Construction BUSINESS

There are many advantages to Offsite Construction (OSC), whereby the planning, design, fabrication and assembly of building components, elements and modules are conducted in a controlled ‘factory’ environment prior to transportation to the construction site for erection. By integrating many of the conventional construction stages at an offsite location, the supply chain can be optimised resulting in speedier construction, better overall performance of the finished building, higher quality end product, full compliance with increasingly stringent building regulations, waste minimisation and better value for money due to tighter cost control, leading in turn to improved customer satisfaction.

Offsite & Modular Construction 2020, which is being held in the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast on Thursday, 27th February 2020, will cover the latest developments in this fast moving field.

Often also referred to as prefabrication, rapid build, Offsite Manufacturing (OSM), Precision Engineered Building Systems (PEBS) and Modern Methods of Construction, Offsite Construction essentially produces 2-Dimensional (2D) Panellised Systems or 3-Dimensional (3D) Modular Systems for use in building design and construction. Advances in digital technology are expected to further streamline the Offsite Construction process leading to additional time and cost savings and improvements in overall quality.

Offsite Construction techniques can be applied to all types of buildings including residential, commercial, industrial and institutional.

In addition to the time, cost and quality benefits, the adoption of an Offsite Construction approach can also help to overcome the skills shortages faced by many building contractors. Indeed, it has been suggested that Offsite Construction techniques could be used to alleviate the ‘housing crisis’ by building new homes more quickly and efficiently.

At Offsite & Modular Construction 2020, Dr Tom Woolley, Architect & Environmental Consultant at Rachel Bevan Architects, will assess the risks and benefits of ‘Modern Methods of Construction’ including insulation materials, thermal performance and health.

Another speaker at the event, John McNally, AEC Software Consultant at Pentagon Solutions NI, will discuss ‘How to integrate Digital Workflows from Manufacturing to Construction’.

Allan Cree, Managing Director of The Skillfull Pass Ltd, will speak on ‘Getting Value out of Management System Audits in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 certified Systems’.

Offsite & Modular Construction 2020 is part of the 2020 Northern Ireland Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition. To register to attend, visit – http://www.northernirelandmanufacturing.co.uk/register/