A blockchain- and IoT-based smart product-service system for the
sustainability of prefabricated housing construction
Clyde Zhengdao Li, Zhe Chen, Fan Xue, Xiang T.R. Kong, Bing Xiao, Xulu, Lai, and Yiyu Zhao

This is the peer-reviewed post-print version of the paper:
Li, C. Z., Chen, Z., Xue, F., Kong, X.T.R., Xiao, B., Lai, X. & Zhao, Y. (2021). A
blockchain- and IoT-based smart product-service system for the sustainability of
prefabricated housing construction. Journal of Cleaner Production, Article ID 125391,
In press. Doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125391
The final version of this paper is available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125391.
The use of this file must follow the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No
Derivatives License, as required by Elsevier’s policy.

Abstract: Prefabricated housing construction (PHC) will be widely recognized as a
contributor to consumption reduction and sustainability enhancement if inherent drawbacks
(e.g., fragmented management, poor connectivity) can be addressed efficiently. The
promotion of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) has triggered the
evolvement of smart product-service systems (SPSS), where a smart connected product
(SCP) acts as a critical role in the interconnection of physical components and specialized
services for value co-creation. Hence, it is promising to realize the positive improvement of
PHC based on an SPSS approach, especially during the challenging post-COVID-19
pandemic era. We developed an intelligent platform based on service-oriented manners with
practical case demonstration for interactive innovation of PHC shareholders, among which
prefabricated components (PC) have been defined as the SCP in PHC, and a platform-enabled
approach has also been adopted in the way of SPSS. Furthermore, distributed security
technology viz. blockchain along with inclusive ICT (e.g., Internet-of-Things (IoT), CyberPhysical System (CPS), and Building Information Modeling (BIM)) are employed jointly to
spark new modes of smart construction. Meanwhile, valuable exploration and open research
directions are expected to facilitate the PHC supply chain to become more resilient in
sustainability.
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Keywords: Prefabricated Housing Construction; Smart Product-Service Systems; Blockchain;
Internet of Things; Sustainability

Nomenclature
BIM

Building Information Modeling

BT Blockchain Technology
CPS

Cyber-Physical System

DLT Distributed Ledger Technology
ICT Information and Communication Technologies
IoT Internet of Things
PC

Prefabricated Components

P2P Peer-to-Peer
PHC

Prefabricated Housing Construction

PSS Product-Service Systems
RFID Radio Frequency IDentification
SCM

Supply Chain Management

SCP Smart Connected Product
SCR

Supply Chain Resilience

SPSS

Smart Product-Service Systems

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1. Introduction

2

Sustainability, as one of the core issues drawing global attention, has played a crucial role in

3

the construction industry through the ages (Du et al., 2019). Previous research indicated that

4

the construction industry’s carbon emissions and worldwide energy usage have incrementally

5

increased, accounting for 30% (Pan and Garmston, 2012) and 40% (John et al., 2016),

6

respectively. Meanwhile, without effective strategies, the volume of its consumption will

7

keep rising by approximately 50% by 2050 (IEA, 2013). In this perspective, the

8

transformation of the construction industry is particularly critical for environmental

9

conservation and sustainable development. Prefabricated housing construction (PHC), with

10

its widely recognized contributions, such as decrease of schedule delay (Gao and Tian, 2020),

11

saving of labor usage (Li et al., 2018), reduction of construction waste and carbon emission

12

(Zhou et al., 2019b), has become a trend in lean construction. However, if PHC cannot

13

overcome its intrinsic drawbacks (e.g., low productivity, poor interoperability, inefficient

14

management, etc.), it can hardly become an eligible contributor to sustainability (Du et al.,

15

2019).

16

PHC relies on the stable operations of supply chains (Teng and Pan, 2019), which

17

mainly includes building design, prefabricated components (PC) production, logistics, and

18

prefabrication assembly. Moreover, sustainable supply chains are committed to providing

19

shareholders with satisfactory products as well as valuable services in an economized and

20

environmental-friendly manner to meet particular needs (Li et al., 2018). Goedkoop (1999)

21

firstly defined such a proposition as product-service systems (PSS); thereafter, PSS has been

22

extensively regarded as an economic and energy-saving method to realize sustainability (Liu

23

et al., 2018). Recently, emerging information and communication technologies (ICT), for

24

instance, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet-of-

25

Things (IoT), and blockchain, have triggered a promising evolution of PSS, which is known

26

as smart PSS (SPSS) (Valencia et al., 2015). Moreover, the smart connected products (SCP)

27

and its delivered e-services served as the essential constitution of SPSS (Zheng et al., 2018).

28

By transforming from product-centered to service-centered, SPSS will give rise to the next
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generation of ICT-driven productivity growth (Porter et al., 2014). Besides, once products

30

and services are recognized as a bundle, digital services are more capable of satisfying the

31

requirements of shareholders compared to exclusively employing physical products (Zheng et

32

al., 2019a).

33

Specifically, as for PHC, it has several construction sites, long construction cycles, large

34

industrial chains, and various uncertain situations (Araújo et al., 2020), inevitably generating

35

mass data which can be categorized into two types: shareholder-generated and product-

36

generated (Zheng et al., 2018). Shareholder-generated data are mainly stemmed from mutual

37

communication among designers, producers, transporters, and assemblers, while product-

38

generated data can be regarded as its status information captured by machines from particular

39

stages. However, owing to the lack of practical approach to fully utilize plentiful data, even

40

worse, fragmentation of information frequently can hinder collaboration in the supply chain.

41

As a result, the conventional PHC faces several challenges in weak interaction and smart

42

decision-making (Tao et al., 2019). Besides, the PHC supply chain is a network of cross-

43

echelon organizations that are connected by information, material, services, product flows,

44

and capital flows among stakeholders (Gao and Tian, 2020); thus, making reliable products

45

and value-added digital services as a bundle is paramount (Zheng et al., 2019b).

