PLATFORM THINKING IN CONSTRUCTION: A CASE STUDY OF THE REFURBISHMENT OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

Although the numerous benefits of product platforms spur increasing interest in their application in construction, the transfer of manufacturing principles to construction, especially refurbishment projects, remains challenging. Defining the dimensions and degree of modularity is difficult when interacting with an uncertain and variable physical asset and a complex socio-technical interaction between performing the necessary work activities and the use of the asset by users, tenants or operators. A case study of a national railway infrastructure renewal programme is presented, drawing data from project documents, and analysing to understand the constraints which determine potential forms of modularity. The findings show that the process of module definition is a socio-technical dynamic between the physical asset which defines 'what' activities need to be performed and the users who define 'when' and 'where' the activity may be performed. The process is iterative, and the quality is refined using the criteria of Cohesion and Coupling. The findings contribute to the implementation of platform theory in refurbishment projects with a model of module definition and refinement including the socio-technical dimension of modularity.