Autumn 2011 Issue - University of Central Lancashire

Conference Reviews
27
company business models (as they will have
to re-visit things in a different way e.g.
logistics, dealing with supply chain partners;
what happens if a supplier goes out of
business? etc). These issues are important,
as you need to have a critical mass in the
supply chain. For example, if you design
something that has certain constraints and
technical requirements (to fit in with your
design), and that manufacturer goes out of
business, it may not always be that easy to
then procure another alternative from a
different manufacturer.
You were also talking about the use of
virtual reality, so is that about allowing
companies to see how this would fit
together to create a virtual building?
Correct. One of the issues now, is that we
have an industry that is steeped in tradition.
It is somewhat parochial, with deep-rooted
values that are embedded in contracts,
relationships, trust, ethics etc. For people to
step out of that mindset and into new ways
of looking at manufacturing (for example),
new methodologies, new technologies, new
processes etc, then the commercial drivers
and benefits need to be more overt. Some
companies are already doing this with great
success. They are also very good at doing
this, and are now creating competitive
advantage in the marketplace. However, you
need to have commercial tacit knowledge to
take advantage of this; and at this present
moment in time within the industry, there
are only a few companies in the UK that
have this. This is one of the reasons we are
currently developing a Construction Site VR
Simulator, in order to train construction
professionals in this new way of working and
thinking. Saying that, the inertia and
momentum is now gathering pace. For
example, I am a Coordinator of CIB TG74
looking at “New Production and Business
Models in Construction”. CIB is the
International Council for Research and
Innovation in Building and Construction
(www.cibworld.nl). I am also a member of
CIB W119 – “Customised Industrial
Construction”. Work undertaken to date has
identified some significant breakthroughs.
One of the things we are hoping to do next
is to determine a five-year vision for the
industry, which will include key priority areas.
This will also include an international
research strategy that addresses both theory
and practice - highlighting barriers and
opportunities (cognisant of stakeholder
needs, market demand, cultural and societal
influences etc).
Do you consider the new methods of
construction to have appealing
environmental factors that will
incentivise the use of them?
One of the benefits of adopting new
methodologies and techniques such as this
includes its impact on the environment. This
includes a variety of issues, such as a lower
carbon footprint, improved waste control,
fewer defects, more efficient processes,
creating and engendering Corporate Social
Responsibility etc. This means that
companies are now increasingly aware of
their responsibilities and are actively aligning
these into cogent sustainable building
practices. Therefore, using an approach
such as offsite construction can have a
positive impact on this. For example, the
ability to procure materials, products and
services at a much earlier stage in the
process allows everyone to think about
issues at a very early stage, including: the
pre-vetting of suppliers, manufacturers,
contractors etc (regarding their sustainability
credentials), through to looking at aspects
of design, functionality, maintenance etc
(over the lifecycle of the product).
So this is about making the building
industry more environmentally friendly,
more energy efficient and more
sustainable?
Yes, but again, it is much more than this.
All these benefits are overt and well
documented. Controlled environments such
as factories can help companies achieve
defendable sustainability solutions. However,
what tends to happen now is that the design
often evolves in parallel with construction to
save time. Using modern methods of
construction requires people to make
different decisions, and much earlier well in
advance of construction. Making those
decisions early means that you can make
parts of the product in the factory very
quickly. You therefore know the costs in
advance, know what you are getting, and
everything is very well defined. The downside
is that once you have made these decisions,
you do not have the flexibility to change your
mind as a client that easily, as the products
may be being assembled in multiple factories
for the deliverable dates you have agreed
with them. Changing your mind would
therefore tend to incur additional costs with
cancelled contracts, materials no longer being
needed etc. In this respect, clients within the
industry often change their minds during the
construction stage for a variety of reasons.
So these new methods are as applicable
for small housing projects as for large
construction sites?
Yes, you are right. I have worked with people
on simple commercial dwellings, through to
large-scale projects. The principles are the
same, only the scale and complexity changes.
For example, it is now possible to create such
things as “pods”, which could be a complete
bathroom, kitchen etc which can be slotted
into a building, through to panelised walls
that look exactly like external brickwork – but
much better. The finishes are exemplary; you
would not know for example (even looking
up close) whether panelised walls were brick
or not - you would not know the difference.
Looking at recent show homes, there
was an en-suite bathroom that seemed
poorly designed in terms of space utility.
Are we getting to the stage where a
whole bathroom will be designed and
fitted as a unit?
You have highlighted a problem that has
existed for a long time. Traditional house
builders have existing “house types” and
models that they work with. The problem is
construction, and the workmanship used to
create the rooms and spaces needed. If there is
a problem with the construction of the space
or quality of workmanship, then problems
inevitably arise. This does not tend to happen
with offsite manufacturing, as these two issues
are taken out of the equation. You asked if the
whole bathroom could be designed and fitted
as one unit; the simple answer is “yes”.
We have been doing this for some time now.
The clients (you and I) are king here. If you
come to me and tell me what you want, all I
need to know is the specifications you want
(quality and product-wise), along with the
dimensions or constraints that I have to
comply with. This is obviously more expensive
for a one off, but if you are working for one of
the traditional house builders, then they will
have all the design styles available for you to
choose. In some cases, you will be able to go
online and see your design changes being
made live. Changes that cannot be made will
be for example, ‘greyed out’ as they may
already be in the production process. Virtual
imagery of the end products is also available
online. One particular advantage we have here
is the increased use of BIM I mentioned earlier.
BIM can provide real-time, on-demand
building information over the Internet. This not
only helps support the design and construction
process, but can also help generate more
environmentally sustainable and energy
efficient buildings.