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World-class sixth form centre built using offsite construction methods

The Sunday Times’ International Baccalaureate school of 2014 has been working with offsite construction specialists, Actavo | Building Solutions, to create a sixth form study centre to meet the school’s need for a world-class facility.

Tonbridge Grammar School in Deakin Leas, Tonbridge, gained access to its modular building after just 26 weeks onsite, to meet the demand for pupil places quickly and efficiently.

Designed to inspire and motivate pupils, Actavo created the ‘IBarn’ – a brand-new, two-storey, sixth form hub created to improve pupil facilities and respond to rapid student growth. The ground floor of the new sixth form includes a café, collaborative learning areas and changing rooms while the first floor comprises an ICT suite alongside two large spaces that can be used as classrooms, independent study, seminar areas or opened up for lectures and presentations.

The IBarn also frees vital space in the existing sixth form accommodation to enhance student development.

Matthew Goff, UK operations director at Actavo | Building Solutions, said: “Perhaps the popularity offsite construction has in the education sector is due to its speed, versatility and cost-effective nature.

“The competitive funding mechanisms and demand for school places at Tonbridge Grammar School meant tight deadlines enhancing the school’s need for speed.”

As part of the tender process, Actavo | Building Solutions developed a 3D animation to enable the school to visualise how the new facility would look once complete.

“As one of the UK’s top performing international baccalaureate schools, it was imperative we had a sixth form study centre that met the needs of the internationally minded curriculum. Actavo has helped us achieve this with the creation of the ‘IBarn’,” says Rosemary Joyce, Tonbridge Grammar School’s Head Teacher.

“Actavo has provided us with a sixth form facility that has the perfect balance between form and function. The contemporary feel of the ‘IBarn’, careful use of glass provides both students and teaching staff with an open, spacious and well ventilated space which supports the focus on collaborative, independent and reflective learning that is a feature of our school.

“The study centre also provides the ideal learning space for those preparing for university and enabled refurbishment of the vacated classrooms, facilitating more flexible space for our talented musicians.

“As well as being architecturally attractive, our new modular facility is an aspirational space to both work and study. Proving the cost-effective and speedy solutions offsite construction offers in no way takes away from the quality of the final building,” says Rosemary.

To view our exclusive walk-through and video testimonial from Tonbridge Grammar’s head teacher, Rosemary Joyce, please click here.
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The UK panelised modular building systems market grows by 10% in 2015

The UK market for panelised modular building systems is estimated to have grown by 10% in 2015. Since the recent market low of 2012, demand for offsite building systems has increased strongly, underpinned by the improved economic situation and increased levels of activity in the housebuilding, hotel, student accommodation and education sectors. This recovery followed a downturn between 2008-12 due a decline in the housing market, cuts in public sector budgets and the completion of major MoD projects.

AMA Research’s definition of this market consists of pre-fabricated, 2-dimensional frames or panels in systems for constructing walls, partitions, roofs and floors, typically supplied to site as systems in flat-pack format. However, some systems, particularly light steel frame, are supplied to site in ‘stick’ form and/or direct to manufacturers of volumetric building systems. The main product type is timber frame, which is competing with light gauge steel, precast concrete and other engineered wood-based panels, with the latter group including structural insulated panels and cross laminated timber systems. While timber frame is currently the most widely used type of offsite systems in housing, it is expected to face competition from cross laminated timber over the next few years.

Key end use sectors for panelised modular building systems are housing, apartment blocks, schools, budget hotels, smaller healthcare and care facilities, and purpose built student accommodation. With the exception of the MoD, where many projects are now complete, most of the key end use sectors for panelised modular building systems look set for growth over the next few years and a number of housing developers and housing associations have declared their intentions to increase usage of offsite systems.

“Difficult market conditions in recent years had led to all sectors of the panelised building systems industry suffering a number of business failures, leading to a reduction in production capacities, and market supply has become much more polarised, in particular in the timber frame sector” said Keith Taylor, Director of AMA Research. “However, the market has improved since 2012 and further sustained recovery is expected until 2020, driven by improvements in key end use sectors such as housing – including self build, which is significant in this market”.
Growth over the next few years should also be enhanced by the mandatory use of Building Information Modelling on public sector projects from 2016. BIM will streamline building design, procurement and construction which should favour the use of offsite building. The drive towards sustainable development, coupled with the need to meet energy efficiency and carbon reduction targets, would also seem to weigh in favour of offsite construction.

