Time Saving Tip For Commercial Construction

(Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Modular_Construction_Timeline.jpg)

Commercial Construction today is all about reducing waste. Whether its time or energy, commercial construction has been designed around efficiency. Probably the most efficient method leading the way is modular construction. Modular Construction can be just as customized to your needs as site built construction. The image shows just how quick modular construction is over site built construction. Why?

As you can see, the first two phases of either project take approximately the same amount of time. Both projects take equally as long to design and engineer, and both construction methods are under the same strict code guidelines needing the same permits and approvals. The real benefit is seen in the second phase. While the site is being developed and the foundation is laid, the actual construction of the building is happening simultaneously off-site in a quality controlled environment. This process reduces the completion time by 50%.

Another time saving tip goes mostly unseen. Modular construction is also a safer building method. Hundreds of hours can be lost when someone gets hurt on the job site. By reducing injuries on the job the project can be completed in a more timely manner.

So whether you are building a shopping center, office building, hotel, or convenience store consider modular construction. The sooner you get your project completed, the sooner you can start receiving your return from your investment.

Five Things to Consider when Choosing a Construction Company

Whether a soon-to-be business owner is planning on hiring a large construction firm to help build the perfect dream building, or just a small team to finish remodeling an old worn down building; the contractors that are employed need to be experienced professionals that can finish the job on time and on budget. Fortunately, finding a competent crew for a new project doesn't have to be a challenge if a business owner considers the following 5 tips when looking for a contractor.

Do they have Work Experience?

Construction companies tend to specialize in certain areas of the trade. For example, one company may focus on prefab construction, while another concentrates on roofing repair. A prospective customer should only hire a company that has a long history of working on projects that are similar to the job being planned.

Can they Provide References?

A well-regarded construction company will have a long history of satisfied customers. Customers should ask for references involving clients that have requested projects similar to their own, and are willing to let others inspect the job's workmanship. For instance, if the project involves erecting a modular building, customers should ask the modular construction company for past clients who are willing to let others inspect the building for any shortcomings.

Are they Licensed and Insured?

By only hiring a licensed and insured contractor, customers ensure they are working with a professional that has passed licensing tests and has a proven work history. In the event that a licensed contractor fails to deliver on the promised goods, customers have the final recourse to file a complaint with the contractor's board.

Can they Provide Cost Details?

With so many unfamiliar tasks that need to be completed, it is very easy for an unscrupulous construction company to gouge new customers. One way customers can protect themselves from this undesirable practice is by requesting a detailed list of all parts and labor fees the company charges. This summary should include, among other information, the exact quantity and dimensions of parts, number of hours of work planned, as well as any taxes or other fees. By asking competing construction companies for their own detailed summary of parts and labor charges, customers can compare prices and inspect for any instances of overcharging.

How is their Customer Service?

Call the company's phone number to find out how well their customer service representative handles the call. Is the agent helpful and knowledgeable? Do they return calls promptly when necessary?

By following these tips when choosing a construction company, customers can expect their project to be completed professionally, on time and on budget.

For more help in choosing a construction company please click here.

World's Tallest Prefab Building Leads Modular Boom

Prefab Construction in NYC

BROOKLYN — Trucks are expected to arrive at the Atlantic Yards Thursday carrying the first modules of what will become the tallest prefabricated building in the world.

Coming from a factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the roughly 930 steel-framed boxes are the basic building blocks for Forest City Ratner’s B2, an eco-friendly, 32-story tower with 363 rental units, half of which will be reserved for low, moderate and middle-income families.

B2, which is expected to open in December 2014, is just one of many high-profile prefab projects rolling into the city.

Many local developers are seizing on modular housing as a way to get projects completed more quickly and efficiently. A shorter construction window means tenants can move in faster, which helps cut financing costs and reduces the impact on neighbors because there’s less noise, dust and debris.

“We're getting phone calls like crazy from developers who see [prefab] as a panacea for the plumber who doesn't show up or the electrician who screws up everything,” said Peter Gluck of Gluck+, the firm that designed the Stack, a sleek seven-story, 28-unit residence in Inwood. It's the city’s first prefab steel and concrete multi-story building and is expected to open its doors to renters in January.

A four-story modular housing prototype — designed for the city’s Office of Emergency Management to provide homes after disasters like Sandy — will rise in Downtown Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza for public tours starting in January.

