Modern methods of construction (MMC) are increasingly being used to meet housing needs because of savings in time and materials, and the potential for higher quality. However, there are barriers to their widespread use, notably concerns about higher costs, and advanced planning is needed in order to realise their advantages.
Responding to the increased use and concerns of MMC in housing, a new series of Information Papers is going to be published from IHS BRE Press to discuss the following key topics:
Part 1 focuses on the drivers and barriers to the use of MMC.
The main drivers
Housing shortage
Today we build 160,000 houses per year but it is believed that the UK requires 200,000 houses per year for the next decade to cope with changes in the size and numbers of households. MMC offers the possibility of faster build times.
Skills shortages - New operatives are not being trained at the same rate as they have been leaving the industry, but the shortfall has been partly compensated for by inward migration. There is no evidence of houses not being built due to a lack of labour and private housing companies point to the difficulties of obtaining planning consents as being responsible for the current low production rates.
Quality - Where MMC are used we can expect better conformance of the final dwelling to its design because of the greater use of factory-produced components.
Changes in the Building Regulations - Building Regulations have been used by the Government to drive up standards and as the need for more sustainable buildings has increased, revisions to Parts E and L have had a large impact on construction methods. Building performance in these areas is not just dependent on design detail, but also on the repeatability and consistency of good quality construction, aspects that lend themselves to the use of MMC.
Government and environmental initiatives - MMC has been encouraged through two process improvement initiatives (through The Housing Corporation and English Partnerships) and environmental initiatives (The Code for Sustainable Homes, Building a Green Future, a new PPS, among others).
Waste - MMC can reduce waste in several ways, including more accuracy and standardization during manufacture standardized, better protection and control of waste in the factory.
Barriers - Set against these factors that encourage the use of MMC, a survey of housebuilders in 2005 identified factors that were expected to restrict its take-up:
? Capital costs
? Concern over interfaces
? Early design freeze
? Planning
? Lack of experience and reluctance to innovate
? Dominance of land in the housebuilding process
? On-site skills and product capacity constraints
? Transportation
? Lightweight construction
? Site-specific constraints
? Client scepticism
The potential benefits of MMC are substantial, but so are the barriers. For MMC to become more mainstream, builder, manufacturer, and in the case of social housing the housing association, need to collaborate to overcome the single greatest barrier to further development: cost.
The complete set (IP3/07) of MMC Information Papers will be available by the end of June 2007.
For more information:
Visit: www.ihsbrepress.com
Call: 01344 328038
Email: brepress@ihsatp.com