Industry professional with over 25 years’ experience in technical roles within the construction & roofing industry. This includes specialising in rain-screen cladding and external wall insulation systems, as well as a focus on passive fire protection within buildings of various construction methods, in particular around the developing sector of lightweight flexible fire barriers.

Ken is a Principal Innovation Specialist within the Innovation Team at the NHBC, the UK’s leading independent warranty provider for new homes. He joined the NHBC three years ago from architectural private practice and has wide ranging experience of different methods of house construction, which he now applies to reviews of all forms of offsite housebuilding systems. Completed reviews will result in the award of an NHBC Accepts Certificate, providing assurance to developers that the system can be incorporated into homes which would qualify for a Buildmark warranty. He is a chartered architect and RIBA member.

Affordable Housing Session Chair

Tony trained as a civil engineer and began his career at the Building Research Establishment (BRE) where he worked on several research and commercial projects including understanding the impact of wind load on different structures and developing one of the first code level 4/5 houses, a leading example of a sustainable home which was built at the BRE Innovation Park.

Tony developed an interest in offsite construction at the BRE and moved on to work with several offsite manufacturers, working in multiple roles from design through to site manager. In these two very different environments, he gained knowledge of standards and their application, and how innovation comes to market.

Having joined LHC 7 years ago, Tony has been instrumental in developing offsite construction frameworks at LHC including Offsite Construction of New Homes which includes volumetric and panelised systems.

Mike Jacob co-founded Kiss House in 2017 after 15 years spent building exemplar, bespoke homes at Trunk Low Energy Building, Trunk CLT and Olive Green.

As Kiss House Director of Product and Innovation, Mike leads R&D. Work to date includes a Passivhaus compliant ground floor system which virtually eliminates concrete and steel, and an enhanced natural fibre insulation. Ultimately his focus is on the delivery of exceptional timber based, low carbon, Passivhaus compliant homes at scale.

Mike is a CIOB chartered Construction Manager, a Passivhaus Tradesperson and has an MSc in Sustainable Architecture from CAT. He has a special interest in environmental psychology and spirit of place and a vision is to create living spaces that are brilliant to live in, made from natural materials and are good for the environment.

He has received multiple awards for his work.

John Smith is Technical Director at Donaldson Timber Systems (formerly Stewart Milne Timber Systems) and has been with the company since 1991.

John is a real industry expert – he has 30 years’ experience in the timber frame industry and is a member of various industry association Committees and Steering Groups. He has worked on some of the largest timber frame projects in the UK, and was instrumental in the development of the innovative Sigma® II closed panel build system. He has also played a key role in writing and publishing a number of technical and commercial papers for the timber frame industry.

Katie is the Head of Business Development & Innovation at Platform Housing Group, responsible for developing their approach to MMC and delivering future-proofed homes. Her background in similar projects means she is a firm believer that collaboration is the key to tackling all challenges the sector faces. She is committed to bringing together colleagues and customers to create networks that deliver sustainable, affordable and good quality homes for our communities.

Shaun started his career with Weston Homes after spending 4 years in the automotive industry, solidifying a strong engineering background. After gaining a grass roots experience with various construction trades and obtaining a 1st class BSc Construction Management degree, he became a site manager and held this position for 3 years until moving into senior management at Weston Homes. Shaun joined the Weston Homes board in 2017 and became Managing Director of Weston Logistics, where he developed The Weston Group’s first MMC systems. Shaun’s personal philosophy of innovation and continuous improvement led to the incorporation of British Offsite in 2020.

Sam is Stelling Properties Engineering Director having joined the company from Cobham Mission System, where he was leading R&D programs. He has led multi-disciplinary engineering teams worldwide across the marine, aerospace and construction sectors. He has delivered projects that optimised structures and introduced electrification into the marine industry as well as leading projects that automated air to air refuelling. He joined Stelling Properties in 2020, with the brief to introduce a product led approach to delivering developments. Critically, Sam looks to provide product-based solutions across the whole development, whilst ensuring the offering is flexible enough to exceed the most demanding client brief.

A highly experienced Regional Manager for EOS Framing – part of the Etex Group.

With many years experience in a Technical, Specification & Solution based Area Manager role liaising with Architects, Engineers, Main Contractors and end Clients. Covering the whole process from inception to completion developing the businesses route to market including Strategic Alliances & Framework Partners, Design Based Selling for Light Gauge Steel Systems to new, existing and non spending business accounts whilst offering technical back up to other companies in the division.

Aligned with my experience I have had a vast array of Industry recognised training including: GDPR Compliance, Negotiation Skills, Presentation Skills, Advanced Driving, CSCS, CITB, Occupational Health & Safety, Selling into the Public Sector, Leadership in Business, Diploma in business, First Diploma in Public Services, Promat fire protection training.