In addition, some of the key drivers for offsite construction are coming back into focus, with recent announcements of a number of larger scale, repetitive construction programmes, in sectors such as university accommodation, social housing, affordable private sector housing and budget hotels.

The ‘Panelised Modular Building Systems Market Report – UK 2016-2020 Analysis’ report is published by AMA Research, a leading provider of market research and consultancy services with over 25 years’ experience within the construction and home improvement markets.

The report is available now and can be ordered online at www.amaresearch.co.uk or by calling 01242 235724.
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Innovative offsite designs that shatter all perceptions

It is now widely accepted within the industry that off-site construction can provide high quality, fast and disruption free buildings that rival more traditional construction. But can they provide design led innovative buildings or is this still an area of compromise when you decide to build off site?

When asked, Rachel Davis, Business Development Director, said ‘With Premier Modular the answer is NO, we never compromise. What we bring to the market are design solutions that push past the normal modular limitations. Sloped roofs that can create ceilings heights over 5m and incorporate north lights to bring daylight and ventilation to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. Floor to ceiling windows and curtain walling to give a light and airy feel and roof top ball courts and play areas to make the best use of tight sites in city environments’.

Each project is solution focused, Premier Modular Ltd takes the opportunity to ‘think outside the box’ and move forwards with each building they produce, every endeavour breeds innovation.

Inner City Constraints

Premier Modular Ltd recently delivered a scheme in Westminster, London, acting as the main contractor. Premier worked with the client design team to ensure that 75% of the building could be built offsite due to the restricted inner city residential site.

The project was a four storey community scheme, incorporating a nursery, staggered to create roof top play areas with laser cut steel panel/ glass balustrades and green roof outers. The laser cut panels were also replicated as Juliet balconies and external stair cladding. Another design feature was the double height sports hall with large floor level and high level windows. The building also had many sustainability features built in to achieve London Plan and BREEAM Excellent.

There were several key areas as well as the design which contributed to this complex project, removal of asbestos during the demolition phase, piled foundations working over the London Underground system and road closures. Premier’s skilled project management team worked with the local police, client bodies and the local communities to minimise disruption to the local residents.

Unique Places to Learn

Premier Modular Ltd working as a specialist subcontractor to Conlon Construction are currently building a new Free School in Manchester, New Islington School. This will be a new home for 420 children and is due to open for the September term 2016.

Premier worked with their architectural partners Vaughan Architecture & Design to create this visually stunning building with angular external walls, a feature entrance with oversailing roof, picture windows, a lightwell running the full length of the building bringing light from roof to ground floor and an external cladding panel giving the school a very modern finish. The building also includes a roof-top teaching space to maximise the space available on site and an external play area linked to the building. Sustainable and wildlife features were also included such as PV panels, bird and bat boxes and a Redstart habitat was created on the roof.

The New Islington School values are Creative, Innovative & Unique. These fit well with Premier’s own values and have certainly been captured in the new school building.

Rachel Davis, Business Development Director at Premier Modular said ‘The client is at the centre of everything we do, we feel that having the right environment around us as we work, learn and live can inspire us, support us and motivate us therefore making our schools the best place to learn is essential’

‘Giving children and teachers a quality environment with all the spaces required to teach and learn makes them feel valued and builds confidence. An inspired, confident and motivated culture breeds; Therefore creating inspiring buildings which teachers, students and the surrounding community can be proud of will take our education forwards maintaining it as one of the best in the world’

So at a time where an increased rate of build is required, budgets have been cut and there is a squeeze on available space, Premier Modular has firmly proved that design doesn’t have to take a back seat.

For more information please visit www.premiermodular.co.uk.
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Offsite given wings

Juliet Woodcock looks at a new concept surrounding modern methods of construction.

It has long been accepted that manufacturing construction elements in the factory environment is safer, ensures higher quality end products with reduced wastage and can help meet tight deadlines, as well as getting around the problem of the skills shortage we are still experiencing post-recession.

