In the run up to OFFSITE EXPO 2024, we pooled some comments from some of the Offsite Construction Week Advisory Board on where the world of offsite sits from their individual perspective.

“Offsite Construction Week is a time for reflection, a time to share our successes and discuss the challenges ahead. There can be no greater challenge than global warming and as we look to reduce carbon in construction, we need innovative incentives to help achieve net zero targets. Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV) is becoming a driving force in the specification of offsite technology in public sector projects. This metric essentially plays to the strengths of offsite construction and is without doubt a forward-thinking initiative. But I believe the government is missing a trick by measuring ‘value’ just in terms of a financial calculation and overlooking the cost of environmental impact. By adding sustainability targets into the equation, we can align construction costs with net zero targets to demonstrate economic and environmental best value.”
Jackie Maginnis, Chief Executive, MPBA

“I think the most promising thing in the industry today is the move towards a more holistic industrialised approach, and looking at it in context of the right solutions to productively deliver what we need in the most sustainable, cost-effective way, that delivers long term value and outcomes that industry, society and the economy needs. I think OFFSITE EXPO is a good opportunity for the offsite industry to come together and explore what’s around the corner, where the best practises are, sharing and acknowledging that everyone needs to grow collaboratively and collectively. Understanding what everyone’s doing, what the state-of-the-art is, how everyone’s approaching the same challenges, what might be around the corner, it just helps your business to be ahead of the curve.”
Alison Nicholl, Head, Constructing Excellence

I think we’ve started to move past the initial distrust of offsite that we might have seen in the past. The industry has worked very hard at moving away from being defined by temporary buildings, and at demonstrating how they can achieve and surpass the quality of traditional construction. We found that the quality is not a barrier like it used to be, but now the perception of risk lies in the systems around the building development process and in our collective habitual ways of working. So that applies to everyone down the chain, from clients to designers, planners, procurement, insurance and warranty providers, and even inspectors on-site. The perception of risk can be a big barrier to choosing MMC in the first place and that’s what we find with our clients when we design buildings and take that to them as an option. But these aren’t insurmountable risks, so we make it easier for people to trust MMC as construction methodology.
Anne Daw, Head of MMC Delivery, HLM Architects

Steel frame is winning on commercial properties on the basis that we can build faster and for any developer or lending organisation, the benefit is that they can lend the money and get that money back approximately four times faster. If you look at the housing market, we are finding a huge amount of growth. Light steel framing is way faster than traditional methods and it gives you the same standards, if not better. But steel framing really does work very well in that sweet spot from three-storeys upwards. For Offsite Construction Week we will take anyone interested to see one of our sites, because while we fully support and are absolutely immersed in offsite construction, the real value isn’t always apparent until you get on-site.
Ben Towe, Group Managing Director, Hadley Group

The Concrete Industries Decarbonisation Road Map has been around for a few years now and there’s been some excellent progress there. A lot of it focuses on the decarbonisation of cement because that’s one of the main contributors to the embodied carbon of concrete. There’s also the greater use of renewable energy for manufacture, use of lower carbon mixes and innovations, and the precast manufacturers are really focusing and challenging on this as well. We’re lucky in this country, we’ve got a well-established local supply chain for precast concrete, so you can get the benefits of MMC – just in time delivery, high quality control and speed of construction. With concrete offsite solutions, you know it’s reliable, it’s tested and a resilient solution. Those are all important considerations.
Elaine Toogood, Director of Architecture & Sustainable Design, Concrete Centre

It’s been an incredibly tough couple of years for everybody in the construction sector, regardless of what you’re doing. I think the fact the new Government has recognised the need for more housing and brought back housing targets is good. Whether we’ll ever meet them is another thing. We’ve got a huge skills shortage that barely gets mentioned. We’re going to build all these houses, but where’s the people to do that and how are we going train them? There are a few things that could happen with the Government that could align, such as the new agenda with the newly launched Skills England. There’s a lot of things that need to happen to get those houses built but it’s undeniable that we desperately need them.
Gaynor Tennant, Founder and Chair, Offsite Alliance

