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.

Building a Hotel in Six Days: A Time-Lapse of China's Construction Miracle

A time-lapse video captures the dizzying pace of building in the country.

This hotel was built in six days. (ArchDaily)

Explaining why China's economy has boomed so much over the past 35 years is a complicated endeavor more suited for a book, but one crude way to describe it is this: China has built a lot of things very, very fast. 

How fast? Well, consider the example of this 15- story building constructed in six days in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province. In 2010, a city resident created this time lapse video showing the incredibly fast construction of the Ark Hotel:

Why are Chinese buildings built so quickly? One well-publicized factor is corruption: Chinese construction projects are prone to bribery and corner-cutting, and the resulting structures typically do not last very long. Newer Chinese buildings, though, also use prefabricated modular technology, something that has shortened construction time without a corresponding sacrifice of safety standards. 

Then, there is the labor force, which usually consists of undocumented internal migrants working for very long hours at low wages. These workers lack the means to complain of unfair labor conditions, and construction strikes are rare in China -- something that helps keep building projects on schedule.

Reforming labor laws -- and enforcing building codes -- is one of China's long-term challenges, so eventually stricter laws might make such lightning-speed construction projects less common. But in the meantime, residents in cities such as Changsha can still have the unsettling experience of going on vacation for a week -- and seeing a brand new hotel pop up when they get back.

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.

Prefabricating Buildings Offsite, Then Installing Them In Location: Is There A Real Renaissance?

In New York’s Inwood neighborhood, workers are busy stacking together weighty prebuilt modules made in Pennsylvania, as they piece together one of the city’s latest and more notable residential complexes built almost entirely offsite.

Prefabricated construction, as it's technically known, is constructing a building away from its ultimate location. Developers and architects increasingly look to the technique as a way to save time and money, even as they try to shake off the technique’s negative associations.

In the case of Inwood, project principals at the 28-apartment complex dubbed "The Stack" point out that construction should take only 10 months from start to finish, down from the 16 months they would project for traditional construction.

Developer Jeffrey Brown and architect Peter Gluck told International Business Times that the prefab option in this case is cheaper and faster and doesn’t drag down the quality of the finished work.

“There are savings in time, savings in money,” said Brown, who noted that The Stack is his first wholly prefabricated project. “There are advantages by just condensing the entire construction process.” 

At the site, workers deploy a crane to lift a sizeable wrapped box, or module, onto the top of the stack. Fifty-six such modules were built for this project by hand in a Pennsylvania factory over three months, and installation onsite is scheduled to take only a month.

Gluck, who has worked with prefabricated projects since the 1970s, also acknowledged obstacles specific to prefab building. Overseeing the manufacturing required close supervision, he said.

The technique is not new, said Gluck, citing a failed 1970s push to develop prefabricated homes in American suburbs. But both Gluck and Brown believe there’s a budding renaissance in offsite construction. That comes despite a widespread perception that prefab buildings lack design cachet and are used mostly for cheap and poor-quality mobile homes.

“I think there is a renaissance,” said Brown in an onsite interview, during the initial installations in July. “It’s starting with an awareness that this type of construction can be done with an imagination, and it can be done with a thoughtful design, and it can produce a really cool product.”

A May 2011 McGraw-Hill Construction report found that prefab building is emerging once again as a U.S. trend, tied partly to the popularity of "green" buildings and digital modeling.

After surveying hundreds of industry professionals, researchers found that the real estate industry is increasingly moving toward prefab to boost productivity and cut waste.

Michele Russo, who worked on that report, told IBTimes: “There have been some really huge transformational trends taking place in construction over the past three to four years, which have also created this push for prefab.”

Digital modeling allows you to see how prefab pieces fit together, allowing better advance planning, while reduced waste and better safety for workers are also factors, she said.

“All of these things combined with an economy that put pressure on the industry means that they’ve looked for efficiencies,” she said. “Prefab has been around forever, but the next evolution of prefab has been in the last three or four years.”

Cheaper labor in a controlled factory environment, where there’s less safety risk, is part of the appeal, added McGraw-Hill Construction researcher Harvey Bernstein.

Although interest in prefab technique ebbs and flows, the renewed interest this time could be permanent, he said.

“When you start to look at some of the real benefits, in terms of shorter schedules, lower costs and less waste, all of sizeable percentages, it just makes good bottom-line business sense,” he said.

“I think you’re going to see more and more predominance” of prefab, he said, even if only for specific small components, like plumbing or electrical systems.