But, as with every good idea, there is always someone who will take it one step further: on a large building contract, why not take the factory to the site? Indeed, a project funded through the Technology Strategy Board’s Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform has undertaken a fundamental rethink of building processes, developing ‘flying factories.’

Led by Skanska, the project involves partners from Modcell, the University of Reading, The South West Manufacturing Advisory Service and the Building Research Establishment. Together they have developed the system of ‘near-site’ manufacture using modern flying factories.

To develop the technique and secure funding, Skanska’s Innovation Centre put together a research consortium of external organizations. Inspiration was taken from the offsite fabrication of May Park School in Bristol.

Combined with virtual-reality-enabled supply chain management and process improvement, the system provides a 28 per cent reduction in cost per square metre and 30 per cent shorter programmes, delivering higher quality and a more predictable build.

The concept was used to assemble wall panels for Glenfrome School in Bristol, enabling a building extension to be completed in just six weeks during the summer holiday.

It was then successfully applied to the SRW engineering services project for the Battersea Power Station Development phase one, where 550 ‘utility cupboards’ have been created for residential use. Significant cost and programme savings have been recorded for both projects; for the Battersea scheme, cost and time savings of 44 per cent were achieved.

If the Government is to reach its 2025 construction targets of 33 per cent reduction in building costs and 50 per cent faster delivery, plus 50 per cent lower emissions, then near site factories could offer a significant part of the solution.

Manufacturing components offsite, but close to the location for erection or installation helps to deliver many efficiencies:

  • Faster onsite installation
  • Minimal quality defects and associated waste
  • Optimized transport solutions to reduce costs
  • Overall reduction in operational and embodied carbon
  • Safer working environments for personnel
  • More likely to meet programme deliverables and reduce commercial risk
  • Avoiding the problems of poor weather

Speaking exclusively to MMC Magazine, Sam Stacey, Head of Innovation for Skanska commented: “The concept of flying factories is that they are temporary and flexible so that they probably need to be located within 25 miles of the site where buildings will be located: so we will either be looking at rented warehouse space; or possibly temporary hire structures erected on hard-standing. Good road connections with the final site are essential.

“It will also mean taking on labour on a temporary basis which, although it has not proved a problem to date, it does require us to get people up to speed quickly in order to maximize the benefits. The approach then is to simplify the process as much as possible, possibly taking steps out of the assembly process; and as much as possible making it like assembling a piece of furniture.

“At present the design supply chain is not well established to facilitate this type of working, but we will look to use templates where we can while the advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM) also offers a good basis for progress and I believe we can benefit with 3-D modelling, as well as what we term ‘virtual rehearsals’. There is a degree to which we will have to be responsive to each type of assembly we have to work with. ”

Apparently Sam Stacey’s team includes software specialists adept at working with virtual reality and they have already been experimenting with the Oculus type gaming helmets: making it possible to walk through some of the building prototypes currently being planned. This type of advancement could soon put the technology underpinning flying factories on an even footing with the automotive and other high tech industries.

“I think this type of technology will be enormously helpful for those involved,” continued Sam Stacey, “To experience what we are proposing to build, including the construction sequence, and identifying any gaps in the design, or something we can improve in the process. It will be applicable to anything that can be produced as a pod: kitchens, bathrooms or the utility cupboards we have been producing for a residential development in Battersea – packed with the M & E equipment.

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“With flying factories you ae not tied into big overheads or high transport costs; and you are adapting the factory to exactly your needs at the time, so the concept is opening up the potential for a massive increase in the amount of offsite fabrication across the country,

“ It is also a good environment to ‘tag and track’ all the components with RFID (Radio Frequency Identity) tags which then facilitate quality checks and carry out condition monitoring to support condition based maintenance of moving and rotating machinery; particularly pumps.”

Offsite3-BS-ARTICLE

Back in July, Skanska was additionally awarded £700,000 to develop construction robots, to be used to carry out several tasks, including cutting, drilling and fixing on site. The funding was awarded by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of their collaborative R&D programme; and it is expected that these robots will also be used in flying factories to further speed up the build process.

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said of the flying factory notion: “The work we are funding will encourage the UK construction industry to undertake a fundamental rethink of current ways of working and enable businesses to explore potential commercial opportunities created by novel design, procurement and construction processes.”