We are excited about the ambitions of the Government to scale up our housebuilding with targets that have not been met since the post-war building era. The digital kit of parts (d-KoP) will allow designers to develop DfMA / MMC aligned solutions, embedded with manufacturing constraints and limitations from the beginning of projects. Having a common language and geometry will remove the need to redraw designs to suit manufacturer systems late in the design process. This will not only improve how we work together as a sector, but through government it can also help us to increase the choice and interoperability of MMC solutions, enabling the full benefits of MMC to be realised, including programme savings, increased quality and a reduced environmental impact.
Katie Rudin, Housing & Innovation Director and MMC Advisor, Akerlof

The full housing process housing is very complex, from land management right through to regulatory control. But in the middle of all of that, you must have a very well defined, robust, transparent DfMA process to be able to communicate where you are in that planning process. We also need academic monitoring programmes. There is a gap in performance, so we need to build into this academic monitoring. We need efficiency and better trust in engagement with the extremely innovative supply chain. If we can fully understand DfMA and bring all of the partners together to start learning how to work with that process, then we will make a big difference. We have to keep the messages very succinct and clear if we are to get the support and leadership that we desperately need from Government.
Mike Ormesher, Project Director, Off-Site Homes Alliance (OSHA)

There are so many areas where both the UK and Ireland offsite sectors can learn from each other. There have been many already from the UK already implemented by Irish companies having worked throughout the UK over the years, particularly around digital construction. From an Irish perspective, the Irish Government is very aware of the casualties, in the mainly 3D volumetric residential sector over the last few years in the UK and is conscious of protecting the industry against that. New frameworks are in the process of being designed, with industry involvement in designing them to help safeguard against any similar failings. Because of the nature and size of Ireland, there is both a people and department-led approach between government and industry in creating a sustainable MMC industry. It is very much a collaborative approach built on trusting and respected relationships.
Paul Tierney, CEO, MMC Ireland

The biggest stumbling block to greater take-up of offsite technology is a reliable pipeline of work, and accreditation for the industry. I would argue that the two things BOS members ask for the most is pipeline and accreditation. Pipeline is key and the Government, with its huge procurement portfolio whether that is defence facilities, hospitals or schools, is helping and could help even more to provide that pipeline that our members need and that offsite manufacturers need. The second thing that could help our sector is more accreditation and certification. Because that underpins our credentials, gives us credibility, pulling power, peace of mind and comfort for those clients who are maybe not fully aware of what’s feasible, and what ‘good’ looks like in the offsite construction sector. We’re definitely encouraging more accreditation and certification.”
Dirk Vennix, CEO, BUILDOFFSITE 

Free Factory Tours at OCW
As part of Offsite Construction Week (OCW), offsite specialists are opening their doors for architects, contractors, developers, and clients to learn more about their innovative systems and manufacturing processes. clients with an interest in exploring #offsite solutions to take a behind-the-scenes look.

The factory tours and CPD seminars, are taking place at various UK manufacturing facilities throughout September 2024.  The factory tours are designed to provide a better understanding of why offsite construction methods are becoming such a popular material within the construction industry. Members of the technical teams will be on hand throughout the visit to answer any questions you have regarding their professional services.

A limited number of late places are still available and are free of charge to attend. They will be taking place at:

16 September Innovaré Offsite Coventry

16 September Vistry Group Leicester

19 September Explore Manufacturing (Laing O’Rourke) Worksop

19 September Hadley Group (site tour, not factory) Derby

20 September British Offsite Braintree

20 September SIPCO Merseyside

Bookings are screened by the host company for approval. If you would like to take part or know more information get in touch now on: 01743 290001 email:
[email protected] or visit: www.offsiteconstructionweek.co.uk to book.

The Advisory Group has curated the topics and nominating speakers for the Masterclasses programme.  Sharing insights from the organisations they represent, their expert recommendations will ensure a highly focused, factual overview of the sector and the challenges it faces. The Advisory Group will act as an unbiased Ambassador for Offsite Construction, ensuring that the key trends and challenges of the industry are addressed during the series of events in September and beyond.

Source: Offsite Magazine – Issue 44