46

As a result, it is feasible to realize the promotion of PHC based on SPSS. PCs can be

47

regarded as SCP. Integrated ICT enables various shareholders to acquire SCP status data on a

48

real-time basis while connecting diverse stages, responding promptly to disturbing incidents,

49

and realizing the reduction of energy consumption. Nevertheless, the application of SPSS has

50

been embraced in manufacturing industries (e.g., smart devices, machine tools, etc.). Scarcely

51

related works demonstrate the connection between SPSS and the construction industry (PHC

52

particularly), and very few works of literature concentrate on how services and products can

53

be integrated as a bundle to fulfill users’ specialized needs. Furthermore, the platform-based

54

approach was considered as a fundamental method to leverage the value of SPSS (Thomas et

55

al., 2014), and diverse PHC stages should be centralized to make the supply chain more

56

resilient, which also shows inadequate support in the literature.

57

To address the given limitations, this article develops an intelligent platform based on
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inclusive technologies, incorporating CPS, IoT, BIM, and blockchain for SPSS innovation in

59

PHC. The research objectives are: (1) to develop a smart platform to gather, process,

60

communicate, and leverage information through the lifecycle of PHC; (2) to employ

61

blockchain- and IoT-based, BIM- and CPS-enabled platform to facilitate the real-time

62

management of PHC supply chain; (3) to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of

63

the proposed platform based on SPSS approach with the practical application.

64

The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents a holistic review

65

of related works. In Section 3, we illustrate the architecture of the platform. Then, we

66

introduce the function development of the platform in Section 4, followed by a real-life case

67

study that employs the proposed platform based on SPSS in Sections 5. The conclusions and

68

directions for future research are summarized in Sections 6.

69

2. Related works

70

2.1 Prefabricated housing construction

71

PHC, with its generally recognized benefits of standardized production, associated services,

72

and energy-saving construction, has been regarded as an eligible contributor to handling

73

various building challenges (Teng et al., 2018). Compared to cast-in-situ techniques

74

characterized by dense scaffolds, dusty installation, wet working, formwork systems, and

75

massive demolition waste, PHC aims to transfer as many on-site construction components as

76

possible to manufacturing factories under standard regulations and controllable production

77

patterns (Li et al., 2020). As a result, the advantages include, but are not limited to,

78

construction cost and time savings, enhanced quality, safe and manageable working

79

environment, and decreased construction waste and energy consumption (Li et al., 2017).

80

PHC appears to be significant to integrated manufacturing, which not only requires large

81

investments and long construction periods but also has a large group of suppliers and

82

subcontractors (Li et al., 2020). Governments have taken a positive attitude toward

83

formulating strategies and policies to support the implementation of prefabricated buildings.

84

In reality, some countries and regions, such as Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong,
3

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benefited from PHC as it addresses the limited on-site construction environment, labor

86

shortage, and resource scarcity (Arashpour et al., 2016).

87

Thus, the adoption of PHC is promising. Therefore, it is indispensable to pay more

88

attention to handling complex supply chain management (SCM) in PHC. The concept of

89

SCM was introduced in the construction industry from the manufacturing industry in the

90

1980s (Segerstedt et al., 2010). The scope of supply chain collaboration has been divided into

91

horizontal and vertical partnerships (Barratt and Oliveira, 2001). As the scale of PHC

92

continues to expand, information integration and technology sharing become key processes in

93

SCM. The application of SCM is hindered by several factors. For instance, the on-site and

94

off-site working sites of PHC are separate, and suppliers are often not involved in PCs’

95

design (Turken and Geda, 2020), leading to delivery delays, schedule extensions, disorderly

96

on-site processes, and vague client demands (Arashpour et al., 2016). Researchers described

97

the complexity of PHCSCM in the following ways: (1) a longer chain caused by two or more

98

production environments, including factory and site; (2) additional predesign works due to

99

the completion of PCs ahead of time; (3) more extended error correction periods; and (4)

100

higher requirements for dimensional accuracy (Koskela, 2003). Nevertheless, the actual

101

deployment and implementation of PHC are still facing challenges. Since they lack an

102

effective way for nodes to participate in a dynamic supply chain collaboration, the benefits of

103

PHC remain rhetorical (Du et al., 2019).

104

2.2 Blockchain for IoT and CPS

105

The CPS initially resulted from the intersection between physical devices and intangible

106

Internet (Alippi and Ozawa, 2019), which enables tangible devices to realize precious

107

communication, remote coordination, and intelligent, sophisticated control. CPS and IoT

108

share the same goal, which aims at seamlessly integrating cyber and physical worlds (Tao et

109

al., 2019). CPS offers a comprehensive and interactive structure that consists of various ICT

110

to satisfy its original requirements; simultaneously, IoT and BIM can be integrated into

111

detailed application of CPS. Additionally, in PHC, construction data can be captured by

112

monitoring instruments instantly and uploaded to the cyber sections for subsequent analysis

113

and utilization (Zhou et al., 2019b); thus, real-time management and intelligent information
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interaction can be achieved. However, with CPS was interconnected in networks, data storage

115

inevitably faced unpredictable security vulnerabilities and privacy risks (Li et al., 2020). To

116

address these defects, the consensus-driven and decentralized blockchain technology and the

117

combination of cryptographic processes behind it could provide a useful alternative (Tao et

118

al., 2018).

119

Blockchain is an innovative computer technology application model with distributed

120

storage, point-to-point (P2P) transmission, consensus mechanism, and encryption algorithm

121

(Lee, 2019). On the one hand, blockchain can play an important role in secure

122

decentralization; the ledger is distributed across every single node in the blockchain who are

123

the participants, thus allowing for verification without the necessity of third-parties.

