Manufactured Housing Construction Value Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

Manufactured houses represent a large proportion of factory-built housing in the United States. There are as many variations in quality of materials used, construction techniques, and installation procedures, as there are manufacturers in this industry. This makes the decision of purchasing, given the variety of homes, difficult for the homebuyer. This study provides a framework for evaluation of manufactured houses based on a defined robust goal of construction (utility) value and utilizes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to transform a qualitative process into a quantitative one. This AHP-based framework will aid manufacturers in determining construction value-adding features that should receive the highest priority such that value is delivered to prospective homeowners. The developed framework is inspired by current thinking in the Lean Construction literature and will especially inform the value generation focus area.