Z.M., Tam, C.M. And Zeng, S.X. (1999). Continuous process improvement for shortening construction duration of public housing projects in Hong Kong. Australian Institute of Building Papers, 9, 17-28.

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Koskela, L. (1992). Application of the New Production Philosophy to Construction. Technical Report No. 72, Centre for Integrated Facility Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Stanford University, USA.

Love, P.E.D., Mohamed S. And Tucker, S.N. (1997). A conceptual approach for re-engineering the construction process. Proceedings of the International Conference on Construction Process Re-engineering 14-15 July 1997, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, 13-23.

Mohamed, S. (1997). BPR critic -- CPR advocate. Proceedings of the International Conference on Construction Process Re-engineering, 14-15 July 1997, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, 25-37.

Use prefabrication, building sector urged. (2003). New Straits Times.

Wong, A.K.D. And Yau, A.S.K. (1999). Public housing construction in Hong Kong: From building traditionally to the era of rationalization. Group…