Chris will be chairing the housing session at Offsite Expo.

Chris is the Innovation Services Manager at NHBC, the UK’s leading independent provider of warranty and insurance for new homes. He joined NHBC in 2015 and runs NHBC Accepts – a comprehensive review service for innovative construction products and systems. He is responsible for the maintenance of NHBC’s policy and procedures to address Modern Methods of Construction, and to identify trends to inform risk management in non-conventional construction. He is a chartered member of the RICS and lives in Berkshire.

Amandeep is an Architect and Urban designer. He is an Associate at Be First, working at the intersection of public and private practice for Barking & Dagenham. He leads a team on strategic visions, brief writing, research, design and procurement whilst bringing all these ideas to the table in conversations with residents, planners, policy makers, developers and politicians. He is a Design Council Expert, member of the Southwark, Harrow and Hackney Design Review Panels and was invited to join the Open City Accelerate advisory board.

Jacob is Head of Design at Be First, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s wholly owned development and planning company. Leading a team of architects, urban designers, landscape architects and sustainability experts, Jacob is responsible for design quality, sustainability and MMC for one of the largest UK public sector housing delivery programmes. He is a member of the Tower Hamlets Design Review Panel and sits on the Urban Design Executive Committee.

Over 15 years experience in the Light Gauge Steel Framing sector, an Engineering Degree from Loughborough University and over 10 years experience in technical sales. Providing solutions and specification assistance to design teams for offsite systems through to delivering complete structural projects onsite.

Andy has 25 years of experience working within the modular industry and has valuable knowledge of the special features of modular design and building systems development. Andy is a Director of the Wernick Group Limited, a company that has decades of experience delivering modular accommodation to the healthcare sector.

Andy has also been Chairman of the Technical Committee for the Modular & Portable Building Association (MPBA) for 16 years, working with other members of the industry to improve the professionalism of the industry and raise awareness of the benefits of modular buildings.

Andy regularly works with the Government and other regulatory bodies such as the NHS to ensure that new regulations and legislation are compatible and practical for the modular building industry.

Simon has over 20 years’ experience working in the precast concrete industry, originally working in the manufacturing sector. Simon joined PCE in 2005 to help set up a Design and Build division which could offer clients flexible and innovative construction focussed solutions, primarily utilising precast technology.

Now, as Business Development Director Simon’s primary focus is working with clients to deliver PCE’s HybiDfMA systems and promoting the advantages that these bring to both client and end user.

Ade is a sales manager for FSi part of the Etex Group. He has been working in the Fire Protection industry for 7 years in a technical sales and marketing capacity as well as quality management and training. Ade usually handles the public speaking duties for FSi and leads the various industry trade shows as well as article writing. His passion lies in ultra-neat firestopping and simple concepts that enable this. Ade loves to show beginners the “ropes” and loves nothing more than having a problem to solve. Ade’s proudest moment was running the Hadrian’s Tower project, Newcastle’s tallest building ever, where he knows every firestop [over 27 floors] was perfect!

Barry has been in the fenestration industry since 2008. With a background in mechanical engineering and commercial finance, he has been involved within all aspects of the fenestration industry and calls upon his experience, managing large scale projects, and working alongside design teams and customers to get the right specification and design of Internorm products.

Graeme has over 20 years’ experience in the Offsite Manufacturing industry, working on some prestigious project such as Birmingham New Street and Heathrow T5.  Latterly he has been developing a Kit of Parts approach to projects such as ‘The Forge’ which will be the world’s first Platform Design for Manufacture and Assembly Net Carbon Zero Commercial Office.

Along with others, he believes that this approach to construction will reduce the design time, generate more efficient manufacturing and installation processes, while delivering a high quality finish required.

Andrew joined the UK construction industry in 1977 with the manufacturing giant CRH and held a series of sales and business development roles in his early years. It was the ground breaking Rethinking Construction Report of 1998 that was to change Andrew’s career path as he became involved in change management and best practice, first within CRH and then later as a Board Member and Director of Constructing Excellence. During this time he was the inaugural chair of the national ‘Best Practice’ Club network and the public face of Constructing Excellence being responsible for marketing, events, communications and membership.

From 2008 – 2010 he worked as a consultant in ‘lean’ measures, which included Andrew helping to set up and then become one of the first fifteen students of the CWA (Collaborative Working Academy). Andrew was delighted to be asked to become Chief Executive of the Structural Timber Association (then the UKTFA) in January 2011. Andrew is now helping to spearhead the drive for Sustainable Construction by the use of more structural timber in building with a ‘Fabric First’ approach.

Andrew was appointed Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence South West in September 2013 and Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands in May 2018. In 2011 Andrew was rewarded for his services to best practice within the UK construction industry by being awarded the ‘Achiever Award’ in the 2011 CIOB/CESW South West Built Environment Awards. In 2021 Andrew was appointed to the board of the Housing Forum and CLC Construct Zero.

