Inquiry Into Off-Site Manufacturing For Construction
This week, an announcement by Parliament, that The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee are launching an inquiry into off-site manufacturing for construction.
The inquiry and subsequent findings will be published in a report. This report will provide evidence based research into both the benefits and disadvantages of off site manufacture, it’s use within construction, and how the sector can advance efficiency within the industry. Read more about the benefits of modular construction HERE.
The select committee are now seeking responses from individuals and organisations across the UK. You can submit your response by following this link: https://www.parliament.uk/off-site-written-submission-form.
To provide continuity of information within the submissions, the responses are based around eight questions. These questions cover the advantages of off-site manufacturing, potential barriers and as a call to action, identify what changes the Government can make to procurement processes to facilitate off-site manufacture.
Responses need to be submitted before 26th April 2018. This written and oral evidence will be populated in the coming months with an expected outcome report being published in the Summer of 2018.
Time for change or deja-vu?
The off-site construction sector has never had so much attention and media coverage as it does now. Is change really on the horizon?
In recent months there has been widespread media coverage of the rise of off-site and how it has the potential to revolutionise the industry. Announcements of the inquiry into off-site manufacturing, along with new companies coming into the off-site sector, including overseas investors, local authorities and even house builders now creating jobs with new manufacturing plants across the UK. It’s an exciting time for the industry, seeing new talent, innovation and investment coming in.
The announcement of a Government Inquiry into the sector can only add momentum to the growth and recognition of the off-site industry.
My only reservation to this inquiry is that evidence will be put forward, reviewed and the outcome identifies what we already know:
1.) More houses are required to meet Government objectives
2.) The off-site industry has the potential to deliver construction schemes quicker
3.) In five years time there will be more demand
4.) There is an ageing construction workforce
5.) Skilled labour is diminishing
6.) The sector continues to grow but not to the scale required
To evidence this, the internet is full of similar research papers, notably the Postnote 209, produced by The Parliamentary Office For Science and Technology.
Which can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn209.pdf
Within the opening paragraph it states:
Government is encouraging modern methods of construction (MMC), which it says can achieve “a step change in the construction industry to produce the quantity and quality of housing we need”
The note continues to mention that house building numbers are at the lowest since 1945. Skilled labour shortages are a risk to the construction industry. The report does identify that there are many benefits of off-site constructed houses but nothing that we don’t already know.
What makes this article relevant to my point of addressing what we already know is that the Postnote above was produced and published in 2003. Fifteen years ago. Here we are in 2018 asking the same questions and addressing the same concerns of housing & skills shortages.
Will we look back on the outcome of this inquiry in another fifteen years and be asking the same questions, or will the outcome of the report encourage change and bring off-site construction into the mainstream?
To help ensure it’s the latter, I reach out to all indivduals & organisations within the off-site construction industry, and ask you to take part in the Inquiry and provide evidence and answers to the questions being asked.
This is a real opportunity to publicise the benefits of our industry and how it can help to shape the future of construction, so please take some time and get involved.