
A study tour on the Industrialized Building System (IBS) was carried out successfully in Guangzhou City Construction College (GZCCC) China, for 7 days from 27 Oct 2019 till 2 Nov 2019. There were 23 participants, 17 Malaysian students, and one student each from Mauritius and 1 Myanmar. The accompanying staffs were the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Science and Technology (FEST), Associate Professor Ir. Mohd Nasir Hussin, Head of Programme (HOP) Civil Engineering and Construction Department, Mr Syed Khairi Syed Abbas and Civil Engineering Laboratory Executive, Mr Muhamad Zuhair Abd Rashid.
The IBS concept is becoming more and more important in the civil and construction industries. Generally, the IBS system has proven to be safer, quicker and more cost effective with better and consistent construction quality compared with the conventional methods. In the Malaysian context, the government has been pushing for IBS to be utilized in both public and private housing developments. It will be good for IUKL staff and students to learn about the IBS from the institutes in China, which are already advanced in this technology. The expertise with the IBS skill set will be in greater demand in the industries. Thus, moving forward, it would be very beneficial for the students to explore developments in this area.