What is Offsite Construction, Types, Benefits, and Barrier?
Introduction
The traditional construction practices/methods in the building industry have over time
turned out to be labor-intensive and come with so many concerns such as health and
safety, procurement cost, changing weather conditions, quality, etc.
The dream of industrially producing homes and buildings has inspired architects
and engineers for a very long time. We have come a long way from building the
structures and facilities in a traditional process. Modern problems need modern
approaches and solutions. Modern problems are getting solved through design thinking
and design innovations.
What is Offsite construction?
In general, off-site construction is the process of planning, designing, fabricating,
and/or assembling a structure at a location other than where the final structure will
ultimately be installed.
It involves the process of planning, designing, fabricating, transporting, and assembling
building elements for rapid site assembly to a greater degree of finish than in traditional
on-site construction.
Types of offsite construction
In general, offsite construction elements are prefabricated either constructed as
non-volumetric components or as volumetric units.
Volumetric construction involves the off-site prefabrication of individual
three-dimensional units of enclosed space that are then connected on-site to form a
single building. For example, volumetric construction is often used for
● Dormitories,
● Apartment buildings
● Patient rooms,
● Multi-Unit residential projects like hotels,
● Bathroom pods, and
● Sections of elevator or stair cores etc.
Non-volumetric construction involves the off-site prefabrication of building elements
(sub-assemblies) that are then connected once on-site. Common examples of
non-volumetric building elements include:
● Wall panels and interior partitions
● Structural elements such as frames, beams, and columns
● Sections of the building façade and cladding
● Floor cassettes and planks
● Roof trusses etc.
Offsite projects may be composed of a combination of volumetric and non-volumetric
components and projects may utilize a combination of both depending on the specific
requirements of the design, program, and standard guidelines.
Benefits of offsite construction
Much research has been performed and a lot is ongoing regarding the
improvements so that we can derive more benefits from offsite construction. Through
offsite construction, it is believed that the construction industry can become a leaner,
smarter, and a more sustainable machine capable of producing reliable results that are
consistently on time and within budget.
Productivity improvement
Reduction of site disturbance, better environment, an increase of safety and security of
laborers and trade equipment.
Reduction of onsite manpower
Shorter construction schedules
A greater degree of predictability in cost.
Better quality control
Reduced carbon emissions due to transportation to and from sites associated with
on-site construction and many more.
Barriers to offsite construction
Though offsite construction offers many advantages and some flexibility still there
are certain barriers slowing the rate at which the approach is adopted. For instance,
there is still a very limited supply chain related to offsite construction. These facilities
and markets are not available in many places. Lack of skilled people and lack of
familiarity may stand as a reason for it and with this, the designers and manufacturers
are not feeling comfortable in this business.
Some architects and engineers may also believe that offsite/modular construction limits
their design options or restricts their control, but in fact, it can accommodate a wide
range of forms and styles through mass customization methods, offering a lot of design
freedom.
Conclusion
Though offsite construction offers many advantages and some flexibility still there
are certain barriers slowing the rate at which the approach is adopted. For instance,
there is still a very limited supply chain related to offsite construction. These facilities
and markets are not available in many places. Lack of skilled people and lack of
familiarity may stand as a reason for it and with this, the designers and manufacturers
are not feeling comfortable in this business.
Some architects and engineers may also believe that offsite/modular construction limits
their design options or restricts their control, but in fact, it can accommodate a wide
range of forms and styles through mass customization methods, offering a lot of design
freedom.