And a developer is expected to close next month on the land on East 27th Street for the city’s much talked about micro-unit contest. There, a nine-story modular building with 55 units, from 250 to 370 square feet, is expected to rise for low and middle-income New Yorkers — without any direct city subsidies — in a year’s time. That's a significantly shorter window than conventional construction.

“You increase the speed of construction and decrease the amount of anguish,” Gluck said. “The allure of prefabrication is you eliminate that mess of 20 different trades interfacing at different times. So, the thought of having 80 percent of the building arrive in finished condition is attractive.”

The Stack’s modular units were built in three months at a Pennsylvania factory — in a controlled environment protected from any inclement weather — while the foundation was being laid at 4857 Broadway. It took just a few weeks to deliver and stack the modules and then three months to seal the building and connect the plumbing and electricity, Gluck said.

Prefab projects tend to be five to eight months quicker than similar, non-prefabricated constructions, he said.

Though the Stack's rents haven’t been finalized, studios are expected to start at around $1,800 a month, one-bedrooms at $2,400, two-bedrooms at $3,200 and three-bedrooms at $3,900, said Cliff Finn of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing.

Though modular housing has potential drawbacks for developers due to being less flexible with layouts, the units are much quieter for residents since each one has its own floor and ceiling rather than just an 8-inch slab between apartments, he noted.

“Anyone that's lived in a new construction rental will tell you they can hear through the walls,” Finn said.

While developers can save on financing because of accelerated schedules, modular construction isn’t necessarily cheaper to build. As with any construction, it depends on the materials used.

“Modular building is associated with cheap, substandard mobile homes,” said James Garrison, who teaches at Pratt Institute's architecture program.

“The reality of it is, it's no more or less cheap or insubstantial than any other form of construction. The way we see it, it's not a product; it's an approach.”

Garrison's firm won the city's post-disaster prototype competition. It is also working on a prefab hotel for an undisclosed Williamsburg location that will have “multiple courtyards.”

There are some challenges that prefab construction poses — the size of modules is dictated by what the city's aging bridges and narrow streets will allow trucks to carry to the site — usually loads up to 14-feet wide.

There's also the complicating factor of the construction being done out of state. The city is still figuring out how to inspect buildings when they are being manufactured out of New York. Third-party inspectors are being used for now, architects said.

There are also issues with zoning rules that butt up against prefab specifications.

Ammr Vandal, of nArchitects, which created the winning design for the My Micro NY competition in 2013, said, for instance, that zoning allows for an 80-foot-tall building, but because each module has a thicker space between units, the building needs to be 85 feet tall.

Also, the city requires setbacks, or tiers, at 10 feet and 15 feet, which don't fit neatly with the building's prefabricated construction, she explained.

As the buzz around modular construction grows, Capsys, the Brooklyn Navy Yard factory where the micro-unit project is being built, has seen an influx in business, especially from younger architects.

“Modular just makes sense to folks growing up with the looming energy crisis and global warming,” said Tom O’Hara of Capsys.

“Our construction system builds tighter building envelopes, better quality control, safer working conditions. It just makes sense.”

Zimmer Amy (2013 December, 11) World's Tallest Prefab Building Leads Modular Boom Retrieved on December 13, 2013 From www.dnainfo.com

Can modular construction boost productivity?

Modular construction allows for a faster building process, but is it better?


"We are noticing a surge in interest as construction developers are trying alternate ways to build," said Tracey Daniels, communications director for Modular Building Institute, an international nonprofit trade association based in Charlottesville, Va.

Modular construction is a process where portions of the project are built off site. Once together and sealed, the modules become one integrated wall, floor and roof assembly, according to the organization's website. Structurally, modular buildings generally are stronger than conventionally constructed buildings because each module is engineered to independently withstand the rigors of transportation and crane lifting onto foundations.

Modular construction, which includes both permanent and movable buildings, reduces waste through factory production, Daniels said.

Once together and sealed, the modules become one integrated wall, floor and roof assembly, according to the organization's website.

Daniels said as bigger companies – such as Skanska, based in Blue Bell, and Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., based in Allentown, take on or incorporate modular elements to their projects, smaller companies are beginning to do so, too.

Another benefit is time savings, she said. Instead of having to wait for site work to be done, construction on the building can take place simultaneously, allowing for projects to be done more efficiently.

