Timber may be one of humanity’s longest-serving building materials, but when it comes to offsite construction, its sustainability credentials mean it is impossible to ignore.
Andrew Orriss, Chief Operating Officer of the Structural Timber Association certainly believes so, especially when considering timber’s versatility when being utilised in a panelised approach.
Ahead of Offsite Expo, Andrew spoke of the ever-evolving nature of offsite construction and timber’s continued involvement in that change.
Andrew is a member of the Offsite Construction Week Advisory Group, an unbiased ambassador for offsite construction, ensuring that the key trends and challenges of the industry are addressed during the series of events this September and beyond. Learn more about Offsite Construction Week here.
What are the most promising offsite technologies currently being adopted in the construction industry, and how do they compare in terms of cost, efficiency, and sustainability?
We have seen a scaling back from whole offsite solutions, such as volumetric complete factory assembled buildings, into a more ‘sub assembly’ approach such as utility cupboards, bathroom pods and structural systems based on a panelised approach.
Panelised systems are being developed to include more components which are added in a factory enhancing pre-manufactured value.
The programme efficiency gains are well documented, as systems such a structural timber have been used for many years and quantitative data is readily available.
Timber also responds well to the sustainability agenda due to well documented carbon reduction qualities.
As for cost comparison much is to do with design and constructability.
The key is the consider costs in the round where all factors are included such as the impact of much reduced prelim costs
What are the primary barriers to widespread adoption of offsite construction methods, and how can the industry overcome these challenges?
Belief in the benefits.
The commercial argument for investing more in offsite technology is that it ultimately reduces overall costs. Contractual agreements can alleviate the supplier’s burden of WIP costs caused by project delays.
In what types of construction projects (e.g., residential, commercial, infrastructure) do you see the greatest potential for offsite technologies to make a significant impact, and why?
It depends on the type of offsite products and systems being proposed.
As a general observation, in residential markets that are limited in height a panelised structure works well, reflected in the adoption of timber frame by a number of very large house builders.
In high rise, the installation of utility and bathroom sub-assemblies works well through repeatability of location from one floor to another and speed of installation.
How do you see regulatory frameworks and building codes evolving to accommodate and promote the use of offsite construction methods?
It would be unprecedented for regulations to favour one construction type over another in order to promote its use.
More importantly, regulations need to keep pace with the development and understanding of offsite systems, along with the inevitable nuances that go with them, so as not be an inadvertent blocker to its adoption.
We have seen what could be considered innocuous wording changes to regulation having a potentially damaging effect on the use offsite components. Engagement by the policy makers earlier in the process of change has already been made, rather than relying on a consultation process where many decisions are changed.
What are your thoughts on Offsite Expo/OCW?
This will be the fifth year STA will attend this show, and it is interesting to see a shift in the attendees moving from offsite ‘evangelists’ to people and organisations with a genuine interest in adopting offsite solutions.
The concept of Offsite Construction Week seems a timely extension to the Expo, and I am pleased to say a number of members of the STA are opening their doors to allow interested parties a first-hand experience of how structural timber systems are manufactured and assembled, with a glimpse onto the quality standards adopted to provide a robust and well established building systems.
