CU1611

CASE study
Fusion in practice
Barratt Developments finds that manufacturing building components off-site allows contractors to
save on delivery costs, reduce manpower on erection, speed up construction schedules
Afast-growing trend, and one that we
shall be covering in greater detail in
the magazine next year, is off-site
manufacturing. The proven benefits are
beginning to exercise contractors in all
disciplines, helped in part by the growing
importance of BIM and its emphasis on
collaboration. Sharing building information
about a project allows architects and
engineers to provide manufacturers with
precise fabrication information,
guaranteeing the delivery of ready-to-use
building components, and eliminating both
wastage and bad workmanship on site.
One of the leading proponents of off-site
fabrication is Fusion Building Systems, who
recently hosted a visit by Barratt
Developments, the country's largest
housebuilder, to its Northampton factory as
part of a selection process to find suitable
offsite manufacturers to support its search
for new off-site and modern methods of
construction.
The visit by Barratt Developments' CEO,
David Thomas and COO, Steven Boyes,
took place as part of a two-year review
which has seen over 150 possible building
suppliers examined, including the trial run
with Fusion's light gauge steel frame
system on a development in Southampton.
Barratt aims to produce at least 20% of its
new homes using offsite construction
methods by 2020, and from its selection
process concluded that Fusion's light
gauge steel system was a practical option,
alongside two other offsite suppliers.
The trial project in Southampton saw light
gauge steel frames used in the
construction of social housing properties at
Barratt's Swanbourne Park development.
With made-to-measure structures delivered
to site on time and according to precise
specifications, Fusion was able to
demonstrate how efficiently the offsite
process can work - five times less transport
than traditional methods, only five workers
needed on site and individual house
structures completed in just one day.
A BESPOKE REVIT PLATFORM
Fusion currently uses a combination of
design software. Projects are fully modelled
in 3D using Autodesk Revit, showing the
Fusion walls and openings matching the
client's architectural drawings, floor levels
and joist spans, including service hole
routes through the floor zones, and coordinating,
if they are available, with a
client's own Revit project models. This
model is used to drive client sign-off of the
Fusion structure.
The actual panelised light gauge steel
frame detailed design and fabrication
drawings are created using a framing
software bespoke to Fusion, in which all
necessary detailing for factory assembly
and EPS injection can be added, providing
CNC data for the roll-formers.
Fusion is investing in a custom
development of a Revit platform - fully BIM
compliant, light gauge steel framing
software called StrucSoft MWF. This will
allow the frame design to be created
directly from the Revit model used for
client sign-off.
Although Fusion has specific wall panel
types and works to constraints that govern
the manufacturing and erection processes,
every wall panel and floor cassette is
designed specifically to suit every individual
building. Further customisation, therefore,
is perfectly feasible, and the Fusion product
can be designed to suit any of the client's
individual project designs.
Oliver Novakovic, Barratt Developments'
technical and innovations director, said:
"Offsite construction is high on our agenda
and if we're to meet our 2020 target, we
need to find the right technologies and
partners to help us deliver the quality
homes our customers expect.
"Our trial working with Fusion was a
success. We were impressed with each
stage of the process from design through
to delivery and assembly on site. And now,
as we're about to embark on live, large
scale developments with Fusion, I'm
confident they can deliver, offering the
business a further alternative to both
traditional brick and block construction,
and timber frame."
The visit to Fusion's factory included
seeing roll-forming, wall and floor assembly
and Fusion's patented pre-insulation
process. Following the tour, Barratt
personnel were also shown the Fusion
system being used on a large three storey
extra care facility in Northampton.
Mike Fairey, Fusion Building Systems
director, outlined the importance of Barratt's
visit, emphasising that the use of light
gauge steel frames and floors,
manufactured offsite for use in the
construction of residential housing on a
large scale, is a significant cultural change
for the industry. He stated that the trial
project with Barratt was a key moment in
their analysis of both the building system in
a live environment and the evaluation of the
company in general - and that the visit
opened the door to the widespread use of
light gauge steel in high volume house
building - and probably the start of a
significant partnership.
"Barratt Developments has taken the time
to understand every step in the offsite
construction process," he said. "They've
trialled our product, visited our factory and
seen other developers who are using our
system. They agree that light gauge steel
frame should form part of their house
building construction process now and into
the future, and we're delighted to be
working with them."
Barratt and Fusion will now look to do full
trials with Southampton, Southern Counties
and Stratford Divisions.
www.fusionbuild.com
34
November/December 2016