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RESEARCH STUDY


EXPLORING CURRENT THINKING ON MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION


Do you currently, or have you ever worked on any projects using offsite building techniques?


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Housing is in crisis in the UK, with both builders and buyers faced with an array of challenges. The industry has still not met the Government’s


arguably insufficient target of 300,000 homes a year to meet population demands, and house prices have risen to more than eight times average earnings. All the while, construction workers are ageing and retiring, and the industry is struggling to draw the young into the profession.


Three issues here, speed, cost, and skills, can all be addressed to some degree by a technology that has been around for some time now, but which has seen a resurgence in the UK housing industry during recent decades – modular and offsite construction. Placed under the umbrella term Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), these construction methods cover a diverse range of materials and techniques, from timber frame, to structural insulated panel systems (SIPs), precast concrete systems, and volumetric, steel framed construction, all offering different benefits and suitabilities. While various versions of such technologies have been


around since the early 20th century, and others far before this, modern iterations of these methods have been proved time and again to be faster to build, to reduce onsite construction time by an average of 50 per cent – which in


turn reduces labour and site-related costs – and the skills that are required on the factory side can be transferable from other sectors, and may prove more attractive to younger workers. In a survey of 138 members of the housebuilding industry, conducted by Housebuilder & Developer and supported by researchers at Edge Insight, it has been found that 72 per cent agree that housebuilders can save money by building offsite, 89 per cent believe that building offsite can positively affect housing supply, 80 per cent housing cost, and 79 per cent the skills crisis.


While the use of MMC technologies appears to be


increasing, with 60 per cent of our survey respondents reporting that they have worked on projects using offsite building techniques, alongside 73 per cent reporting that their perception of offsite has improved over the last five years, there are still some 40 per cent who have never worked on such a project, and 37 per cent of those never anticipate doing so. There are many reasons for reticence here; whether it’s the


poor reputation of MMC created by low quality prefabs of previous generations, the initial costs required to invest in a factory (or another provider’s facility), or that builders are simply used to what they are used to. This report delves deeper into both the benefits of – and


barriers to – MMC for UK housebuilders, exploring both how the technology can aid some of the industry’s struggles, and what has prevented MMC’s wider adoption.


PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH


WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK


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