"You can shave 30 to 50 percent off of the timeline," Daniels said.

Modular construction also is used frequently for urban housing, hotels, hospitals and schools to allow for minimal site disruptions and to reduce on-site traffic, she said.

One of the main points to consider is that if modular construction is the chosen method, it should be decided early in the design process, since it can be harder and more costly to redesign a project, she said.

Modular construction's impact on boosting productivity could be enhanced with the growth of green buildings and technology.

According to a 2011 Smart Market Report from McGraw Hill Construction on "Prefabrication and Modernization: Increasing Productivity in the Construction Industry," the re-emergence of pre-fab and modular as a new trend is tied to the rise of building information modeling (or BIM, which uses software to create 3-D project designs). It also is connected to the increasing interest in green buildings, which influences design and construction processes.

The report takes a look at pre-fab and modular processes and their impact on productivity metrics for the construction industry, including costs, safety, project schedules, quality, eliminating waste and creating green buildings.

The findings from a survey of 809 contractors, architects and engineers showed that:

• 66 percent report that project schedules are decreased; 35 percent said by four weeks or more.

• 65 percent report that project budgets are decreased; 41 percent said by 6 percent or more.

• 77 percent report that construction site waste decreased; 44 percent said by 5 percent or more.

With increasing interest in lean construction, the strong influence of green construction and the rising use of BIM technologies, these factors make pre-fab and modular process a critical trend in the construction industry, the report said.

Here is a useful link to an article about construction waste and modular construction.

http://constructioninformer.com/2013/02/19/modular-construction-promises-less-construction-waste/

And another about a recent modular construction project at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.

http://www.nrb-inc.com/us/dormitories-accomodation/commerical-modular-buildings/three-story-dorm-addition#

Pedersen Brian ( 2013 December 06) Can modular construction boost productivity? Retrieved on December 11, 2013 From LVB.com.

The Future of Modular Construction

Modular construction, which involves building sections of structures off-site and then transporting them to their final locations, has become increasingly popular in recent years. From schools and office buildings to prisons and correctional facilities, prefabrication allows industries to complete sophisticated projects in less time. Modular building is likely to continue to become more innovative over the next several years due to its time savings, efficiency and safety.

Reduced Waste

In a world that is becoming increasingly polluted, modular construction is a safer building method. Because the prefab units are being built in factory environments, construction waste is kept to a minimum. The material is cut precisely, ensuring reduced material waste. Building components or materials can be recycled or reused in other projects. Off-site construction, is an inherently greener process for its reduced waste and because there is less impact to the environment. Because sustainability is a key concept in today’s culture, companies that use green technology will undoubtedly remain ahead of the curve.

Increased Efficiency

Assembling structural units in a central location will also lead to increased efficiency. Because workers will not be at the mercy of unpredictable weather, construction projects can continue unabated for days on end. In fact, because site preparation occurs alongside manufacturing, the final installation can be completed at a much faster rate. With skilled teams building modules from carefully prepared blueprints, companies can ultimately expect to spend less on labor. Teams of workers will be supervised by qualified project managers throughout the entire process. With a more efficient and controlled building method, clients will choose this option more frequently in future projects.

Improved Safety

Modular construction is also much safer than traditional construction. Because fabrication occurs in a controlled environment, workers can avoid any unnecessary risks or safety-related incidents on the job site. Likewise, companies will be able to guard against theft or damaged materials/products, which can sometimes occur in semi-secured areas. In a workshop that is designed for manufacturing, a broad array of safety measures will always be in place. Workers can expect to complete their daily tasks without any weather delays or unforeseen setbacks.

The future of construction ultimately lies in innovative, efficient, and dependable building practices, thus making modular construction the increasingly popular choice.

More Units Going Up in a Snap

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Workers in Pennsylvania install walls for modular units, the building blocks for a seven-story apartment on a lot in Inwood.

A vacant lot on Broadway between Academy and 204th Streets in Inwood is littered with rubble and concrete pilings. But in a matter of weeks, this 50-foot-wide sand pit will be transformed into a seven-story apartment building, with finished bathrooms, maple cabinetry and 10 terraces. It is not a magic trick, but rather the result of modular, or prefabricated, construction.