While capital investments are greatly reduced by rented space for flying factories, the pilots did reveal that the break in continuity of production could be an issue; which automation might overcome. Other lessons learned were that there needs to be an increased control over the start-up phase regarding decision making, early decisions and involvement of expertise, as well as increased control over the design and production process.

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Willmott Dixon to build 1,000 ‘offsite’ homes a year

Contracting, residential development and property support business Willmott Dixon intend to future-proof their residential construction business against a worsening skills shortage.

The company currently deliver 2,000 homes each year. Their latest announcement suggests that they plan for half of these to be constructed using offsite methods and materials going forward.

By signing 3 year strategic agreements with leading suppliers of timber frame (Robertson Timber Engineering) and light-gauge steel frame systems (Fusion Building Systems), Willmott Dixon hope to drastically reduce current reliance on traditional construction methods due to rising costs and lack of skills.

Residential construction chief operating officer, Charlie Scherer says “This is an important step in our strategy to provide a high quality product that utilises all the benefits of factory-made systems while also reducing our exposure to the labour price escalation we’ve seen in recent years. We aim to be building 1,000 homes a year by 2017 using systems provided by Robertson and Fusion, with the consistent quality also aiding our zero defects strategy.”

“These two deals are the cornerstone of our ‘Capacity Building’ strategy. This is our people, engineering and technology programme that is central to counterweight the resource challenges in industry, and deliver cost-effective, sustainable build solutions for our clients.”

Tim Carey, product director for Willmott Dixon, added “If we are to address the significant capacity gap that currently exists in the construction sector, we need to think strategically about our supply chain. The selection of Robertson and Fusion will help maximise efficiencies across our projects, enabling us to deliver as many high-quality homes in as short a time frame as possible whilst ensuring they are delivered to the quality our clients deserve.”

About Willmott Dixon:

Willmott Dixon has built nearly 50,000 homes since the 1974, and operates across the South, Midlands and North, building for developers, housing associations and local authorities. The mix includes affordable, care residential, retirement villages, housing for sale and private rent, plus student accommodation. Projects vary in scale, from a standalone 90 unit care homes to multi-phase ten year estate regenerations that create a new ‘destination’ for communities.

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Mythbusting the three little pigs

We are all familiar with the fairy tale of the three little pigs; a moral-laden fable about three pigs that construct three houses from different materials. The big bad wolf blows down the first two pigs’ houses, made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig’s house, made of bricks. The story has been told and retold for hundreds of years. However, I think that things have changed…

There have been a multitude of innovations in modern construction techniques of late, so I have decided to take a second look at how affective the pigs’ methods actually were; would the straw and stick homes still fall to huffing and puffing today?

Straw house

With shortages of materials, lack of skills, an ever increasing population and subsequent carbon footprint, there is understandably an enormous demand for a housing solution that won’t cost the earth, both financially and environmentally.

Straw bale construction is one such material that could help achieve this goal. Indeed, a house built from straw goes one step further than helping to alleviate a housing crisis – it can even help the very occupants within that house keep the modern enemy of fuel poverty at bay. Straw bale buildings are so efficiently insulated that they require very little heating, even in the dead of winter.

Where timescales are an issue, straw bale building can also prove to be a worthwhile consideration. Last year saw the first ever straw bale houses hit the market in Bristol. The housing development consisted of seven homes that were erected on site in just nine days, thanks to their precision factory-made panels which slot together perfectly. This speedy turnaround adds to their affordability, of course.

Social Landlord Martin Connolly, responsible for the development, commented on the Bristol homes: “We got into straw bale housing to explore how we could make housing more affordable. What was behind it was concern about homelessness and the environment.”

“In the first instance, we wanted to achieve natural non-toxic house building which sequesters carbon. Hugely insulated and air-tight, the homes produce virtually all the energy they need to run. We are installing rain water harvesting to cut down water and sewage bills, and LED lights, solar panels and an air-source heat pump to reduce light and heating costs. Bath University research shows the running costs can be reduced by as much as 90%. And, as volume of sales increase, we can strive to make the house purchase price even more affordable.”

