SPONSORED ROUNDTABLE | OFFSITE MANUFACTURING BUILDING A PLATFORM FOR CHANGE Early engagement with the project team, collaboration, and standardisation of products are crucial if we are to improve offsite manufacturing for housing, according to participants at CIBSE Journals roundtable. Amanda Birch reports SPONSORED BY T o improve dramatically the efficiency of the UKs offsite manufacturing sector for housing, factors such as early engagement of specialists, collaboration across the supply chain, and standardisation of products will be key. These were just some of the ideas discussed at CIBSE Journals roundtable, held at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in February and sponsored by Hager, a manufacturer of electrical distribution solutions. An important message from the event was that achieving meaningful change, where offsite manufacturing performs as effectively as it does in the automotive industry, will require a radical shift in mindset and a move away from traditional building practices. Jane Yorke, residential market manager at Hager, said she wanted to understand better the issues that roundtable participants faced through the supply chain. I can see that we all need to work more collaboratively, and offsite manufacturing must take a more standardised approach so the supply chain is more robust to support these ventures, she said. Neil Pennell, head of design, innovation and property solutions at Landsec, cut through some confusing terminology by explaining the different types of offsite manufacture. He said modular construction, often referred to as a volumetric solution, is where cube-shaped rooms are transported to site by lorry and connected to create buildings. Platform frame construction, another method of offsite manufacturing, involves the transportation of flat-packed, individual components, assembled on site. Pennell added that a glossary of offsite manufacturing terms is being developed, which should help bring clarity to the sector. Early collaboration The participants agreed that offsite manufacturing can produce excellent results when the conditions are right. Key components for its success are a committed and intelligent client, and early engagement, suggested Ian Lock, business development director at Baxi Heating UK. We develop and supply prefabricated central plants and utility solutions, and one of our most successful projects is Battersea Power Station, he said. It was successful for a number of reasons. The client had the ambition to drive and support offsite manufacture from the outset and, by virtue of that, we were involved early in the process. Upfront involvement, which includes talking about the solution before we went into detailed design, was crucial, otherwise you 44 March 2020 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Mar20 pp44-46, 48 Roundtable.indd 44 21/02/2020 14:59