Ryan Collerd for The New York Times

A worker in Pennsylvania welds together steel for the modular units.

A technique in which a building is manufactured piecemeal on a factory assembly line, trucked to the construction site and erected much the way Legos are, modular construction is gaining popularity across New York City. It is not new, but it has never gained much of a foothold here, in part because of its association with low-cost housing like mobile homes. That perception is changing; the city does not track modular data, but at least anecdotally, more developers and architects are embracing its ethos.

“Historically, people have had negative associations with modular construction,” said David J. Burney, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction, “and certainly within the design industry, it didn’t have much cachet. But there has been a sea change, and now there is much less of a distinction over whether a building has been assembled off-site or on-site.”

Ryan Collerd for The New York Times

The lot in Inwood, between Academy and 204th Streets, where the modular building will stand.

The announcement late last year that Forest City Ratnerwould use modular construction to build its first residential tower at the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn helped to shine a spotlight on this method of construction, and New York City, in announcing the winner of its first microunit apartment building design contest, has chosen a modular design.

The trend toward modular does pose issues, particularly for New York City’s powerful construction unions. It means exporting some construction jobs to factories outside New York, and while many modular factories are unionized, the employees tend to earn less than traditional construction workers. For its part, Forest City Ratner announced that the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York had created a modular division to help build its 32-story high-rise, and it joined with Skanska USA in creating a modular company at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

“Any change in the way you do business involves some concerns and issues,” said Richard T. Anderson, the president of the New York Building Congress, a nonprofit organization that represents professionals in the construction industry. “If for New York City construction, business as usual is a challenge, you need to change some of the basic ingredients, and labor and management needs to address this.”

Gary LaBarbera, the president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, declined to comment.

As for the $13 million Inwood project, it will consist of 56 modules that are under construction in Berwick, Pa. The modules will be combined to create 28 apartments: 6 studios, 6 one-bedrooms, 14 two-bedrooms and 2 three-bedrooms. Twenty percent of the rentals will rent below market rate, and the project, which is scheduled to open this summer, will also include 3,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

While the facades of modular buildings can be anything from red brick to glass, “we chose to express the stacked modules,” Thomas Gluck, a principal of the architecture firm Gluck+, said in describing the boxy design. The building, in homage to its origin, is named Broadway Stack.

Jeffrey M. Brown, the chief executive of Brown Hill Development of Huntingdon, Pa., which is building the project with Kim Frank, the owner of the real estate finance company MCA, said, “We always wanted to use modular construction for this project.”

The two acquired the property in 2008 and have been working from the outset with Gluck+, which also has an ownership stake.

It is taking four months to manufacture the modules, during which time the team has been building the foundation at the site. “The factory has been able to create 28,000 square feet of residential space in the same amount of time it has taken us to construct 6,000 square feet of cellar space,” Mr. Gluck said.

On successive nights beginning in early April, the modules, which have steel and concrete frames, will be trucked four to five at a time to the building site from the factory.

On each of the following mornings for about four weeks, an enormous crane will stack the modules. Workers will then “zip” them up, connecting one to the next, and to the building’s plumbing and electrical systems.

The project is expected to take 9 months from start to finish, compared with 16 to 18 months if construction had been done on-site. “Because it takes half the time,” Ms. Frank said, “we can rent out the units and generate income much quicker, and the carrying costs are lower.”

Mr. Brown concurred, pointing out that if traditional on-site construction had been used, the project would have cost an additional 10 percent to 20 percent.

Because modular units are built on an assembly line — which is a quarter-mile in length at the Pennsylvania factory — there are constraints, including having to choose the paint colors, finishes, appliances and every other detail upfront. It is also impossible to make substantial changes partway through the construction, and because each module must be structurally sound, the walls and floors of the buildings tend to be thicker than in on-site construction.

There are other differences as well, said Peter L. Gluck, another principal of Gluck+, who began designing and building modular projects in the 1960s. “In the first three weeks of production they manufacture one entire module, which is basically like getting to see a full-scale mock-up of your project,” he said. “We can watch the entire building process and do quality control, correcting something immediately.”

With traditional construction, oversight is more time-consuming because someone must be on the site at all times to catch mistakes. “With prefab,” said Peter Gluck, “everything is done the same, so once we make a fix, it is fixed permanently.”

