Spec Finish

FIS wants to hear frommembers case studies, examples of best practice or problems encountered as they start to encounter and develop offsite solutions. Please send examples, comments and thoughts to joecilia@thefis.org Feature www.thefis.org 19 Knauf specifications. Our clients and, most importantly, our workforce, have now bought into the benefits.” Further benefits include fewer materials being transported and used on site, so less waste goes to landfill and by making products in a workshop, waste metal and boards is better controlled and even re-used. Crucially, products made by machines is decreasing the number of onsite cutting accidents andWill finds that slowly but surely, their methods are gaining attention with their customers’ procurement teams, especially on government-backed schemes. There is a flip side though, Will said: “We are finding that main contractors are taking on drywall packages at the lowest price and then suffering the consequences of poor installations, which cost them millions of pounds to put right. “We don’t expect them to change radically from this approach, but some are now moving slowly towards reducing risk by investing in quality. “Our biggest challenge now is to spread the word about what we have developed and trialled successfully over the last three years in a conservative industry. Challenges also arise in the form of scaling as the space needed to produce components to suit demand is likely to be significant.” www.drywallpro-cut.co.uk The distributor’s point of view Paul Scott is Supply Chain Director for Penlaw & Co, distributor of drywall and associated building products for the interiors and exteriors sector. From his position, he sees offsite manufacture as an efficient and valuable means of ensuring delivery to site of accurate, consistent, pre-fabricated units, bespoke to a particular project that, at a minimum, cut out waste and reduce the cost of onsite labour. He said: “I saw real change begin about three years ago when the HSE started to raise concerns over the prevalence of respiratory diseases amongst construction workers as a result of breathing in air-borne dust and, in 2019, implemented site inspections for dust control. In recent years there has been a significant increase and presence of cutting stations (or dust control tents) on sites, but cutting is something that can be done offsite and units can be held in stock by a distributor to be called off exactly when the project demands. The added benefit is that skilled tradesmen on site will be able to do the job they are highly qualified to do without having to break off to make units they will need next. “Onsite cutting is never going to be as accurate and as repeatable as when it is done in controlled, dust-free factory conditions, and going a step further, consistent pre-manufactured units can be delivered to site ready for fixing to fit in with the fit-out programme. “As we are facingmaterials shortages now, wemust work ahead; offsitemanufacturing is going to become critically important.With early collaboration betweenmanufacturers, distributors and contractors – all working smarter together, delays caused by foreseeable shortages can be eliminated. Careful planning and evaluation of materials and units needed can be considered at an early stage and substitutes sourcedwhere preferred productsmay be short in supply. Delays are therefore eliminated and efficiencies are built in right at the start of a project.” www.penlaw.co.uk Get the practicalities right John Couldwell, Technical Manager SFS voestalpine Metsec plc, said: “With the benefits of factory level ISO quality and safety controls, reduced waste and increased onsite speed of construction, the move to offsite is happening, but productivity and practicality must be considered together. “There are huge advantages to offsite but also some real strategic challenges for the sector to grapple with, not least the space and logistical challenges. The transport of materials needs to be optimised to ensure that vehicles are not ‘shipping air’ and I am not convinced enough consideration is being given to the sheer scale of manufacturing facilities and investment that is required. “Manufacturing sites effectively operate like mini production lines so the levels of investment required to support moving onsite activities into a factory are significant both in cost and available labour. This move can only be driven by clients willing to pay a premium for offsite products and facilitating earlier engagement of suppliers to allow for the offsite manufacturing time before products are required onsite.” Footnotes ¹ www.trada.co.uk/news/off-site-construction-and-pre-manufacture The movement to bring standardised, repeatable platform systems found in the manufacturing sector to construction is growing and this image, taken from the ‘Platform Design Programme: Defining the Need’ report published by the Construction Innovation Hub earlier this year, shows how Government is considering the pipeline of construction work and a more joined up approach in order to align commonality of spaces between projects across government spend and drive better planning to facilitate investment in the serial bespoke benefits of MMC and offsite