BIM
The future of the construction industry
Explore Offsite Futures was hailed as a great success by the 250 construction clients , architects , engineers and contractors , who attended the conference held at the NEC , Birmingham last year . The professionals gathered to share their views on how offsite construction technology could play a vital role in the future of the construction industry .
Mark Farmer speaking at EO
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ONE OF THE MANY HIGHLIGHTS of the day was keynote speaker Tom Bloxham MBE , Chairman of Urban Splash , who expressed great support for offsite manufacture and construction . Declaring it as the future of the construction industry , Tom Bloxham , speaking on behalf of Urban Splash , believes that modular construction can improve the quality of housing and bring down the build cost in the long term .
Tom stated : “ Offsite construction is the future and it will change the way we build our homes going forward . Urban Splash wants to work with partners to produce modular homes and , ultimately , we want offsite manufacture to dominate the way we build our homes and apartments and , in turn , generate 70-80 % of our business turnover going forward .”
‘ the issues within the industry are seriosuly impacting every part of the supply chain ’
The afternoon of the seminar , featured second keynote speaker of the day , Mark Farmer , CEO of Cast Consultancy who spoke about his recent government commissioned report titled ‘ The review of the UK construction labour model - Modernise or Die ’. Discussing the report , Mark outlined that for the offsite sector to become a mature market , that is producing in excess of 50,000 residential units per year , it needs be characterised by a diverse supply market , have major private investment , in order to capitalise , and support research and development . All whilst it is supported by government policy and intervention . However , Mark stated that the industry needs an evidence backed benefits case for clients to choose , which is underpinned by cost , time and quality to lead to maturity .
Mark explained his review : “ The traditional industry has fallen over , it has become completely dysfunctional and the issues within the industry are seriously impacting every part of the supply chain . The advent of the pre-manufacturing , including offsite , sector is shooting at an open goal but the industry does need to work around the issues on a benefits case in order for it to mature .”
A recurring theme throughout the day , was the use of digital innovation and BIM to assist with the growth of the offsite industry in order to maximise the benefits of this advanced method of construction . Nick Tune , CEO of CoBuilder , discussed data , which without recognising the importance of the use of data , the industry is unable to achieve its maximum potential . Jason Whittall , Director of One Creative Environments , elaborated on this saying : “ The benefits of utilising BIM are aligned with the benefits of offsite fabrication , as a process both concepts seek to achieve similar outcomes .”
Sam Stacey , Director of Innovation , Industrialisation & Business Improvement at Skanska , offered insight into a recent case study project completed by Skanska . Through the use of a flying factory , they were able to produce 540 utility cupboards , which were described as pods built for high end residential homes containing MNE equipment . Through a thorough comparison of a proportion of the same utility cupboards
Tom Bloxham MBE . Speaking at EO
being built onsite , due to site constraint issues , the assembly and construction of the cupboards offsite had clear time and productivity advantages - highlighting the huge potential and opportunities of the offsite manufacturing industry .
‘ things are changing and everyone in the offsite industry can influence and change things ’
An overarching theme of the day , and one that all speakers were in mutual agreement , was how the sector is at a tipping point of success . Mark Farmer summarised this , declaring : “ There is a lot of talk but ultimately we all need to be out there making a change . This is a long haul but I do believe we are at an interesting and strong point where things are changing and everyone in the offsite industry can influence and change things .”
www . exploreoffsite . co . uk
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