124

Therefore, in SPSS, the data structure in a blockchain is append-only, and it is impossible to

125

alter or delete data without every node permission (Peck and Moore, 2017). On the other

126

hand, since the transactions are preciously recorded in chronological order, consequently,

127

every block is time-stamped, and it can be tracked along the chain to its point of origin (Liu

128

et al., 2020). Meanwhile, all businesses can pre-set conditions on the blockchain, which

129

facilitate customers easily involved in the SPSS chains (Feng et al., 2020). The most common

130

blockchain types include public, private, and consortium blockchains (Feng et al., 2020).

131

Apart from its wide adoption in intellectual finance, digital insurance, and smart logistics

132

(Liu et al., 2020), there are three categories in construction practices (Peck and Moore, 2017),

133

namely, (1) notarization-related applications to reduce the time for authenticating documents;

134

(2) transaction-related applications to facilitate automated procurement and payment; and (3)

135

provenance-related applications to improve the transparency and traceability of construction

136

supply chains. It is believed that blockchain constructs an internal link with IoT and CPS

137

regarding various functions, e.g., for monitoring assets, sensing certain features, and

138

actuating particular actions (Lee, 2019). As shown in Fig. 1, for instance, several nodes (PHC

139

shareholders) are pre-established for recording; after passing the on-chain verification step,

140

unprecedented security benefits are brought due to its distributed storage, encrypted

141

transmission, and reliable security. The exploitation of blockchain in the realm of IoT and

142

CPS—and future ICT infrastructure in general—has the potential to enable various
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capabilities and use cases in those systems (Feng et al., 2020).

144

145

146

Fig. 1. The procedure of blockchain-based information and service exchange

2.3 A smart product-service system for sustainability

147

PSS, referring to the combination of valuable services, physical products, and

148

associations of participants, has been deemed an efficacious method to enhance customer

149

satisfaction and mitigate environmental impacts (Goedkoop, 1999). With the advancement of

150

intelligent technology, SCPs played a fundamental role in digitalization services, which aim

151

at making the PSS smarter, i.e., an SPSS (Valencia et al., 2015). The SPSS exceedingly

152

counts on the connectivity and digitalization of the SCP (Liu et al., 2018); however, given

153

that ICTs are embedded within the SCP itself rather than as simple additions to the previous

154

PSS, it is a conjoined bundle to satisfy individual shareholders’ requests for co-creation of

155

value (Zheng et al., 2019a). Zheng and Wang (2019b) classified an SPSS into three levels: 1)

156

the product-service level, where the SCP is employed as a sole scheme for customer

157

requirements; 2) the system-level, where shareholders are integrated into the platform-based

158

systems to realize optimal value co-creation via seamless collaboration and prompt

159

interaction; and 3) the system-of-systems level, from the perspective of an ecosystem, which

160

overcomes the limits of an individual SPSS and further connects interrelated systems to
6

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achieve more significant impacts. No matter which level, it is generally recognized that an

162

SPSS is beneficial for sustainability (Reim et al., 2015). For enterprises, ICT facilitates them

163

to gather data and effectively optimize their response strategies, thereby reducing energy

164

consumption (Zheng et al., 2019a). For clients, they are no longer passively involved in the

165

process of value generation; reversely, shareholders are contributing to the active co-creation

166

of value for personalized servitization (Valencia et al., 2015). Hence, the SPSS and its

167

extensive applications have been embraced in smart manufacturing, for instance, shaft

168

manufacturing (Tao et al., 2018), smart water dispensers (Zheng et al., 2019a), or wearable

169

masks (Zheng et al., 2018). Nevertheless, the construction industry, which ranks the top in

170

energy consumption, rarely developed a holistic design for SPSS innovation in detail; where

171

the PC can serve as SCP in PHC, real-time data can be collected by CPS, where every

172

shareholder can be coordinated via platform-based systems and escalate to a smarter, greener,

173

more energy-efficient construction style. As depicted in Fig. 2, the design, production,

174

transportation, and assembly of PHC used to be islands of information that are now integrated

175

through a platform based on SPSS.

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Fig. 2. Evolution of SCM through the platform based on SPSS

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3. Architecture of the intelligent platform

179

A platform-based system was proposed, and BIM, CPS, IoT, and blockchain were

180

incorporated jointly to foster mutual collaboration and data exchange services sustainably to

181

fill the mentioned gaps. Detailed operation and security structures are illustrated in this

182

section.
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3.1 Platform operating structure

184

As illustrated, a platform-based model is indispensable to reach the SPSS implementation

185

(Cenamor et al., 2017), yet conventional PHC management systems have always employed

186

temporary project departments for project construction management; thus, the management

187

of each PHC phase can be readily separated, coordinated management will be more laborious

188

to realize, information islands will be generated inevitably, and the project’s progress, quality,

189

risk, and fund-tracking will be arduous to control. Therefore, considering the characteristics

190

of PHC, PCs are highly adopted as SCP in the product-synergic platform that leverage edge

191

technologies to present modular interactions and overcome these crucial defects.

192

The operation structure of the platform is depicted in Fig. 3 for SPSS innovation, which

193

can be divided into four levels, namely, the sensing layer (SCPs-gathering), intelligence layer

194

(data-interacting), big data processing layer (cloud-computing), and application layer (value-

195

delivering). Hence, collaboration is facilitated by removing barriers among the various PHC

196

parities.

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Application layer
Project
Management

BIM
Model

Production
Management

ssembly
nagement

Transportation
Management

APP
nagement

Professional
Knowledge Base

Big-data processing layer
Information Interaction

...

Blockchain Authorization

Cloud platform

...

IoT Feedback

Data Computing

Intelligence layer
Issue a Smart Contract

Security

Task Completed
Block n-1

Block n

Block n+1

BC
IP(n-1)

Timestamp

Traceability

AD1

...