David Bray has successfully delivered major infrastructure projects within complex working environments for a number of years.

He joined National Highways, as Project Director on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme, and is now the Programme Director for Smart Motorways

David worked in the aviation sector for 9 years leading a design and build business that delivered high profile projects at Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted airports as well as Terminal 5 at Heathrow. He also worked as the Programme Director delivering Manchester’s Metrolink expansion programme.

David has significant experience of modern methods of construction including lean methodologies, design for manufacture and just in time logistics. He is also an experienced practitioner of collaborative working.

His success in delivering projects on time and within budget is underpinned by the creation of high performance teams.

Dr David Hancock – Infrastructure Session Chair

Dr David Hancock is the senior commercial advisor in the Cabinet Office providing construction and project support to Secretaries of State, Ministers and all Government Departments. A high-risk project reviewer across Government and a graduate of the Major Projects Leadership Academy. He leads the Government Construction Community and sits on a variety of cross government boards including Cladding remediation, New Prisons Programme, Buckingham Palace refurbishment, British Antarctic Survey and is the non-executive chair of CIRIA.

Prior to this, from 2009-2016, he was Head of PMO and Risk for TfL including the 2012 Olympics and the risk director for the Terminal 5 Project, Heathrow.  Renowned internationally as a leading thinker and practitioner in the field of behavioural risk, he is the author of the bestselling book “Tame, Messy and Wicked Risk Leadership” and has worked across public, private and voluntary sectors. He promotes the case for rethinking project management as a collaborative social interaction rather than through rigorous application of process and policy. He is a chartered engineer and has a Degree and PhD in engineering from the University of Nottingham alongside an MBA from the University of Bath.

Paul has created a new breed of delivery partner that is born digital and commits to changing the game and to delivering better, faster, greener and more affordable modular solutions.

Reds10 is a vertically integrated off-site volumetric construction specialist, providing clients with a full turnkey service to design, finance, build, equip, fit out, operate and hire modular buildings. It exists to help equip society to live, learn and thrive in amazing spaces with 100% productivity.

Introducing Jennifer Higgins, Owner and Managing Director of the Wee House Group and the mastermind behind two of the most exciting names in Modular Construction – The Wee House Company and Connect Modular Ltd.

In 2013 Jennifer launched The Wee House Company, a consumer-focused venture building bespoke modular homes for customers often based in rural locations where traditional construction can be challenging.

With business booming, Jennifer recognised an opportunity to diversify into the public sector and began undertaking large-scale affordable modular housing projects for Local Authorities and Housing Associations, now delivered under the Connect Modular brand name.

At just 30 years old, Jennifer has previously been crowned “Young Inspiring Businesswoman of the Year” and “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” and her insight on Modular Construction is definitely worth a listen.

Alex is a chartered Architect with extensive experience designing for the education sector. Alex has worked at HLM Architects for over 4 years and in this time has worked on a range of schools, colleges, and universities around the UK. The majority of Alex’s time is spent working in collaboration with offsite modular contractors.

Prior to joining HLM Architects, Alex has worked internationally in Europe and the Middle East, working within a range of sectors including commercial, transport, healthcare, and mixed-use developments.

Wayne Oakes is the co-founder and director of the engineering consultancy, Dice. With over 17 years in the field of engineering and a Masters (MSc) in Engineering and Construction Management, Wayne co-founded Dice in 2018 with the intention of creating an engineering consultancy with a difference.

Operating on a client-first basis with a heavy focus on sustainability, technology and the wellbeing of the team, Dice is a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy operating nationally. The company has grown successfully over the past 4 years under Wayne’s direction and they’ve gained traction for their focus in the MMC and Modular sector.

Elaine is Head of Architecture at The Concrete Centre and has been a qualified architect for 25 years. Elaine provides architectural advice, project and technical guidance related to the use of concrete, with a particular expertise in sustainable and visual concrete. Elaine authors technical guidance which has included Concrete and BREEAM and Material Efficiency publications and is a regular contributor to Concrete Quarterly, of which she is joint editor.

Elaine sits on working groups for the DEFRA Property Level Flood Resilience Action Plan and The London Climate Change Partnership as well as the RIBA Sustainable Futures expert advisory group. She is also current Chair of RIBA SE London.

Andrew joined the UK construction industry in 1977 with the manufacturing giant CRH and held a series of sales and business development roles in his early years. It was the ground breaking Rethinking Construction Report of 1998 that was to change Andrew’s career path as he became involved in change management and best practice, first within CRH and then later as a Board Member and Director of Constructing Excellence. During this time he was the inaugural chair of the national ‘Best Practice’ Club network and the public face of Constructing Excellence being responsible for marketing, events, communications and membership.

