GSK – quite rightly – have a very strong Health and Safety culture, so the testing threshold was incredibly high.
Terms such as DfMA, MMC, Offsite construction, Prefab, PPVC, MiC and many more are often used interchangeably resulting in great confusion not only for newcomers but also established players in the industry..I believe the lack of clarity around nomenclature in the DfMA landscape has become a major barrier to change.
A clear and universally understood definition framework would help increase stakeholder awareness and confidence in adopting innovative construction methods and could help encourage a more structured and focused conversation across the industry at large..The minefield of different terms means there is a tendency to assume that the landscape is complicated but there really is a simple relationship between all these different elements and it starts with DfMA.. DfMA is a design approach.The clue is in the name.
“Design for Manufacture and Assembly” is a design approach.Conventional design either has a presumption towards conventional construction or is agnostic regarding the construction method.
Conversely, a DfMA design is developed to be constructed in a particular way..
When designing for manufacture and assembly, the designer must find the best way to meet the client’s requirements by considering the most efficient way to manufacture elements of the building and the most efficient way to assemble them on site.The underpinnings of a potential marketplace are set out in the Playbook, which states that Government:.
will look to procure construction projects based on product platforms comprising of standardised and interoperable components and assemblies, the requirements for which will be part of a digital component catalogue..Contracting authorities should collaborate to find […] ways in which cross-sector platform solutions can be applied […] that enable interoperability of components across different sectors.. Future procurements and frameworks should support this with the development of a market and supply chain that can develop and deliver designs based on these platform approaches, manufacture and supply components, and innovate to improve and develop.
these over time.Construction Platforms will be familiar to anyone who has been following Bryden Wood’s work over the last few years.