So, was the first little piggy really that foolish to choose straw over other available materials? Let’s consider the facts; just shy of 4m tonnes straw is produced as a by-product each year by British agriculture. It only takes around 7 tonnes of straw to build a three-bedroom house similar to the Bristol developments. This means that theoretically it would be possible to grow enough straw to build more than half a million new homes each year using straw grown exclusively in British fields. Perhaps not so foolish!?

Stick house

Was the second piggy wrong to build his house from wood? I think absolutely not. Perhaps, considering that the structure fell merely at the exhaling of a wolf, it is his construction skills (or lack thereof) that should be questioned rather than his choice of material. Timber frame buildings are inherently strong, durable and sustainable. Readily available and relatively low in cost, structural timber offers a competitive advantage over many other materials.

Studies suggest that by moving more towards offsite construction techniques, the reputation of the construction industry will improve in the eyes of the younger generation, who above all have a keen interest in innovation, technology and environmental issues. This means that a career within the sector would become a more viable and attractive option, which in turn will help to alleviate the chronic skills shortage currently blighting the industry. Even the second piggy could brush up on his abilities by enrolling in an apprenticeship scheme.

The government report, Construction 2025, highlighted that the poor public image of construction was having a detrimental effect on companies’ abilities to recruit and retain the best talent. The cleaner, safer and more professional setting of a modular construction factory could definitely help attract prospective apprentices and graduates into this relatively new and exciting area of our industry.

Timber is the perfect choice for specifiers who want a precision engineered material that is both cost effective AND sustainable. Structural timber is a low-carbon alternative that offers high structural strength, airtight construction and a traceable supply chain. Therefore it is the perfect choice of material for little piggies with a passion for sustainability and style.

Brick house

Although the hero of the fairy tale is the pig that chose brick above all other materials, the truth of the matter is that there are pro’s and con’s to every material and brick is no exception. Brick homes require very little maintenance and never require painting, caulking or staining. However, this does have a trade-off. Changing the appearance of a brick exterior can be somewhat difficult and expensive.

Homes made of brick are highly energy efficient and therefore remain cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Whilst this in itself is good for the environment, there are caveats and sadly the manufacturing process of bricks almost nullifies this benefit. The manufacturing processes used to create building materials such as cement and bricks are currently accountable for roughly 12% of all emissions of carbon dioxide in the world.

Brick manufacturing especially is very energy-intensive due to the kilns that are used requiring firing for up to three days in order for the bricks within to become hard and strong. Brick kilns operate at about 1100°C and are often kept hot even when not in use. This immense heat is generated using fossil fuels, which emit significant CO2 when combusted.

Houses constructed using brick are durable, energy efficient, highly fire-resistant and low maintenance. This means that they tend to have a higher resale value than their timber beam counterparts. Homeowner insurance is also a lot lower for these very reasons. So whilst savings can be made in the long term, the initial outlay will be much higher if using brick in your project.

Bricks are much more expensive as a building material than timber or straw. Also, whilst largely low maintenance for the most part, when repairs do need to be made they can be difficult, time consuming, highly invasive and expensive. This renders brick a non-cost-effective option for many home builders, regardless of savings that will be made at a later date.

Summary

It is clear to see that each method of construction has both benefits and draw backs. This means that no one method is a perfect solution to meet 21st century housebuilding demands. If the housing crisis, combined with materials shortages and the skills gap are the modern day “wolf at the door”, then it is only through a multifaceted approach that utilises all of the tools and knowledge in our arsenal that we can succeed and thrive as an industry. It’s impossible to tell which material will come up trumps in the end – but one thing we can all agree on is that modular technologies, offsite methods and alternative material usage will play increasingly larger roles in construction as we go forward as an industry. Expect to see a lot more on the topic!

So in summary, does a fairy tale that was first committed to print in the 1840’s still offer worthy advice to the wise and considerate specifier who wishes to keep the wolves at bay? I say “no, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!”

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Modular home factory to open in Leeds

Legal & General Capital (LGC) has today announced the launch of its modular housing business, Legal & General Homes, which will seek to modernise the home building industry by providing modern, precision engineered factory manufactured houses through its new factory in the North of England.

