MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION
Need for greater education on project cost breakdowns
Scott Tacchi, Head of MMC at Sir Robert McAlpine, argues that for the true benefits of MMC approaches to be fully understood, a comprehensive breakdown of the cost-benefits, to provide the data and information necessary to effectively implement MMC practices from a cost reduction perspective, is required. He says this is a practice that has been ‘hugely beneficial to projects’ such as the government’s New Hospital Programme.
Much has been published exploring the benefits of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the healthcare and wider construction environment – it makes processes faster, improves quality, reduces defects, and is cheaper. However, having been an advocate for the use of MMC in the sector over the last five years, and passionate about the benefits I have seen (and commissioned) that can be brought by greater offsite manufacture, I am still left unable to demonstrate on a spreadsheet the actual pound and pence benefits to the bottom line at tender stage. This stems from an industry-wide fear
of commercial intelligence, or commercial sensitivity, that has spread to client bases across the sector – ultimately leading to the refusal to publish any realistic data or comparisons that can be used as a benchmark when comparing offsite with on-site. Articles on new-build hospitals, office blocks, or schools, rarely ever include a true breakdown of actual costs in building, running, and maintaining the site.
Need for a comprehensive breakdown Is it any wonder that there is
misunderstanding on the cost-benefits and value of MMC? What is needed is a comprehensive breakdown of these costs to provide the data and information necessary to effectively implement MMC practices from a cost reduction perspective – a practice that has been hugely beneficial to projects such as the government’s New Hospital Programme (NHP), aimed at completing 40 new hospitals by 2040. Integrated Health Projects (IHP), a
collaboration between Sir Robert McAlpine and VINCI, has embraced the NHP approach to standardisation, platform, and industrialisation for healthcare, where we are seeing tangible benefits that will have positive outcomes on the bottom line. Serving as a case study, the ProCure 23 (P23) MMC tool could be similarly implemented across other sectors, as it brings the following benefits
P23 MMC tool In January 2023, P23 introduced the ‘MMC tool’. With a minimum target of 70% ‘Combined MMC Value’, this challenges design teams and contractors to look at all aspects of the build to optimise project
delivery. The tool has been adopted by NHP and NHSE, and is ‘pass / fail’ at Final Business case stage. The benefit of this approach is that it outlines for comparison, in a structured manner, a methodology all those delivering for programmes such as the NHP need to follow to satisfy that the design and components are as optimised as reasonably possible, while balancing costs against original cost plans. This challenge is not one to take lightly,
and requires every member of the design team to work collaboratively to balance. The bigger picture benefits of this new approach are described under the following categories of standardisation – MMC category 0, MMC category 7, and improved programme scheduling:
MMC Category 0 A true development within the P23 and NHP programme has been the development and implementation of the MMC ‘Category 0’ to supplement the seven MMC categories already recognised. The focus of Category 0 is within the early design phase, and addresses factors such as robust and optimised area scheduling, grid spacing, approaches to a unified digital model, digital project management, and design through pre-construction innovation. Again, as with the above, it might been assumed by the layperson that of course all of these techniques for design optimisation and implementation during the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) design stages 1 to 4 would naturally be undertaken. Unfortunately, that has not been my experience.
A rendered image of The National Rehabilitation Centre near Loughborough.
MMC Category 7 ‘On-site’ methodology under Category 7 has existed since the seven MMC categories were coined. In the past, this meant simply ensuring that the trades were optimised in terms of sequencing, but now there is a new approach to productivity gains being led by digital and robotic innovation. Packages such as ‘Dalux’ or ‘Field View’ – which can assist
November 2023 Health Estate Journal 59
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