CONSTRUCTION
Far-reaching benefits of offsite modular construction
Tony Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Merit, a specialist in offsite manufacture and build of ‘hi-tech’ facilities for healthcare, laboratory, cleanroom, manufacturing, and other industrial environments, discusses some of the key time, other practical, and cost-saving benefits of this approach, drawing on some of the company’s recent projects in healthcare.
The UK government a number of times last year reiterated its commitment to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, for example with a dedicated mention in the 2022 Queen’s Speech in May. While there has been some criticism over the pace, there are clear signs that progress is being made. This confirmation of commitment comes at a time of unprecedented backlog on NHS waiting lists, estimated to require up to seven years to be cleared, and patients experiencing more than 10-hour waiting times in A&E departments, partly due to the lack of space to admit them. More adequate facilities are urgently needed, and offsite modular is ideally positioned to play a major role. Building projects in the healthcare
sector are generally highly complex, requiring specialised technical knowledge
‘‘
Modular construction approaches are now well- established, but the breadth of offerings available masks the opportunities offered by those employing the most advanced methodologies. What can now be achieved is much further-reaching than is recognised
and high standards to meet the unique needs. To add to this, the Government has indicated a preference for the latest construction methods, while leveraging digital technologies and meeting stringent sustainability considerations. Modular construction approaches are now well- established, but the breadth of offerings available masks the opportunities offered by those employing the most advanced methodologies. What can now be
achieved is much further-reaching than generally recognised.
Multi-fold advantages The fundamental advantages of the offsite modular approach are multi-fold. Standardised designs built in the factory setting and delivered to sites enable better design, faster delivery, and waste reduction, accompanied by cost savings. Despite perceptions, such designs don’t limit flexibility of use. On the contrary, buildings can be future-proofed by allowing adaptation to meet changing needs in the decades to come, without the need for substantial new construction work. The offsite modular approach has already helped deliver facilities in a timely manner, but we are only at the beginning. An era of new construction approaches is upon us, with digitalisation and collaboration at the core.
Widen the scope with modular: digitalisation and collaboration According to McKinsey data, construction is one of the industries with the lowest levels of investment in innovation and digitalisation. Novel ways of working which help lower costs are often (mis-) understood as bringing compromises on quality or other aspects, rather than improving efficiencies and providing advancement over traditional methods. This is, however, a short-term view. Digital solutions, such as BIM modelling,
Merit’s patent-pending standardised design and offsite manufacture platform will deliver the UK’s first CAR-T Cell Manufacturing Facility for Autolus Therapeutics in Stevenage in just over two years, ‘almost half the time it would take to design and build the facility using traditional methods of construction’.
are increasingly used by the sector, but often only to replace drawing boards or 2D software, without exploring the advantages that they can bring to in terms of quality and timelines – factors that are
January 2023 Health Estate Journal 65
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