The UK’s housing supply is in crisis. This is a chronic production problem; we simply don’t supply enough houses to meet the demand by customers, both young and old. The UK has an annual output of around 130,000 homes, with a requirement for 250,000. Legal & General is aiming to build thousands of modular houses to help tackle this long term problem.

Legal & General Homes has signed a long-term lease with Logicor on a 550,000 sq ft warehouse in Sherburn-in-Elmet, 15 miles east of Leeds, representing the largest modular homes construction factory in the world. Initially employing 400 to 500 local people, it expects to deliver its first houses from the factory in June. The customer response to our modular housing has been extremely positive from a wide range of developers.

Paul Stanworth, Managing Director of Legal & General Capital, said: “Sustainable, durable modern materials and proven technology will enable us to create high-quality homes meeting a wide range of housing needs and help solve the UK’s housing crisis. Modern modular housing in the UK has so far been restricted to the top end of the market: the scale of our Sherburn facility will enable many more people to benefit from new, environmentally-friendly construction techniques which have already become mainstream in Europe.”

A flexible, cost-effective solution, it will produce high quality homes tailored to meet customers’ designs and needs, ranging from 20-storey apartment blocks to rows of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses. The technology has been proven right across Europe, including countries such as Austria, Germany and Scandinavia where off-site manufacturing of housing is increasingly common place. Time spent building on site will be reduced by more than 70%, compared to traditional techniques, manufacturing sections in advance and delivering them to the site to be installed.

Tom Ground, Chief Executive of Legal & General Homes, commented: “Legal & General Homes aims to deliver a new solution to the problems we face in the UK, addressing the shortage of suitable, affordable and sustainable housing by manufacturing higher quality, energy efficient, lower cost housing.”

Legal & General Homes will not have the typical defects associated with house building by using cross laminated timber and automated technology to remove shrinkage, cracking, wet trades, plaster jointing and nailing – reducing repair costs as the building settles. Its homes will be precision engineered in order to make them energy efficient, great to live in, and better for the environment than traditional homes.

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (The LEP) commented: “I am delighted that The LEP was able to play a significant role in securing Legal & General’s investment into Selby. The confidence shown not only brings over 400 jobs to the area, it highlights the strength of the City Region’s workforce within the manufacturing sector and underlines our attractiveness to international investors due to our location at the heart of the UK which ensures easy access to both domestic and global markets.”

“The investment, which is the second in the region by Legal and General in the last 12 months following the joint venture with Scarborough Group at Thorpe Park, will also see The LEP and Legal and General work together to help meet the region’s growing housing demands.”

Leader of Selby District Council, Cllr Mark Crane, added: “This is a real vote of confidence in the Selby district as a great place for business investment. Our transport links, the availability of affordable business space, and the quality of life here in Yorkshire all contribute to the growth potential of our area. This isn’t just about jobs, this is about housing too and we’re excited by the products that will be made at this site. We’ve been working with Legal & General for some time now, and we’ll continue to do so, to finalise plans for this major investment in the Selby district.”

Charlie Howard, Managing Director – UK, Logicor, said: “We are very pleased to lease this building to L&G Homes. The Big555 is the UK’s largest readily available warehouse, located in Sherburn Distribution Park which provides strategic access to Yorkshire, the North West, the North East and the Midlands.”

As one of the largest UK property investors, with significant volumes of patient long-term capital under management, Legal & General has identified high quality housing stock as a key asset for society and wants to work with the Government, local authorities, housebuilders, social housing providers, charities and other specialist organisations to create more housing stock in the UK. It recently announced the launch of a Build to Rent partnership with PGGM, through which it will invest £600m into building purpose built private rental housing across the UK, providing over 3000 homes.

Our Mortgage Club provides large scale distribution of mortgages. In 2015 the Club completed £46bn of mortgage lending, with around one in five new UK mortgages going through it. It is part of the company’s Housing Partnerships Division, which includes Legal & General Surveying Services who managed over 490,000 mortgage valuations and surveys in 2015, and Insurance which provides a full range of protection products for homeowners, tenants and landlords.

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Could offsite construction attract new home grown talent?

Ministers have today announced that they want the construction industry to focus efforts on attracting, developing and retaining home grown talent into the industry and remove barriers currently preventing more young people from entering the sector.