Merkle Root

ADn

Multi-source
heterogeneous
data cleaning

Real-time
data tracking

IoT

Information

Multi-source
information
fusion

Sensing layer
Adapter

Design
Source

CPS devices

Production
Source

Logistics
Source

Assembly
Source
AD

197

Authorization node

Fig. 3. Operation structure of the platform for SPSS services innovation

198

199

Pre-processing

3.1.1 Sensing layer

200

A sensing layer is responsible for accurately identifying and gathering adequate data

201

from diverse providers, which is a key section of the ultimate service innovation. In PHC, the

202

prime data collected by SCPs originate from stakeholders (information upload), PC (status

203

monitor), and materials (consumption reading). In the process of system management and

204

control, this layer will conduct comprehensive data collection and management on project
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safety, quality, schedule, and other aspects.

206

3.1.2 Intelligence layer

207

The intelligence layer that embodies the core value of the platform is mainly supported

208

by IoT and blockchain technologies and serves as the bridge between the interface and data

209

access layers. Hence, each system requires a reliable infrastructure to operate. Blockchain is

210

capable of supporting the coordinated operation of information collection, transmission, and

211

communication, and it provides a reliable basis for synergy. This layer implements the

212

business logic and concentrates on the formulation of business rules or organizations;

213

meanwhile, it provides support for the subsequent implementation of the system structure,

214

where the database that is developed between elements allows autonomous interchanging and

215

efficient exertion.

216

3.1.3 Big data processing layer

217

The big data processing layer involves computing diversified data from various

218

providers, including primary documents, BIM, and schedules. The massive data stored in the

219

database are submitted to the business layer. In contrast, the data processed by the business

220

layer are interconnected and load back to the blockchain-encrypted database. Users’

221

requirements are reflected in the application layer, which can simultaneously forward to the

222

intelligent layer and realize an interactive response eventually. The data layer carries out data

223

operations and then returns these data one by one to the specific users, thus achieving

224

centralized and orderly management of data in the distributed system. This layer assesses and

225

refines real-time data to maintain efficient connectivity; additionally, by refreshing the data

226

and revising the analysis as needed, the collaboration of stakeholders meets the promotion.

227

3.1.4 Application layer

228

The application layer involves the application of relevant data for business management

229

by diverse stakeholders. In the user interaction interface, this layer receives the data input by

230

the user and then displays the data after sophisticated processing. According to the level and

231

identity of users, the system then offers different access interfaces and assigns corresponding
10

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functions or data permissions. The shareholders, including the owner (e.g., government),

233

design, production, transportation, and construction units, are integrated into the application

234

layer. In addition, the application layer is also mainly responsible for the appropriate,

235

accurate, and comprehensive management of the engineering process, receiving timely

236

engineering instructions from the upper layer and offering timely feedback to ensure the

237

convenient application of services for the system users. The integrated structure of the

238

platform can realize rapid information feedback, which greatly enhances the resilience of the

239

PHC supply chain.

240

3.2 Platform security structure

241

As cash flow and data exchange are generally performed to the accompaniment of project

242

progress, it is commonly recognized that inconsistent provision terms, unauthentic

243

supervision, and unveracious data will lead to inevitable disputes and lawsuits on information

244

confidence and trustworthy resources (Yang et al., 2020), especially in the PHC whose

245

procedures are decentralized. The off-site and discontinuous characteristics of the PHC

246

supply chains match the distribution of blockchains well (Shojaei, 2019). Therefore,

247

blockchain is employed to develop a more open, trackable, and transparent method to

248

validate and guarantee the reliability of data throughout the supply chain.

249

3.2.1 Data security

250

The blockchain is a mode of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), where all the

251

business processes are verified and digitized. It is a distributed network where no trusted

252

authority is needed to maintain the verification of relevant parties. Instead, the cryptographic

253

block can be chained once its authority is confirmed, and every transaction is visible to the

254

connected blocks, meaning shareholders of the PHC are accessible to track construction

255

history and check the recorded data conveniently. In PHC, there are four main data sources,

256

namely, design stage, production stage, logistics stage, and assembly stage. The prime data

257

collected by SCPs are from stakeholders (information upload), PC (status monitor), and

258

materials (consumption reading) during these four stages, and then the relevant data will be

259

encrypted and uploaded. As opposed to centralized architectures, various monitoring and
11

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decision schemes based on blockchains should be more scalable than conventional ones.

261

Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the stakeholders in each stage of PHC upload encrypted data

262

after completing data collection and processing, and secure data transmissions are conducted

263

in the blockchains.

264

Without the consent of all the relevant personnel, all parties are incapable of modifying

265

data but can view and utilize data within their respective authorities, thereby enhancing the

266

credibility of generated data in PHC.

267

268

269

Fig. 4. Encryption mechanism of the platform with blockchain adoption

3.2.2 Application security

270

Blockchain is hack-resistant, tamper-proof, and immutable due to its distributed ledger

271

and network verification process (Min, 2019). It is believed that projects can benefit from a

272

more decentralized and agile approach where transparency is high, and various parties can be

273

compensated for outcomes, as well as for work performed. The detailed value of application

274

security is revealed below.

275

276

1) Smart contracts. For dealing with poor payment and execution issues in PHC, a
blockchain-based and self-executed contract is adopted in the platform, where clauses and
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rules are embedded originally, and cryptographic matters are settled to alleviate the defects

278

caused by delayed payments and fallacious performance.

279

2) Information storage. Sustainability, as a critical goal of the proposed platform, cannot

280

be realized if information sharing is absent. The blockchain enables massive construction

281

data to be stored reasonably; in other words, a wide range of information can be utilized in a

282

traceable, secure, and sustainable way due to its highly reliable database.

