The construction industry has never been one to embrace change quickly. However, with outside factors such as skilled labor shortage, tight schedules and budget overruns impacting the industry today, change is inevitable. Increasingly, owners are expecting a design and construction process that is efficient, productive and cost-effective to a degree that traditional construction methods are unable to deliver. They are beginning to question the efficiency of traditional delivery methods and see offsite design and construction as an approach that simply makes more sense. This movement toward prefabricated systems has been proven to alleviate many of the labor, cost, safety, quality and productivity pains felt on most projects today.
Prefabrication isn’t new. The first use dates back to the 1800s, but prefabrication didn’t begin to gain popularity until Sears Roebuck began selling prefabricated homes in 1910. Almost 50 years later, two of Sweden’s most recognizable brands teamed up to create prefabricated BoKlok houses for the Scandinavian market. While affordable, many thought the houses lacked aesthetic appeal. This led to the stigma that is often attached to modular as standardized, mass-produced buildings. Today, this stigma couldn’t be further from reality. Prefabrication has advanced significantly and offers high-quality finishes, aesthetic versatility and, most importantly, design flexibility. It’s also making a positive impact on construction projects in the following ways:
With wider adoption comes confusion about the differences between prefabrication and modular construction. As offsite construction gains more ground and popularity, it’s time for the industry to standardize the nomenclature.
In the field, it’s common to hear the words “prefabrication” and “modular” referring to two different things. In reality, prefabrication is a much broader category that includes modular construction. Prefabrication refers to the process in which components are built offsite and then shipped to a jobsite for installation. Prefabrication is often interchangeable with “offsite construction” and spans multiple systems varying in complexity. At one end of the prefabrication spectrum are kits and sub-assemblies for components such as cabinets, electrical racks and glazing. On the other end of the spectrum are multi-trade panels and modular units. While all types of prefabrication can bring value, the two types with the biggest benefit to commercial construction including the following.
Industry research and data anticipate continuous growth in the prefabrication market. For contractors, it’s an opportunity to mitigate risk and deliver budget and schedule certainty to clients while providing safer jobsites. The first steps toward incorporating prefabrication into projects are to educate teams on the offsite spectrum and begin evaluating solutions that may make sense for upcoming projects.
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