James Withey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite Solutions, examines the role offsite manufacturing could play in offsetting the Governments investment cuts, keeping UK construction on track to deliver on its targets.
In its autumn budget, the UK Government announced cuts to public funding affecting many parts of the economy. Although most big-ticket infrastructure projects escaped the chop, and health, education, defence and justice all kept or increased their budgets, the construction industry is still operating in a challenging economic climate.
As the sector attempts to negotiate these difficult headwinds, there are questions over whether the tough targets set out in its Construction 2025 strategy are still achievable. The global construction market is forecast to grow by over 70% by 2025, and with that growth will come new opportunities for the UK sector.
In its strategy document, Construction 2025, the UK government set out a blueprint for developing the industry, with an emphasis on reducing costs, increasing efficiencies and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy, when it was announced, set out the following ambitious targets for the sector to achieve by 2025:
• 33% reduction in the initial cost of construction and the whole life cost of assets
• 50% reduction in the time from inception to completion for newbuild and refurbished assets
• 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment
• 50% reduction in the gap between exports and imports of construction products and materials.
The latest round of funding cuts and price inflation, combined with these challenging targets, will make for a difficult operating environment for businesses in the construction sector. However, new challenges give rise to new ways of thinking, and front-runners in the industry will seek innovative new ways to increase efficiencies and reduce emissions, without compromising on quality.
Leading the way will be proponents of offsite manufacturing, which is cited in the Construction 2025 report itself: "As demand for low carbon and sustainable construction continues to increase, the potential of offsite construction to deliver assets with half the waste and 25% less energy in use will make it an ever more attractive option."
There's a broad consensus across the industry that modular and offsite construction, or Modern Construction Methods (MMC), has numerous benefits over traditional methods, offering a faster way to deliver high quality new buildings, by maximising efficiencies at every level.
What's more, compliance with building regulations is easier to manage and waste is minimised, making modular building a more environmentally friendly option. In terms of public sector priorities, we believe that the urgent and impending needs of education, health, justice and defence can often be satisfied directly via MMC or indeed as a hybrid solution.
What's more, with its lower costs and reduced emissions, offsite construction may well be the only way for some projects to meet budget, which has been made more difficult by recent material price rises as well as the targets set out in Construction 2025. But is it possible to take offsite a stage further, in order to deliver even more efficiencies across the board? Our multi-award-winning Seismic platform, uses the principles of MMC and DfMA to unlock the benefits of standardisation and efficiency, driving a major shift towards a more productive, better quality and lower carbon construction industry.
Ultimately, its purpose is to deliver quality buildings that can be delivered within shorter timescales. The new Cockburn Laurence Calvert Academy school in Leeds, which is currently under construction, is a live example of how the Seismic platform works in practice, and how it aligns with the government's push for more efficient solutions. Acting as principal contractor, we are providing a full turnkey solution at the school, involving construction of a three-storey whole school block and associated external works.
Work began on site in June 2022, with a planned completion date of August 2023. We are using the Seismic platform on this project, which means that the new school will be completed sooner than a conventional modular build, whilst offering significantly lower carbon impact and much better value than traditional construction. Analysis shows that a standard Seismic module comprises 581.3 kgCO2e per m2, well below the Construction 2025 target of 1,300 kg CO2e per m2.
In addition, because Seismic can be reused, either by relocating modules to other sites or by refurbishing individual components and cassettes, it adds a 234 kgCO2e per m2 clawback. This brings Seismic well beyond even the lowest stretch targets being discussed in construction today.
In summary, standardised, offsite construction platforms offer publicly funded projects a way of delivering high quality buildings in less time, at lower cost, with reduced waste and fewer emissions. The current economic climate requires us all to achieve more with less, whilst still reducing emissions. Offsite construction platforms, combined with DfMA and lean manufacturing are clearly sensible approaches which could form a significant part of the solution.
For more information visit: www.algeco.co.uk/permanent
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