283

3)Supply chain management. Traceability and trackability act as fundamental roles in

284

SCM. In the blockchain of the platform, suppliers and clients can verify mutual immutable

285

qualifications and track previous records through the supply chain for value co-creation (see

286

Fig. 5). Meanwhile, specific products/services can be monitored in real-time, which facilitate

287

the smart management of the PHC.

288

289

290

291

Fig. 5. Blockchain-based pattern for value co-creation

4. Function development of the intelligent platform
4.1 The overview of the platform function
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The platform function development serves as the fundamental level of SPSS value co-

293

creation. Fig. 6 depicts the overview of the workflow of each stage in this intelligent

294

platform, where the detailed functions are preciously corresponding to specific needs.

295

Especially, the critical function of the platform can be observed in three aspects: 1) Effective

296

information interaction, 2) Real-time monitoring management, and 3) Adequate decision

297

support. This research strives to tackle the conventional challenges of PHC.

298

299

300

301

Fig. 6. Flowchart of the intelligent platform based on the typical PHC

1)Effective information interaction. There is no doubt that discontinuity disturbs every
chief manager of different PHC phases. Most shareholders in construction are relatively
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independent, so it is significant to offer a bridge that can capture useful data effectively and

303

then share it in a convenient manner. In this platform, CPS devices collect first-level

304

information, and after sophisticated computing, corresponding data are automatically

305

transformed to specific stakeholders. Its database is built on blockchain technology, which

306

not only contains the principle PHC codes and standards but also gathers valuable data in

307

project management. Consequently, value-added services are easy to provide by integrating

308

massive information from PHC’s lifecycle. As for the executives, the PHC’s status,

309

schedules, plans implementation, and investments are statistically analyzed, and the

310

production management system provides products-services-bundle solutions to the particular

311

department. Apart from that, this system presents the detailed BIM models through the

312

lifecycle of PHC to assist users in inspecting the position of PCs, mastering the model

313

characteristics, and facilitating the integration and standardized management of PHC.

314

2) Real-time monitoring management. It is believed that timely data collection leads to

315

reasonable management under uncertain circumstances. The instant and reliable acquisition

316

of information will offer sufficient support to the supervisors. In this platform, aiming to

317

realize the management of PC status and data statistics, essential information, including the

318

project schedules, usage of funds, comparative analysis of various PC projects, and decisions

319

related to macroeconomic regulation, is uploaded into the system in real time to assist SCM.

320

Moreover, every component can be traced, where unique QR codes are generated for each

321

one, thus realizing substantial identification. The designed BIM lightweight architectural

322

models are browsed to help users monitor the project progress intuitively. Associated with the

323

monitoring section, mobile apps are developed to ensure the traceability of PCs at any time,

324

enhance management efficiency, reduce management costs, promote synergy, and limit

325

information losses. As can be seen from Fig. 7, this system uses Cordova technology, which

326

can bring out several advantages in the mobile platform. In detail, Cordova is an open-access

327

mobile development framework with little need for platform-specific development. Thus, it is

328

convenient to run on as many different mobile operating systems as possible to realize the

329

rapid development of cross-platform mobile applications, and it is also compatible with iOS

330

and Android applications. On the other hand, the execution of Cordova relies on standard15

331

compliant API bindings to access each device’s capabilities; therefore, modifying the as-

332

built platform at a lower level is less laborious. As a consequence, the PC production data,

333

assembly sequence, and time requirements are obtained to facilitate warehousing and

334

distribution.

335

336

Fig. 7. Diagram of the Cordova technical scheme

337

3) Adequate decision support. Every scientific, reasonable, and smart decision requires

338

plentiful support in various aspects (Wang et al., 2020). It is crucial for decision-makers to

339

acquire adequate assistance under a dynamic environment (Badi and Murtagh, 2019) in the

340

case of management failure. However, unforeseen disturbances occur frequently in PHC that

341

hamper the timely detection of changes and quick response to emergencies. In this platform,

342

the decision cockpit is involved, where vivid visualization of the project can assist decision-

343

making. Specifically, statistics of PC distribution, completion, implementation, and

344

investment are accurately revealed, and the diverse components’ statuses are represented in

345

visualization with unique colors. In mobile apps (see Fig. 8), this visualization displays the

346

installation progress of the PCs in real time and verifies the rationality of the construction
16

347

process; meanwhile, the warehousing information is transferred to the platform, and other

348

personnel can check the status of the PCs through a mobile app, which facilitates more

349

dynamic inventory management. In addition to the real-time traffic information and transport

350

requirements of components available on the platform, the verification results of installation

351

are also revealed intuitively, and the platform can instruct workers on proper assembly if an

352

error occurs.

a. Login in

b. QR codes scanning

c. Browsing models

d. Reading details of scanned PCs
353

354

Fig. 8. The service-oriented process of data collection by mobile apps

355

4.2 Specialized innovation of servitization system

356

As there are many links involved in PHC, each link of its supply chain may be affected by

357

disruptions, resulting in depressed reliability. Moreover, given the continually evolving nature
17

358

of supply chains, our goal is to more fully address supply chain resilience and develop a

359

strategic understanding of PHC demands and supply networks to formulate feasible

360

strategies. Therefore, from the perspective of value co-creation, an innovative combination of

361

cutting-edge technologies is adopted in this platform, and a responsive mechanism is also

362

configured to coordinate the intrinsic requirements of shareholders and dynamic needs by

363

reacting to instant variability, thereby fulfilling sustainability.

