a.aa MMC M11 52pp Web

article
Chris Holleron
ENSURING
HIGH-QUALITY
OFFSITE HOMES
Modular unit built from Hadley Steel Framing being
lifted into position at Edgeware Road project
Modern methods of construction could help the UK overcome its housing crisis but only if the necessary standards around quality are in
place. In this feature, Chris Holleron, Group Product Manager – Housing at Hadley Group, details how the industry can ensure this is the case
In the past decade, the built environment
sector has looked to embrace more modern
methods of construction, paving the way for
more efficient future building practices. The
change couldn’t come at a better time, with the
UK struggling to build enough homes to support
its ever-growing population. As a result, both the
Government and housebuilders are looking to
further invest into these methods and boost
supply.
Much of the momentum behind this shift can be
traced back to the Farmer Review, which was first
published in 2016. At the time, nobody could have
predicted the report’s impact. The hard-hitting
document, entitled ‘Modernise or Die’ was highly
critical of practices within the sector and
challenged the industry to improve. One of the
proposed solutions was for the further adoption of
offsite construction techniques. In the intervening
years this has certainly been the case, with major
housebuilders investing in offsite construction
practices. In fact, even the Government’s housing
agency, Homes England has built its new southeast
office using offsite techniques.
The benefits of offsite construction
The offsite building process is by nature repetitive,
which means those who are performing it can
perfect the required techniques over time. This
helps developers to ensure a project can be
delivered on time.
Additionally, building offsite reduces the overall
work required to complete a project. Studies have
shown that far less labour is required to construct
a building in a factory setting. In fact, The Steel
Construction Institute (SCI) has claimed that the
amount of work required could be reduced by as
much as 75 per cent on a four-storey residential
development.
Rebuilding the housing supply
These benefits could prove to have a significant
impact for the UK housing industry, which
desperately needs to build more homes in the next
few years. Recent research by Heriot-Watt
University says England has a backlog of 3.91
million homes, meaning 340,000 new homes
need to be built each year until 2031. This number
exceeds even the Government’s target of
300,000 additional homes per year. To achieve
this goal, the Treasury has announced that it will
favour offsite manufacturing on all publicly funded
construction projects from 2019.
Balfour Beatty, one of the UK’s leading
infrastructure groups has committed itself to 25%
use of offsite construction methods by 2025. This
intense investment into the technologies has a
number of benefits for the broader construction
industry, however it must be managed carefully so
that the industry doesn’t overextend itself and
deliver low-quality homes.
Delivering high-quality homes
To ensure that offsite homes are delivered to a
high-quality, a number of industry bodies are
looking to bring a comprehensive set of building
regulations to market. One of those standards,
BPS 7014 has been established by the BRE
Group to test offsite development projects in terms
of structural, fire and acoustic performance.
Likewise, the BSI Group is examining whether
additional standards may be necessary for the
sector. Together the public bodies are analysing
the offsite sector to look for gaps in coverage and
whether additional standards are necessary.
As a manufacturer in the offsite construction
supply-chain, Hadley Group welcomes these
impending standards and hope they will help to
further encourage the use of modern methods of
construction throughout the country. Hadley
Group’s light gauge steel profiles for the use in
offsite contruction have been developed from
years of in-house research and development. As a
result, they will perform to exceptionally high
standards, which will ensure that they meet any
requirements set out by the relevant trade bodies.
It’s essential that the industry works together to
ensure the same high standards are met across
the board, especially given that this remains a
relatively new concept comparative to traditional
methods and still needs to win buy-in from the
broader public.
www.hadleygroup.com
Hadley Steel Framing
in-situ at a project on
Edgeware Road
10 Feb 2019 M11