From 2008 – 2010 he worked as a consultant in ‘lean’ measures, which included Andrew helping to set up and then become one of the first fifteen students of the CWA (Collaborative Working Academy). Andrew was delighted to be asked to become Chief Executive of the Structural Timber Association (then the UKTFA) in January 2011. Andrew is now helping to spearhead the drive for Sustainable Construction by the use of more structural timber in building with a ‘Fabric First’ approach.

Andrew was appointed Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence South West in September 2013 and Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands in May 2018. In 2011 Andrew was rewarded for his services to best practice within the UK construction industry by being awarded the ‘Achiever Award’ in the 2011 CIOB/CESW South West Built Environment Awards. In 2021 Andrew was appointed to the board of the Housing Forum and CLC Construct Zero.

Julia took up the role as CE BSRIA in May 2014 and is involved in the development of BSRIA’s future growth and prosperity. Prior to her role at BSRIA, Julia was the CE of the National Federation of Builders.

During her time at the NFB, Julia has worked to secure more favourable conditions for members in a number of areas including public sector procurement, utilities, access to finance, health and safety, training and innovation.

She has also forged close links and partnerships across industry and was the founder of the Construction Alliance. Julia has also maintained a high public profile as a leading spokesperson and commentator on the industry, the economy and Government affairs in the UK and Europe.  Julia also serves as Chairman of Leeds College of Building and takes a keen interest in the role of Further Education in the sector.

Dr Jim Glocking – Fire Protection Session Chair

Dr Jim Glockling is Technical Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA), the UK’s National Fire Safety Organisation. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and PhD in nuclear engineering from UKAEA, Harwell. Following a post-doctorate study modelling watermist fire suppression methods he went on to work as, a lecturer in Chemical Engineering and Fire Safety Engineering, a forensic fire investigator, and ran research laboratories at both the Loss Prevention Council (LPC) and Building Research Establishment (BRE) before taking up the position of Technical Director with the FPA in 2002.

Jim’s principle areas of expertise are in suppression and detection technologies and complex risk mitigation scenarios though the work of his team and laboratory are very much more diverse, addressing all areas of fire protection and prevention. His major sponsors are UK insurers, for whom he manages and technically supports their annual research budget (RISCAuthority), and the Ministry of Defence (Royal Navy), with whom FPA hold a long standing arrangement for the provision of fire engineering support.

John Porter, Area Sales Manager for Rockpanel, has 15 years experience working with various facade manufacturers including fibre cement, Insulated Render and Compressed Mineral Wool cladding products.

Currently also working on the Transforming Construction Challenge with the Construction Innovation Hub, John has been involved with various high profile offsite manufactured projects that utilise rainscreen cladding as the core façade solution.

He presentation will provide a detailed overview of Rainscreen cladding, its use and installation requirements along with some key examples of best use of rainscreen optimisation.  He will explore how cladding products can be a sustainable choice for construction, providing a sustainable solution for a better thermal performance whilst meeting the changing regulations in regard to fire safety and carbon embodiment.

Gurprit is an established Façade Engineer having worked on multiple high rise developments across the UK.  Having started in the Façade Industry as a designer with a Glazing system company and multiple fabricators he moved into Consultancy with a small offsite construction consultancy, and ultimately with Wintech, one of the leading Façade Engineering consultancies in the UK.

He has a passion for sustainability which has lead him to develop Wintech’s sustainability services offerings as well as a passion for offsite construction, having been a part of the development of Keepmoat’s Evolve and Elements Europe’s offsite modular housing systems as well as involvement in multiple unitised cladding schemes.

I’m a RIBA chartered architect as well as the founder and managing director of MAS architecture Ltd, an award- winning practice. Having worked and practiced architecture in the UK for twenty-three years I have developed a unique style in my architectural approach which is based on two simple values; creativity and service that is second to none.

I have designed many large and small-scale commercial, education, residential, mixed use, master-planning, student accommodations, Grade I and II listed buildings and retail projects.  I collaborate as a Studio Design Tutor at Leicester School of Architecture at De Montfort University and I am on the Tamayouz Award judging panel.

I have been an architect for 15 years working across a number of sectors with a focus on education design. I have worked on several modular projects now learning more about the possibilities of the construction method each time.

I am the Business Development Manager from Volumetric Modular, with a strong history in construction and development. Being involved in delivering such a strong product nationwide which has a powerful focus on tackling the homeless crisis for all local authorities and housing associations.

I also play a key role in presenting our MODULHAUS™ to developers, partners and other key industry innovators to supply emergency accommodation up and down the country with our volumetric modular technology. Our units are incredibly robust, relocatable, exceptionally energy efficient, running costs at £5 a week and finished to a superior quality Volumetric really does provide a home for everyone!