364

1) Intelligent clauses. With the implementation of blockchain, it is plausible to form a

365

smart contract, which is a coded, self-executing agreement between PHC parties on a

366

blockchain. It is intended to facilitate, verify, or enforce contractual obligations by

367

embedding contractual clauses in the computer system and then automating contract

368

execution (Min, 2019). Thus, smart contracts not only make stipulations and criteria based on

369

agreements in the same way that a conventional deal does, but they also enforce those

370

obligations automatically. As consequences, expenditure and transaction time can be reduced

371

since smart contracts can execute themselves. Also, by incorporating IoT into the blockchain,

372

contractual fraud will be easily detected and prevented, thus making the PHC supply chain

373

more resilient. In the platform, with the utilization of smart contracts, it is feasible that the

374

system identifies accountabilities and trigger milestone-based payments could automate

375

agreements; simultaneously, blockchain-enabled applications that aggregate data into a

376

shared project management dashboard could help to manage PHC workflow.

377

2) Flexible production. The platform establishes a database of PCs and conducts

378

classified management to realize accurate control of inventory demand and supply situation

379

in the upstream and downstream of the PHC supply chain so as to adjust the PC production

380

volume flexibly. Our platform mainly includes: (1) establishing a safety reserve of different

381

types of PCs, which can act as a buffer in the event of an interruption, giving the supply chain

382

time to take action to recover. (2) Maintaining additional production capacity, the

383

standardized production of PCs enables them to obtain supplies from multiple sources and

384

increases the level of inventory sharing with other locations. The platform could ensure the

385

continuous production capacity of PCs through the implementation of information sharing

386

with multiple manufacturers through the database, thus readily achieving smarter decision18

387

388

making.
3) Smart transportation. Driver, transportation speed, and route are the significant factors

389

affecting the resilience in the transportation stage. The platform is capable of managing the

390

driver’s information and physical status, providing intelligent automatic scheduling to

391

respond to emergencies timely. Besides, vehicle statuses (including speed and position) are

392

monitored during the whole process to avoid the subsequent construction delay caused by

393

improper vehicle operation. As far as the transport route is concerned, if problems occur in

394

the current path, it will automatically switch to another reasonable one to ensure

395

transportation efficiency.

396

4) Wise construction. If an installation or on-site construction problem happens, the

397

platform will conduct a simulation inspection and identify its source timely, effectively

398

formulating solutions to cope with unexpected risks. Additionally, its intelligent scheduling

399

system is capable of stimulating the productivity of labor forces, explore workers’ motivation,

400

and effectively reduce the idling of workers. The precise auxiliary installation function of the

401

platform helps workers to accomplish the accurate installation of every signal PC, which also

402

maximizes the cooperative work of various types of workers.

403

19

404

5. Practical application of the intelligent platform

405

5.1 Description of the case study from Shenzhen

406

As the first EPC project in Shenzhen, China, the BaoLan Community is a government-funded

407

indemnification housing project with a total construction area of 253,500 m2 and 1,622

408

houses that are divided into eight buildings. Given that the construction time of the project

409

matches the research plan and the project party was willing to use the platform to examine the

410

efficiency, this project (simplified overview see Fig. 9) was selected as a practical case to

411

demonstrate that the SPSS approach was applicable in the construction industry. To collect

412

relevant information, the research team has arranged a series of site visits and meetings with

413

concerned shareholders, including owners, manufacturers, transportation personnel,

414

engineers, and workers, to test the efficiency of the intelligent platform. The project BIM

415

models are automatically analyzed and uploaded to the intelligent platform after lightweight

416

processing, and the project data are automatically gathered and uploaded in real-time.

417

418

Fig. 9. Practical case of PHC in a simplified illustration

419

5.2 Functional operation of the platform

420

5.2.1 Project management service
20

421

PHC supply chains evolve so rapidly that sustainability requires continuous collaboration

422

with stakeholders and reviewing and refining data. In this case, with the utilization of the

423

platform, smart contracts are formed through the blockchain, and the integrity of information

424

transfers made by the agreement will be improved with a shared database confirmed by many

425

network shareholders. It is guaranteed that the retrieved data are not corrupted or altered after

426

recording as they can only be read and written by querying and retrieval. Any other

427

operations, such as revision or deletion, are strictly prohibited. The project participants

428

(owner, designer, component producer, transporter, and assembler) use their respective

429

enterprise accounts to log into the platform, and each group has a unique set of system

430

operation rights. Besides, the management cockpit generates statistics on the component

431

distribution, plan implementation, and investment status in each stage. As shown in Fig. 10,

432

the data penetration function is also used to generate real-time components and statistical

433

charts to simplify the operational interface and ensure the richness of the data services.

434

Moreover, in extreme events, supply chains will not always be resilient. For example,

435

disasters can destroy nodes, separate demand from sources of supply, destroy road networks,

436

or create long-term disruption. Due to various impediments that are predictable, with the

437

application of the platform, each stakeholder can view real-time information about the

438

components, from their design to their installation, and receive visual assistance for the

439

subsequent control, operation, and maintenance processes. In addition, the system also

440

provides solutions for managers in each stage and allows them to inspect data related to

441

project progress and costs that can help them further understand the manufacturing and

442

construction details. By widening the scope of distribution nodes through the platform,

443

administrators can obtain a broader picture of the PHC supply chain. An expanded

444

understanding of the multitude of information provides more robust resilience efforts.

445

21

a. Cockpit of project management
b. Detailed data penetration function

446

447

448

449

Fig. 10. Project management and data penetration function

5.2.2 BIM model management service
The BIM model has a huge data volume; for instance, a model of a civil structure curtain

450

wall with a floor area of 300 thousand m2 consumes 1.7 Gb. In this case, direct transmission

451

resulting in a large amount of data corresponds to poor efficiency and high hardware

452

equipment and network bandwidth requirements. Therefore, a lightweight BIM model is

453

indispensable. Targeted data compression and reduction techniques can reduce the original
22

454

model size by approximately 85%. Besides, this technique also allows the BIM model to

455

move from traditional desktop software to web and mobile terminals without being limited by

456

the browser. Additionally, the combination of BIM and CPS technology transfers the needs of

457

parties from offline to online applications, which enhances the resilience of the BIM

458

application significantly.

