BUILDING ENGINEERING SERVICES ASSOCIATION that reality still lies somewhere in the future. More can (and should) be done offsite than is the current norm and it is important to acknowledge that the Government believes reducing the cost of house building is important and that moving production offsite can achieve this – even though it is just one factor hindering expansion of the market. Our industry needs, therefore, to be ready and able to embrace this way of working wherever it makes sense. Prefabrication definitely has merits and creates opportunities to improve efficiency, but it is not – on its own – the answer to all the problems in construction supply chains. Nor is it likely to deliver one million new homes. Images: 01. Offsite work includes almost every type of building service from packaged plant rooms and boiler houses to air handling plant and water services
Excitement For all the excitement around offsite, progress has been slow and only a relatively small number of clients have recognised the importance of establishing direct links with the offsite supply chain. This is particularly important if you are looking to deliver mechanical, electrical and plumbing services offsite because they require early input from specialist engineers to get the designs right. How these services are procured is critical and, if offsite is to increase its market share, the tender process has to include a detailed plan for how many and what type of man-hours are to be transferred from the site to the factory. Change is happening, but it is not universal across all market sectors because many people are struggling to get the financial models right which means they will, inevitably, revert to type and seek to procure in the traditional way. If you attempt that with off-site modules you can get into serious difficulties.
However, the infrastructure and housebuilding sectors at the heart of post-Brexit government strategy are particularly ripe for this change and the building engineering sector is ready to respond. Our technical understanding of the different approaches to offsite fabrication is improving all the time and, at BESA, we have technical guidance (TR/39) produced in partnership with Buildoffsite that can help contractors get this right. It is available here: http://bit.ly/2i9eAHC
As our understanding of this discipline improves, the section of the Guide currently proving most useful to BESA members is the one that explains when to use offsite; which projects are best suited to this approach and importantly, when the traditional site-based system is still the most appropriate. For more information visit: www.thebesa.com
Can your organisation afford to waste money? Poor workmanship often adds additional costs that in turn affects your bottom line, the answer is simple, use a BESA member for all your building engineering services work. Using a BESA member guarantees the quality of the work carried out.
www.theBESA.com
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