Technical and economical simulation of two roofing construction systems in southeast Mexico

Abstract

The use of prefabrication in construction apparently is not a economic alternative if compared with more labor intensive construction methods in developing countries. This work presents a comparison study between two choices of roofing systems for massively housing construction in southeast Mexico. The traditional labor intensive roofing construction and the prefabricated roofing construction system coded L-18 were modeled using the computer program EzStrobe simulation software. A technical and economical analysis was performed on both construction methods, comparing the relationship between resources, direct cost, and indirect administrative cost. In reference to the direct cost, the prefabricated construction method cost was higher than the traditional method; however, the prefabricated system is capable of adjusting its selling price in the production factory according to a given construction volume.