WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCE TO DRAW ON - COGENT CONSULTING IS ENGAGED ADVISING ON A WIDE RANGE OF OFFSITE DELIVERY ISSUES ACROSS THE UK AND OVERSEAS. HERE MANAGING DIRECTOR DARREN RICHARDS, SHARES HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THE PROGRESSION WITHIN THE SECTOR OVER THE PAST FIVE-YEARS TO THE PRESENT STATE OF THIS EVOLVING MARKET.
Whilst the industry has made significant progress there is still someway to go before offsite technology is considered mainstream. An abundance of manufacturers in the offsite arena are still not embracing digital engineering and design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) principles at the pace required. Over the past five-years or so the offsite industry has changed significantly - mainly down to the numbers of new entrants into the manufacturing space and the consistency of messaging from Government. I am concerned that many of the new players do not really understand the magnitude of the challenge that our offsite manufacturing industry faces in scaling up and making the transition to a key player, and we are yet to see many significant successes at scale.
PROVIDING A BETTER BUILTENVIRONMENT
Build back better is the Government's current mantra and with the housing shortfall there has been an emphasis on the residential sector, but offsite technology is adaptable and capable of providing solutions across all vertical markets from housing to infrastructure and everything in between. We have seen significant uptake of offsite technology in education and now healthcare. Retail, leisure, hotels and student accommodation sectors have all been huge consumers of offsite technology and offsite methods are now the norm - not even debated but now assumed. One of my biggest frustrations is the lack of technology migration and knowledge transfer from some of these vertical markets across to housebuilding, so we end up seeing a lot of 'reinventing' the wheel instead of 'evolution'. That said, we are seeing significant progression with the uptake of light steel framing technology in the rapidly emerging build to rent sector, to cite just one 'hot spot' which is driven by the requirement to develop robust, energy efficient, safe and compliant systems at pace to reduce operating costs across the lifetime of these buildings.
ENTERING THE OFFSITE ARENA
Cogent advises many across the construction industry on developing businesses at all levels but we do not underestimate the task in hand. A new initiative or manufacturing investment requires deep pockets and specialist skills. Entering the offsite sector requires time, money and resource to be planned accurately and significant contingencies need to be allowed for - especially around areas of testing, validation and certification. Making sure that the prototyping and pre-production phases are not shortcircuited is another vital element, as these are the most valuable part of the process. The danger is that you develop a technology that is fantastic in-situ but very difficult to manufacture, or vice versa. The key is to find a blend that suits the business objectives. This is where DfMA comes into play - the focus should be on 'Assembly', as there is a strong and indigenous light steel frame manufacturing supply-chain in the UK with skills and expertise to support many of the new offsite developments - especially volumetric modules and pod technology. So, there is no point in bringing processing or roll-rolling inhouse when it is often more efficient to tap into the expertise and resources that is offered by the supply-chain.
KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND COLLABORATION
In my opinion those operating in the sector should collaborate for the greater good - the light steel frame sector is better than most as can be witnessed via the rapidly growing Light Steel Frame Association. The real competitor is 'traditional' construction not necessarily the next manufacturer down the road. The offsite technology trade associations have a significant role to play in facilitating this, and many of the new entrants in to the offsite manufacturing sector need to be nurtured so as not to unintentionally damage the industry with inferior product developments or system failures. The key is to get the Associations to set the entry level high and to help bring new entrants up to the minimum acceptable level of operational and quality standards.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT - THE FUTURE'S OFFSITE
As far as the future is concerned, the integration of digital tools is definitely a game-changer, but much of this is often seen to be out of reach for many offsite manufacturers, on the basis that there is a requirement to embed and mature much more fundamental operational processes and procedures before getting too carried away with digital tools.
Digital tools are a fantastic means to an end - they permit external architects and engineers to access and work with offsite manufacturing details, but often the fundamentals are missing or inadequate. These fundamentals include a robust approach to Bill of Materials generation, labour time planning and lead time analysis, stock control systems (ERP) and basic production capacity planning tools that are the spine of any well-run manufacturing or assembly operation. No matter how forward-looking we are in terms of digital tools - BIM, AR/VR, AI for example - unless we get the basics right it is a futile exercise. The key is to ensure our offsite manufacturing base in the UK is world-class in its adoption of reliable and robust manufacturing operations and repeatable processes, before getting too carried away with the front-end digital tools.
As for the next five-years are concerned - I would forecast that we will see lots of mergers and acquisitions in the offing, supported by an increasing influx of 'outside cash' as some of the leading offsite manufacturing players begin to show decent financial returns and the venture capitalists and wellheeled private investors begin to see the medium to long-term potential of the sector. I am certain that we will see greater support and collaboration. I hope we will see much greater migration of personnel from the automotive and aerospace sectors to the offsite manufacturing industry as bringing with them an abundance of knowledge and skills around world class manufacturing processes and protocols - this will be the real gamechanger. Whatever happens, I am certain that we face an exciting future and that our industry will continue to flourish.
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