MODULAR BUILDINGS DR LOUISE WEBB – DIRECTOR, DRLC LTD, UK
Modular buildings and compliance checks
Dr Louise Webb, director at DRLC Ltd, looks at post-completion compliance issues in modular healthcare construction and argues the case for early-stage oversight.
The increasing adoption of modular construction in healthcare – where hospital and clinic buildings are prefabricated off-site – offers clear benefits in speed, cost, and sustainability. However, this shift introduces new challenges in ensuring compliance with healthcare building services regulations. Traditionally, Authorising Engineers
(AEs), Clerk of Works, and NEC4 Project Supervisors conduct compliance checks through site visits and witness testing after construction. In modular builds, this approach may be too late, as critical systems are already designed and assembled in the factory. In this article, I highlight real-world
examples where compliance issues were discovered post-installation, such as inaccessible air handling unit intakes and non-compliant modular bathrooms. These issues, once embedded in the modular design, are difficult or impossible to rectify – especially when replicated across multiple sites. To address this, I am arguing for a
paradigm shift: compliance oversight must begin on the factory floor. AEs should be involved earlier in the process, reviewing and approving systems during fabrication. As modular construction becomes
more prevalent, early-stage compliance checks are essential to safeguard quality and patient safety across healthcare estates.
What is a modular building? The concept of modular construction has grown significantly in popularity over the past decade, largely because of its reputation for being more sustainable and environmentally responsible when compared with traditional on-site construction methods. Instead of building entirely on location, large sections of a modular building are manufactured in controlled factory environments and then transported to the site for assembly. This shift in approach not only reduces waste
30 Early-stage
compliance checks are essential to safeguard quality and patient safety
AHU fan viewed through porthole.
and shortens build times but also offers a pathway to lowering the carbon footprint of new developments, something that has become increasingly important across both public and private sectors. Modular building is also known as a Modern Method of Construction or MMC. For the NHS in particular, the need to
explore innovative building approaches has become urgent. Much of the health service’s estate is ageing and struggling to cope with modern demands, leading to a mounting backlog of maintenance issues. At the same time, hospitals and community services are facing intensifying pressure from rising patient numbers,
limited space, and an increasing expectation for quicker access to care. Adding to these challenges is the discovery that many NHS buildings in England were originally constructed using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC). While RAAC was initially praised for being lightweight and inexpensive, the material has proven to deteriorate after about 30 years in service. This has resulted in significant structural risks in some facilities, forcing urgent decisions about repair, replacement, and in some cases, complete hospital rebuilds. Alongside these structural and
Dr Louise Webb
Dr Louise Webb is a director at DRLC Ltd, where she serves as an Authorising Engineer for Ventilation and leads the Fire Safety Team.
DRLC provides Authorising Engineers to NHS and private healthcare providers. She recently earned a Master’s in Building Services Engineering, with her dissertation Net Zero and the NHS highlighting
that director-level engagement is critical for effective carbon reduction initiatives.
logistical pressures, the NHS is also committed to achieving its ambitious climate targets. In October 2020, it published the landmark strategy Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, setting out a roadmap for becoming the world’s first health system to reach net zero carbon emissions. The document highlights the importance of ‘optimising the location of care’, which includes shifting more services into communities and closer to patients’ homes, as well as creating facilities that enable earlier detection and faster diagnosis of illness. By identifying conditions sooner, the NHS can provide treatment that is less invasive, less resource-intensive, and ultimately more effective. To support these goals, a national programme of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) has been launched, and many of these facilities are now
IFHE DIGEST 2026
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