This involves looking at how companies recruit and train, but also at how adopting modern technologies and methods could help to keep our sector interesting, up-to-date and attractive to the next generation of budding construction professionals.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis and Skills Minister Nick Boles have stressed that they want the construction industry to re-evaluate their current business models to see if there is enough attention being paid to recruitment. The ministers suggested that businesses should also consider other methods of construction – such as offsite manufacturing – to help diversify the industry.

The Construction Leadership Council has been called upon to review what skills the construction industry need to provide enough homes to meet national demand and tackle the housing crisis effectively.

The Council has asked Mark Farmer, of real estate and construction consultancy Cast, to identify actions that will help bring more workers to the industry.

Views are being sought on how to best train a workforce which has a high level of self-employment and bring about greater use of off-site construction. The review will also look at how the industry can introduce measures that encourage more investment and new ways of working.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said “The number of new homes is up 25% in the last year – and this is further proof we’ve got the country building again and delivering the homes the nation wants.”

“This means thousands of jobs are now up for grabs and we’re determined to make sure that there are enough skilled workers to get the job done.”

“Construction offers an exciting and rewarding career and we need to build a new generation of home grown talented, ambitious and highly skilled construction workers.”

Skills Minister Nick Boles commented “The government is committed to getting Britain building. We are investing in measures to cut red tape and increase the number of young people doing apprenticeships and traineeships to ensure we have a pipeline of skilled workers.”

“As leaders in the industry, the Council is best placed to advise on how to boost productivity in the sector and build the houses and infrastructure our nation needs.”

Mark Farmer, chief executive officer at Cast, added “I’m delighted to be asked to lead this review. The construction industry’s skills shortfall has been growing progressively and its ageing workforce now means affirmative action needs to be taken to avoid more acute issues in the future.”

“A healthy and robust construction sector is vital to underpinning the government’s commitment to delivering critical new housing and infrastructure projects. It will also ensure the unrivalled economic multiplier effect related to construction activity continues to play its part within the wider UK economy.”

“The industry needs to seize the opportunity to celebrate the vital contribution it makes and, in partnership with government and other key stakeholders, ensure it overcomes the current barriers to fulfilling its potential.”

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Offsite ignorance must be addressed to meet housebuilding targets

Much-needed homes could be built offsite and delivered ready to be assembled in order to meet increasing demand, if there is more understanding and clarity that the approach is competitive with more traditional methods of construction.

This conclusion is drawn from new research undertaken for the Scottish Government following its challenge to industry to “transform” the way new homes are built as a means to further increase sustainability, boost the rate of supply and create export opportunities to support the drive towards a low carbon economy.

Trade body Homes for Scotland engaged its members, who together deliver 95% of new homes built for sale, in order to assess industry awareness, appetite and readiness surrounding alternative construction methods such as offsite manufactured systems.

With improved quality, sustainability and speed of construction identified as drivers for an increase in the use of offsite construction, the report found no resistance to this in principle from home builders. However, the strong perception that offsite construction is more expensive was found to be the biggest barrier. Concerns were also expressed in relation to control over programming and the capacity of the supply chain to sharply increase output.

The report proposes 11 recommendations that could help address these issues, including how to overcome the knowledge and resource gaps that exists in relation to costing and R&D.

Homes for Scotland Chief Executive Philip Hogg (right) said “With the industry’s capacity to increase production in the wake of the economic downturn currently being hampered by shortages in both skills and traditional building materials, this report is very timely and provides a useful baseline from which to explore how the increased use of offsite construction could help overcome these challenges.”

“However, any such ‘evolution’ must be demand-led and supported by a proven business case that also provides the flexibility the private sector require in delivering products to their customers.”

Minister for Housing and Welfare Margaret Burgess added “We are committed to encouraging companies to utilise offsite modern methods of construction due to the number of potential benefits including economic and export opportunities. That is why we commissioned Homes for Scotland to carry out this research and engage with industry to determine their level of interest in adopting these methods.”

“We will work with the housing industry in Scotland to encourage them to look at these opportunities. This report from Homes for Scotland showing private house builders’ perceptions represents an important step in mainstreaming these techniques.”

Click here to access the “Research into Mainstreaming Offsite Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in House Building” report. 

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