The McGraw-Hill survey found that 98 percent of engineers, architects and contractors expected to be doing some prefab work by the end of 2013, up from 85 percent currently. While only a third of the industry now uses prefab construction heavily, that’s expected to grow to about 45 percent by the end of 2013.

Hospital, hotel and educational construction are the most promising fields for expansion into prefab construction, said the report.

Global interest in offsite construction is also rising. In one well-known example, the world’s tallest building, in China’s Changsha, will be prebuilt in four months. It just broke ground in June, reports Treehugger.

Broad Sustainable Building, the Chinese firm building Changsha’s "Sky City," also built a 30-story building in Hunan last year in 15 days from prefab materials. Other notable recent examples include Seoul’s residential skyscraper Velo Towers and the Kilk building system, by Australian companies Elenberg Fraser and Unitised Building.

Gluck, too, said Japan has hosted several notable prefab projects, adding that Europeans seem to welcome the concept more than Americans. Bernstein said he had no data on global prefab trends but that anecdotally there is apparent heightened interest.

A September 2012 report on global prefab trends by industry researcher Timetric valued the global prefab market at $65 billion in 2011, with the European market representing about half of that, making it the largest single market. Asia is the second-largest market, where prefab is still rapidly becoming more popular.  

Nonetheless, prefab construction still has its critics. Some point out that budget savings for developers don’t always translate to cheaper homes for tenants, at least for single-family homes – individual prefabricated homes are often customized expensive trophies for wealthy clients. (Gluck wouldn’t disclose how much it cost per square foot to build The Stack, nor how much they’d rent their apartments for, but he said rents would be competitive.)

Other critics say that developers can’t turn profits by making prefabricated residential development their chief business because the market is still very underdeveloped. Bernstein noted, though, that Maine firm Cianbro is prefabricating power plants and refineries and shipping them out to Texas by sea, part of a rising trend of prefabrication in industrial development.  

On a related front, some argue that outsourcing construction to offsite factory workers lowers labor and building-quality standards.  

In New York, plumbers and mechanics sued the New York City buildings department earlier this week, alleging that safety standards were violated when developer Forest City Ratner used factory workers to build a planned 32-story complex offsite. The project is destined for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards.

In an email to IBTimes, Stewart O’Brien, a former commissioner at the city’s building department, said that workers doing prefab construction offsite must have the same credentials as those doing construction work onsite.

O’Brien is a party to the suit, for the plaintiffs, and now leads the New York Plumbing Foundation. A ruling by the city’s building department that normal plumbing and fire safety rules don’t apply to buildings made offsite is plainly wrong, said court papers.

“Modern day, more and more modular construction has moved toward high-density projects,” wrote O’Brien. “Should tenants or occupants of modular buildings be afforded any less safety protections?”

But back in Inwood, these sorts of concerns about prefab are far from people’s minds.

Marc Gee, another principal from the GLUCK+ architects behind the project, is more focused on prospective tenants. 

“We’ve had so many calls that I don’t think it’s going to be an issue,” he said of filling The Stack’s 28 rental flats. “There’s a lot of need for this kind of housing… This is really modern.” 

Written By: Nat Rudarakanchana

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/prefabricating-buildings-offsite-then-installing-them-location-there-real-renaissance-1344493

Fast Track Your Franchise Launch With Modular Building

When you have a new business that you want to get up and running it is important to move quickly. Launching multiple business locations or franchises throughout a large area can be accomplished much faster by choosing modular construction.

When opening a franchise, it is important that all buildings have a similar look and feel. Modular franchise buildings can be designed to give your business a uniformed look and consistent brand image. Exact interior and exterior finishes, paint colors and floor plans can be custom designed to accomplish this.  Modular franchise buildings can be used for small concession stands, restaurants, banks, coffee shops, hotels, convenience stores and much more.

A traditional building is built piece by piece on-site. This exposes building materials to outdoor elements that may become damaged by exposure to wind, rain and poor ground conditions. While this is how most homes and buildings are constructed, this is not the only option available to you. With a modular building almost the entire building is constructed off-site, protecting it from harsh elements and allowing the construction to take place without any set-backs. Due to the modular building being completed in a climate controlled factory setting, the dry materials used minimizes the chance of high levels of moisture being trapped in the new building. This shortens the construction time frame and reduces of exposure to the elements, ensuring a durable and strong building.

Modular or prefab buildings can be easily relocated. This is helpful if a business owner finds another location that proves more prosperous. The business owner will not need to go through the trouble of new construction, but can simply move their modular franchise to the new location.

In the world of business time is money, so when expanding your business into a franchise it is necessary to move as quickly as possible. This way, you can bring in as many customers as possible and start generating revenue sooner by choosing a modular franchise building.