459

In this project, after receiving necessary project information, the design unit starts to

460

design and typeset the model before uploading the model files into the system. By lightening

461

the model, the system automatically reads the contents of the data and sends them to the

462

stakeholders in the other stages for subsequent works. In the model management service of

463

the platform, the BIM model can be browsed (see Fig. 11) by a single building, floor,

464

component type, component multi-level, and multi-perspective using Internet Explorer and a

465

mobile app. Meanwhile, viewing the model of the project can visualize and monitor the real-

466

time progress of the construction. Furthermore, different colors represent the various states of

467

each component. For instance, transparency indicates that the component is assembled,

468

whereas red color indicates that the component has not been produced. In the real-time

469

visualization of project progress, when a user clicks a floor in the BIM model, he or she can

470

obtain detailed information about its components, including design, status, schedule, and cost.

471

472

473

Fig. 11. Function for progress and details visualization

5.2.3 Production management service
23

474

Production management service aims to fulfill the smart production by employing CPS

475

and IoT, which involve production component state, production schedule, production

476

execution, and production investment. In the blockchain, each stage of a sub-contract takes

477

the form of an intelligent contract, which can be converted into programs and codes, then

478

copied and stored in the processing system, and monitored by the system network running

479

blockchain. Consequently, the bill of quantities and BIM model of PCs, which act as the

480

fundamental performers to resources organization, can be obtained to ensure a smooth

481

production process.

24

Production Plan Development

Inputting production plan

Automatic scheduling

Inputting delivery plan

Real-time Execution

Progress Statistics

Import components status

Completion Statistics

Delivery plan establishment

Cost Statistics

482

483

484

Fig. 12. Working logic of production management service

Furthermore, once production nodes are exposed to various disturbances, recovering to a

485

reasonable running level to meet fundamental manufacturing requirements in the immediate

486

repercussions should be prioritized in production-involved supply chains. As depicted in Fig.

487

12, the planned and actual statuses are reviewed in each phase of the project; by clicking the

488

cost statistics line graph of a node at a certain period, it displays detailed information,

489

including the current sub-item investment proportion and total funds used. Once production is
25

490

completed, the platform generates QR codes correspondingly, where each component

491

associated with these QR codes can be uniquely identified. In the blockchain, the unique QR

492

codes on each PC makes it permanently traceable, and it is also used for construction

493

guidance. The production progress of components can be visually displayed by using BIM

494

technology, the production of components is tracked and managed by QR codes, and the

495

production information, current status (unscheduled, to be produced, in production, and

496

completed) of components are recorded, thereby providing solutions for the production

497

department. If any disturbances occur, taking the supplier’s inability to produce on time as an

498

example, alternative vendors can support them quickly due to every supplier being

499

centralized in the platform’s standard BIM database. Just-in-time resupply adaptability may

500

mitigate short-term breaks in the supply chain.

501

5.2.4 Transportation management service

502

In SPSS, transportation acts as a key player in connecting supply and construction

503

nodes, realizing a transparent, sustainable, and efficient status-data flow among them. To

504

effectively execute logistics planning, the platform should examine known and potential

505

hazards plotted along the supply chain, alternate routes, and any known transportation

506

restrictions. As a vivid illustration of Fig. 13, after receiving the orders, the delivery schedule

507

and driver-apportion can proceed automatically; real-time monitoring is also realized on the

508

whole transportation stage. Moreover, the unloading of machinery, movement of vehicles

509

within and outside the route, and location of the stacking site can be planned to avoid vehicle

510

congestion and other problems. As drivers often rely heavily on information technology and

511

communications to direct their movements and deliveries, the merit of intermodal

512

transportation networks is that traffic requirement can be shared and transferred from one

513

scheme to another if disruption happens (Zhou et al., 2019a).

514

The continually evolving nature of supply chains means the data captured throughout

515

this process can change quickly. In this stage, blockchains can be used to prevent security

516

flaws while enhancing transportation connectivity and delivery services. Besides, the

517

platform can produce real-time statistics on the investments in the transportation stage and

518

visualize the costs. If the funds of transportation components show a wider margin of
26

519

variation, the platform will urge managers to conduct inspections and make appropriate

520

adjustments. Additionally, the components may be damaged due to the bumping of vehicles

521

and other inappropriate operation in the moving processes. Information and images (e.g.,

522

components status, driver information, routes) are stored, thus the causes of such problems

523

and the responsible persons can be traced through the system immediately.

Inputting orders

Transportation scheduling

Real-time monitoring

Task scheduling

Task execution

524

525

526

527

Fig. 13. Workflow of transportation management service

5.2.5 On-site assembly management service
As depicted in Fig. 14, the developed on-site assembly service plays a significant role in

528

construction operations, inspections, and supervision in PHC sites. For construction

529

operations, when the PCs are transported to the sites, the on-site manager launches the QR

530

code scanning function to complete the warehousing registration. The platform is used to

531

realize the optimal assignment of assembly tasks by allocating them to appropriate workers;

532

thus, workforce management and effective construction can be optimized immensely. For

533

inspections, given that the diversity and complexity of PCs may enable workers to install

534

them in the wrong place or in an inappropriate manner, this platform can offer useful
27

535

instruction through mobile apps while detailed information is embedded in QR codes.

