Outlook for the development of modular construction in poland – a case study

Purpose: The paper analyses the residential construction sector in Poland, with a particular focus on single-family housing in Poland regarding the modular and prefabricated house market. The analysis covered the share of the modular and prefabricated house market, construction costs, prefabricate production processes, construction site work, production waste management issues. Design/methodology/approach: The subject of observation and evaluation of the cost level were industry reports, technology block diagrams and price calculations using information provided by the business entity under review. The presentation and detailed analysis of the available data took the form of tables and bar charts, supported with descriptive explanations. The source of information for this study was literature on the subject, statistical data and numerous studies by the Statistics Poland (GUS) and Eurostat, reports in the industry section, an interview with the owner of a construction company, analysis of financial documents provided by the business entity examined, as well as the authors' own observations. The company's characteristics, revenues, costs and sales market were examined. In addition, the machinery and production technology of the examined company were analysed. Findings: The case study is a plant producing houses using prefabricated modules, on whose example the production process of prefabricates and their use in the construction of a residential building was analysed. Examination of the production process enabled detection of the problem of production waste management. The paper presents an overview of the characteristics of the production facility with particular focus on the technological processes. Issues related to the cost of building prefabricated houses were also analysed. Research limitations/implications: The analysis is limited to statistical data and to data provided by one prefabricated house production facility. Keywords: cost, production, modular houses, prefabricated houses, wood waste. Category of the paper: research paper.