CC Jul-Aug 2021

CASEstudy
don't offer standardised BIM catalogue
objects. However, finished designs can
be packaged in file formats that integrate
them with our client's central model,
allowing us to work in partnership with
other suppliers. This also allows the client
complete control and overview of the
build, with the ability to cut down walls,
make easy alterations, import elements
such as electrics or heat recovery and
highlight potential clashes in the building.
MAKING THE CONSTRUCTION
PROCESS SMOOTHER
Further efficiencies can be found with a
design for manufacture ethos, which we
implement across all our sites. A lot of
machinery accepts instructions from CAD
drawings, resulting in computer aided
manufacturing (CAM). For example, we
generate files from the design models that
dictate how we set up equipment, such as
timber CNC saws, presses or the laser on
the manufacturing benches. Using these
methods we maximise the use of material,
minimise waste, speed up the
manufacturing and improve accuracy with
products designed to closer tolerances
than their traditional counterparts.
This process also enables much better
oversight of quality control. The dry, welllit
surroundings of a factory and checks
throughout the entire manufacturing
process ensure any issues with quality
are detected and rectified.
Finally, when it comes to delivery, our
CAD technology tells us the overall bulk
that needs to be delivered and how it can
most efficiently fit into our lorries. The
plans are also provided to builders so it
can be installed with ease. Lovell Homes
has previously described our products as
like building with Lego!
Manufacturing houses in a factory is a
safer environment than building on site,
less exposure to sun, rain and wind.
Minimal site traffic and working from
heights is minimised (the main cause of
fatal accidents and injury on site). OSM,
facilitated by CAD, makes construction
safer through the mitigation of many sitebased
risks.
Building this way also means that fewer
personnel are needed on site,
addressing the ever-growing construction
skills gap. Tradespeople will always be
important, and they can also be
accommodated in a factory setting, but
as a sector we must also turn our
attention to training the next generation of
designers. Through better design using
CAD and the manufacturing of houses in
a purpose-built factory, costs can be
reduced through efficient use of materials
and sustainability targets can be met all
while promoting a safer way of working.
A CATALYST FOR BESPOKE BUILDS
In addition to speeding up the large-scale
building of much-needed homes, OSM is
also a valuable tool for bespoke self-build
projects or to help ramp-up production of
smaller builds which are rising in
popularity, such as garden rooms. Use of
CAD and OSM provides the same
benefits: standardising costs, quality and
predictable timelines.
For self-builders in particular, it can
provide confidence and allow them to
drive forward with new and exciting
designs that would have been
unaffordable or unachievable before
OSM. For example, Pasquill used MiTek to
design and manufacture an intricate 16-
sided roof with a central skylight for a
completely circular holiday home in
Scotland. This took numerous revisions
and several senior designers working
together to build a model that would
support a sedum grass roof three times
the weight of a standard tiled roof. When
the time came for installation, the roof
was assembled without issue by a few
builders in rural Scotland.
UNTAPPED POTENTIAL
There is unlimited potential in the
construction industries that will be
untapped as these manufacturing and
CAD design technologies grow together.
The near future promises widespread use
of 4D and augmented reality design
models, while one of our Saint-Gobain
sister companies, Weber Beamix, created
Europe's first 3D printed house. But for
now, in my opinion, OSM is the very best
way of helping the sector meet its
housing targets.
Pasquill is part of the Saint-Gobain Off-
Site Solutions Division, which includes
brands Scotframe, International Timber
and Roofspace Solutions. Visit:
www.pasquill.co.uk to find out more
about how our design technology and
OSM capabilities can help deliver quality
build projects on time and on cost.
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