Offsite manufacturing has jumped to the forefront of many debates within the construction industry in recent years and as Ross Baxter, Managing Director of Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions points out, it's time to debunks several 'myths' to help developers choose offsite first.
Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions comprises several familiar names that will be familiar to those of you in the timber sector including Pasquill, International Timber, Roofspace Solutions, Intrastack and Scotframe. The construction industry is always evolving and developing. With new technologies, methods and practices being implemented regularly, companies within the sector are always looking for innovative ways to help them move forward.
One thing that many in the industry are looking at is offsite manufacturing (OSM). OSM sees the majority of manufacturing take place in a factory setting, rather than onsite at the development. This allows for a whole host of benefits for housebuilders, which many are taking advantage of. However, do people within the industry know the benefits of using OSM? And are they using it to its greatest potential?
Pasquill, the UK's largest supplier of trussed rafters, decided to conduct research into what the perceived 'myths' surrounding OSM were. In a survey commissioned by Pasquill, over 100 housebuilders were asked what their perceived benefits of using OSM were. From the results, it was found that many benefits of OSM were not considered to be huge priorities as to why they decided to use OSM in their projects.
The survey, which looked at why businesses were turning to OSM products, asked "What are the biggest benefits to your organisation of using offsite manufacturing?". In reply, 75% said that speed was the main benefit of OSM. This is because OSM construction takes place offsite by experts and is not affected by weather conditions on the day, something that can cause severe delays to a project. This also reduces the time spent building individual parts, as it all takes place in a factory, and reduces the need to have individual materials assembled on-site.
With many in the industry under increased pressure complete projects on time, OSM has become a vital tool for managing these goals. Cost was also deemed to be a big benefit by the survey respondents, with 44% believing it to be a huge positive point for OSM. This is due to the economies of scale, and the fact that costs can be predicted and forecast, which is never more important with an uncertain economic situation ahead. It can also give a clearer picture in terms of life costing, with OSM allowing savings during the lifetime of the build, as well as during construction. However, there were other areas where survey respondents didn't think that certain benefits of OSM were as important. Only 15% said that countering the skills gap was a big positive for housebuilders.
This is surprising, as a skills shortage is one of the biggest issues facing the industry today. Using OSM to counter this is a great tool for those in the construction industry, with there being so much that OSM does to help fill onsite staff shortages and skills gaps. Alongside this, Pasquill is training up the next generation required for OSM via its junior designer programme, making sure they have the skills required to successfully implement OSM.
Other aspects that were not mentioned in the survey were product quality and embodied carbon. Through OSM a higher product quality is achieved in a factory-controlled environment compared to on-site. Additionally, we can qualify the embodied carbon through a known supply chain and product use. For example, Saint Gobain Off-site Solution division has recently achieved an Environment Product Declaration (EPD) for one of its brands, Roofspace Solutions for its panelised roof solution, i-Roof.
However, through the survey, we also discovered that 21% don't know or still don't use OSM within their business. With OSM being one of the pillars of future construction, it will be an opportunity for those that have not used OSM to consider implementing it in future projects. Saint-Gobain's offsite solutions brands are driving the use of OSM within construction and believe that in time, everyone will see a benefit through applying it to their businesses.
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