Late last year, the Construction Innovation Hub’s Platform Programme published the findings from a series of workshops and development activity. Trudi Sully, Impact Director at the Hub outlines what to expect, with the first draft of the Product Platform Rulebook soon to be published.
At the end of last year, the
Construction Innovation Hub’s Platform
Programme published ‘The Road to
the Rulebook’. Summarising feedback
received via extensive stakeholder
consultation, this document provided
1
both an introduction to the concept
of platform-based approaches in
construction as well outlining a
framework, guiding readers as to
how to develop and deploy product
platforms to meet an aggregated
demand.
The creation and release of this ‘Product Platform Development Framework’ is one of several key steps guiding the industry to develop and apply product platforms in the manner driven by government, through policy such as the Construction Playbook and Transforming Infrastructure Performance Roadmap to 2030.
Hot on its heels, the Hub are very soon to release the initial draft of the Product Platform Rulebook for consultation. This Rulebook of open access guidance, key processes and approaches, will be the blueprint for developing and implementing product platforms for current and future market players, with built-in mechanisms for continuous improvement and future opportunities for harmonisation and rationalisation as capability and capacity grows. It is intended to address directly:
• Why: Why do we need a platform approach to construction, what outcomes are we trying to drive and how is policy driving the emergence of product platforms?
• What: What are product platforms, what are their defining features and what are the rules that govern whether something can be deemed a product platform?
• How: Guidance on how to develop a product platform, the key decisions that need to be taken and the key outputs required to demonstrate compliance and to support their deployment on construction projects
Most of the Hub team driving the Rulebook development come from organisations in a competitive market, truly demonstrating the power of collaboration and the commitment of these organisations to work together to overcome common industry challenges for the benefit of all. Furthermore, the Rulebook will be brought to life through relatable and relevant case studies, with contributions from proof of concepts and flagship projects and solutions, such as SEISMIC, Bryden Wood’s Platform II, the Department for Education’s Gen Zero, and ProCure’s Repeatable Rooms.
However, input does not stop there. The early consultations involved 120 different organisations, from government departments, to consultants, contractors, manufacturers and throughout the supply chain. Once the draft is released next month, another round of consultation will be held to enable further refinement and development with the first edition release scheduled for late summer.
There is recognition that the Rulebook will need to remain a live document, sitting with an impartial custodian, that will coordinate ongoing development by industry contributors as more product platforms are developed and deployed.
Ultimately the Rulebook is designed to support government departments in implementing policy set out in the Construction Playbook and TIP Roadmap - building a strong aggregated pipeline of programmes on which product platforms can be deployed via a disaggregated supply chain - whilst enabling industry to confidently build their capability and capacity in response to the demand going forward.
We can’t wait to share all the hard work when the first, beta edition of the Rulebook lands and hope this marks the beginning of a live and agile resource which can support the rapid emergence of, and continuous improvement in, construction product platforms for generations to come.
To find out more about the Construction Innovation Hub Platform Programme visit: www.constructioninnovationhub.org. uk/platform-programme/
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