536

Moreover, inspection after assembly can be conducted in meters by GPS, which ensures

537

individual deviation incapable of exceeding the reasonable tolerance. For supervision, order

538

databases, including production orders from factories and delivery orders from transportation

539

firms, are connected to this system; thus, dynamic coordination can be achieved due to real-

540

time data collection through QR code scanning by workers. In addition, with the utilization of

541

BIM, reality presentation is realized to monitor and visualize real-time construction progress,

542

thereby reducing schedule delay. Such hazardous behaviors can be recognized and alerted

543

prior to happening. Therefore, every involved shareholder can be aware of the ongoing

544

construction status and make corporate modifications or decisions collaboratively. As a

545

consequence, if sudden risks disturb the PHC supply chain, it will be more resilient in

546

coordinating emergency preparedness plans and actions.

28

On-site assembly management

Assembly confirmation

On-site model visualization

Quality inspection

547

548

549

Fig. 14. Operation logic of on-site assembly management service

5.2.6 Knowledge management service

550

The PHC needs to go through multiple stages, and the engineering data is gradually

551

clarified and detailed through each of these stages, thereby generating a large amount of data.

552

Moreover, large-scale disruptions can significantly diminish effective information

553

transmission; hence, considering the utilization of blockchain, the data in the base is strictly

554

encrypted and guaranteed to be authentic, which not only promotes the value of data sharing

555

in the supply chain but also improves the ability to resist risks in the SCM. The database must

556

maintain data integrity so as to authentically notify various shareholders on the progress and

557

any existing problems or obstacles; in this case, the engineering database allows temporary,
29

558

inconsistent data to exist and be managed. As illustrated in Fig. 15, the knowledge base

559

provides various collection, maintenance, and retrieval functions for relevant materials,

560

including the production and installation of components, process methodologies, and

561

technical standards, where concerning staff could consult its relevant expertise to alleviate a

562

lack of valuable information in an emergency.

Project information database

Model information database

563

Fig. 15. Data and knowledge service for value sharing

564

565

566

5.3 Discussions
Reviewing the practical implementations of an SPSS approach in the case study, the

567

main benefits of the proposed platform can be summarized as follows. 1) Sustainability

568

enhancement, where the platform can be seamlessly integrated with the PHC supply chain to

569

enable the sharing and synchronization of information throughout the lifecycle. Specifically,

570

no matter which phase encounters unexpected interruption, the platform is committed to

571

alleviating the effects of disruptions and avoiding long-term failures. 2) Lean construction, by

572

utilizing blockchain in addition to realizing the traceability of PCs, performs classification

573

authority and security assurance based on the smart contract. 3) Timely interaction and

574

convenient access. With the real-time feedback and visualization achieved in the platform,

575

real-time costs in every stage can be visualized to help the relevant staff in making the

576

appropriate modifications. Furthermore, it is feasible to identify any current or potential

577

barriers, such as schedule delays, labor shortages, or incorrect installation.

578

However, several problems are encountered when actually using the platform. Firstly,
30

579

the capacity issue must be considered, as operating multiple projects at the same time may

580

limit the server capacity. Secondly, the QR codes may fail to respond in harsh conditions,

581

even though production factories have tried to protect the tags. Finally, as PHC involves

582

various stakeholders, only by enabling all personnel to use the platform quite proficiently can

583

the platform play its superior role to the maximum.

584

6. Conclusion

585

The recent years witnessed the booming development of ICT, which motivated the

586

construction industry to explore the profound revolution in a sustainable manner. PHC cannot

587

serve as an eligible contributor unless alleviating the absence of process continuity, poor

588

interoperability among heterogeneous stakeholders, insufficient visibility, and traceability of

589

real-time information. With the adoption of the SPSS strategy, a blockchain- and IoT-based,

590

BIM- and CPS-enabled platform has been exploited to intensify the sustainability of PHC.

591

The major contributions can be summarized into three aspects:

592

1) The proposed platform has triggered significant leverage of massive data generated

593

from physical instruments and various users by taking original gathering, precious

594

adaptability, refined processing, and intelligent services into the overall consideration. Hence,

595

literal/graph/BIM data are performing as reliable supporters in sustainable PHC.

596

2) The hybrid of ICT has facilitated the smarter decision-making process, where

597

effective real-time monitors in schedule/cost/labor/status are achieved. The prefabricated

598

components are defined as the smart connectivity products in IoT- and CPS-enabled

599

circumstances, while blockchain is favorable to prevent injecting or relaying pernicious

600

information in communication, which better handles the dynamic changes of construction

601

stages.

602

3) The SPSS approach exerted impacts on settling sustainability issues, where

603

shareholders were actively involved in lifecycle value co-creation by offline manners

604

(construction operations) or online channels (platform or mobile apps), and resources. Also,

605

connected services embraced its maximum values in lean construction.
31

606

SPSS is an ecosystem-centric view of open innovation that harnesses edge ICT. As the

607

explorative research, though this proposed platform still in infancy, the feasibility of boosting

608

sustainability based on SPSS innovation has been demonstrated. Open insights and further

609

discussions are invited from researchers. For future studies, the authors recommend the

610

following: 1) from the perspective of interaction, it is relevant to make functional modules

611

more resilient to context-awareness in an autonomous manner, and multiple users and SCPs

612

from other systems can interact closely, where specific needs will be more precisely matched,

613

and 2) from the perspective of value co-creation, since construction and demolition waste still

614

act as major barriers in sustainability, establishing a way to extend the lifespan, improve

615

resource efficiency and circular economy is crucial and imperative.

616

Acknowledgements

617

This research was supported by the Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the

618

Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 18YJCZH090), National Natural Science

619

Foundation of China (Grant No. 71801154 and No. 52078302), National Natural Science

620

Foundation of China (Grant No. 71801159), Science Foundation for Youth Scholars of

621

Shenzhen University under grant 2019070 & 189692, the Natural Science Foundation of

622

Guangdong Province of China (Grant No. 2018A030310534), and the funding support from

623

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (Grant No.

624

JCYJ20190808174409266).

625

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