The non-metallic mineral products industry covers the production of glass, ceramics and clay-based products, cement and concrete, high-purity alumina (HPA) and other products such as quicklime, barite, marble and granite.

The Industrialised Building System (IBS) is how prefabricated buildings are created and put together. It is known by various terms such as pre-fabricated/ pre-fabricated construction, modern method of construction (MMC) and off-site construction. The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) defines IBS as a construction technique in which components are manufactured in a controlled environment (onsite or offsite), transported, positioned and assembled into a structure with minimal additional site work.

Utilising IBS can enhance construction productivity and quality by reducing construction time, lowering overall costs and minimising waste generated on site. Pre-fabricated components are more environmentally-friendly and promote occupational health and safety. 

The Malaysian construction industry is encouraged to adopt digital IBS. The Ministry of Works through CIDB has developed the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP). The CITP aims to make Malaysia’s construction industry robust and globally competitive, with an extensive emphasis being placed on environmental sustainability.

The local construction industry is urged to embrace emerging technologies to increase efficiency, provide visualisation of problem areas and improve construction-planning accuracy. Hence, the Construction Revolution (CR) 4.0 Roadmap was introduced to streamline future programmes related to digitalising the construction industry. This includes the deployment of the Building Information Modelling (BIM).

BIM is a modelling technology and associated set of processes to produce, communicate, analyse and use digital information models throughout the construction project life-cycle. This could potentially save up to 15-20% in terms of time spent during the planning and design stage.