Are you looking for a way to improve productivity on your construction site? It may seem counterintuitive, but the way to do that is by incorporating off-site construction into your processes.
Off-site construction (whether prefabrication, preassembly, or modularization) involves the fabrication or assembly of systems and components at off-site locations and manufacturing plants. Once completed, the systems or components are shipped to a construction job site for installation at the appropriate time.
Off-site construction is nothing new, but it’s going through something of a renaissance right now as people begin to realize its potential benefits. If you haven’t already hopped on the off-site bandwagon, it might be time to start thinking about it. Here’s why:
Shorter Schedules
Since site work and building construction occur at the same time, you can save as much as 60% of total construction time. While contractors do foundation work, others can build walls and components, meaning that walls can go up as the foundation cures.
Additionally, work is not affected by weather delays so construction can continue year-round.
Improved Quality
Building quality is improved because of the controlled construction environment. Off-site construction facilities are enclosed and secure, protecting against weather damage as well as theft. Also, the mechanization used in prefabricated construction ensures precise conformity to building code standards and greater quality assurance.
More Efficient Use of Labor and Materials
According to the Modular Building Institute, the environmental consequences of construction and demolition waste in the U.S. are staggering. With more than 135 million tons of debris to landfills every year, it’s the single largest waste source.
A 2007 report published by WRAP supports the fact that off-site manufacturing processes can help the construction industry reduce waste. The WRAP report shows up to a 90% reduction can be achieved by reducing wastes such as wood pallets, shrink wrap, cardboard, plasterboard, timber, concrete, bricks and cement by increasing the use of off-site manufacture and modular construction.
Also, with on-site construction, labor costs tend to be higher because the labor is more skilled. With off-site construction, labor is maximized in a factory setting where repetitive tasks can be automated and workers can be assigned to smaller and more specialized task, ”a la” assembly line.
Lower Project Costs
Because of the more efficient use of labor and materials and the shorter construction schedule, you wind up saving money. You also have a greater degree of predictability in cost. What’s not to love?
Vertex BD is a flexible building design software that automates the creation of architectural drawing sets, panel fabrication drawings, material reports, renderings and manufacturing data, all from one building model. Learn more at www.vertexcad.com/bd.
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