With innovative approaches to construction the only way to improve quality and productivity, Anne Daw, Associate and Head of MMC Delivery at HLM Architects, discusses the transformational potential of the platform approach.
The government has long championed the use of innovative methodologies to drive much-needed improvements in the construction industry, including MMC and the adoption of a new model – the Platform approach to Design for Manufacture and Assembly (P-DfMA). This feeds into the Construction Playbook, which promotes the use of platform approaches in how hospitals, schools, and infrastructure are procured and delivered to meet ambitious targets.
Platforms can accelerate industry transformation by boosting quality, speed, outcomes and performance. The recently published Product Platform Rulebook is a very positive step forward. It outlines a set of open-access rules and principles to create a common set of standards and processes for the industry to collectively develop product platforms and drive efficiencies, as well as societal and environmental benefits. It mandates that platforms must be deployable, configurable, and open – comprising repeatable, standardised assets with interoperable components. By harmonising repeatable features into a 'kit of parts' accessible to all, organisations can share knowledge, components and processes across a wide range of solutions and sectors, bringing economies of scale.
This approach replicates what we've seen in other industries, such as aerospace and manufacturing, and can work to overcome challenges in the fragmented construction industry including lack of standardisation, productivity, quality and predictability. The platform approach will not only optimise the fabrication and installation elements of construction but will also free up architects to be creative and focus on designing high quality projects tailored to specific needs while automatically meeting all technical, sector-specific requirements.
What the Product Platform Rulebook delivers is a set of common guidelines to bring clarity on how platforms can be successfully adopted at scale. Platforms can bring significant advantages, such as improved cost efficiencies through standardisation of solutions, faster delivery of projects, and safer conditions for workers on-site. They can also reduce the huge waste seen in the construction industry, which contributes 11% of all carbon emissions globally. We have no choice but to look at new options and accelerate innovation – it's the only way for the built environment to reach net zero.
Without embracing new models such as the platform approach, we will miss crucial environmental targets. Recent innovations include the Seismic II Product Platform Construction System, a volumetric platform suitable to multiple asset types, from offices and residential to hospitals and schools. It facilitates reliable and predictable assembly of configurable components, resulting in less disruption and work on-site and more flexibility to reconfigure modular buildings. Another stand-out example is Laing O'Rourke's p-DfMA platform – the Product Based Building Solutions (PBBS) Demonstrator, which offers cutting-edge reconfigurability, modularity and offsite manufacturing capabilities, and is already being leveraged for a new net zero school.
The Rulebook marks a key evolution for MMC, which lends itself well to the platform approach given its focus on agility, visibility of data, quality control and standardisation underpinned by using platforms to enable continuous improvement. Implementing MMC methodology successfully requires collaboration throughout the entire supply chain, which is one of the Rulebook's key tenets.
MMC has already been harnessing the power of standardisation and offsite construction – however, its impact has been limited by a lack of common interfaces and detailing based on specific products and closed source IP, making it difficult to change components without undertaking a wider re-design. An industry-wide platform approach significantly streamlines and simplifies the process, with key connections and details decided upfront. The platform approach allows the advantages of MMC, which have been spoken about for years – such as using 67% less energy than traditional construction and being significantly faster – to fully materialise within the wider construction industry. The Rulebook sets the right framework for a more consistent, collaborative approach that embraces innovation, to support the sector in its transformation and enable it to meet future demand.
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