Also, because construction takes place indoors, there are no delays or damages to the material from inclement weather.

Modular construction may provide sustainability benefits, too. “We can recycle everything, all of the packaging materials, the gypsum, every piece of steel,” said Tom O’Hara, the director of business development at the Capsys Corporation, a modular builder based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, “because none of our products get wet or are affected by the elements.”

DeLuxe Building Systems, which has been actively pursuing New York City developers, has several projects in the works, including an 11-story Harlem rental in the pre-construction phase; it is also in discussions with a developer of two 24-story rental towers.

“We are starting to hear from a lot of developers about modular building,” said Stephen G. Kliegerman, the president of Halstead Property Development Marketing, which was hired to market a 12-story modular rental building in Manhattan south of 96th Street.

Most of the modular projects in the works are rentals. “It is still relatively untested,” Mr. Kliegerman said, “so there needs to be some kind of track record before developers will feel comfortable using it to build condominiums.”

Mr. O’Hara of Capsys said his firm was “getting a dozen calls a week from developers who want to explore what is, for them, a new type of technology.” He added, “There is a vibrancy in the air now that we haven’t felt in a long time.”

Written By: Julie Satow

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/realestate/inwood-prefab-homes-win-converts-in-new-york.html?_r=0

Modular Construction to Take Off in 2013

NEW YORK CITY-Love it or hate it, modular construction is the way of the future. And, according to Patricia Lancaster, professor, construction management at NYU Schack Institute of Commercial Real Estate, thinks this is certainly a good thing. She is also optimistic about the burgeoning neighborhood around the new Barclays Center here. Read on to hear her thoughts on local developments and construction in 2013. 

GlobeSt: What are your thoughts on modular construction, namely, how will it benefit the commercial real estate industry (if it will)?

I think modular construction is going to be big.  Doing construction indoors in a controlled environment without weather and with the available fabrication technology will make it more economical and higher quality.  Of course, there are some issues to consider.  For instance, where does this fabrication take place, and how does the product get to the site?  What is the maximum size that can be transported, and how much does it cost?  The technology has progressed to the point where some customization is easy, but modular still makes most sense where there are smaller (truckable) repetitive components.  That makes modular more applicable to residential or hospitals than commercial office with the larger spans and open areas.  With that said, all eyes are on Sky City in China.  If that project is successful, it will have developers all over the world demanding as many pre-fabricated or modular elements as possible for their buildings.  But even if it’s not, modular will revolutionize the construction industry the way that laparoscopic surgery has revolutionized the medical industry.

GlobeSt: 2013 has just kicked off and there are a lot of developments under way in New York City. Which project do you think will most benefit the city and why?

The Hudson Yards and other West Side projects will change the face of that entire part of the City, generating revenue and offering unprecedented capacity.  There’s some talk of extending the Highline Park to the north, and if you look at the enormous effect the Highline has had on surrounding property values you get just a taste of the effects of the West Side development over time.

GlobeSt: How do you think the area around Atlantic Yards is going to shape up as a result of the tower there and the Barclays Center?

The area around Atlantic Yards will see a great resurgence.  Some people will just use the arena as a destination, then hop right back on one of the many public transportation modes – but many more will do what Professor Lambeck, Chair of the Construction Management Department here at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate and I did a few weeks ago, and have a meal at one of the many restaurants in the area before attending an event at the arena.  It’s convenient to get to, and that means people will spend time and money, making local businesses prosper.  

GlobeSt: What do you predict for internationalconstruction trends in 2013?

International construction will trend increasingly towards modular, increasingly sustainable and increasingly including infrastructure components that would previously have been done by government.

GlobeSt: In New York City, what is going to be the next hot neighborhood for building and why?

Of course, all of the big developments like Columbia’s Manhattanville, Willett’s Point and Hudson Yards will transform the neighborhoods around them over time in a dramatically positive way.  As far as the next hot neighborhood, I’d look to Seward Park on the Lower East Side.  NYC EDC is set to issue an RFP for a 1.5M square foot mixed use development that will entirely alter the urban fabric in that area.  It is uniquely poised to bring up property values in the surrounding area, which has already seen increased activity moving east across Center Street.  The only unknown is the effect of the City’s study of the food plain elevation on this particular project, and how long it takes to get resolved.

Written By: Miriam Lamey

Source: GlobeSt.com