Remember playing with building blocks when you were a kid? Did you ever imagine that, that’s how construction really worked? As you got older that idea probably seemed pretty silly, but now that could very possibly be the future of construction. Modular construction can decrease the amount of laborers needed, increase safety, and reduce the amount of waste produced from the project, find out how in this article!
What is Modular Construction?
Modular construction is a process where the buildings being constructed are made up of different individual sections or modules that are created at an off-site location in a method is similar to assembly-line production. Each piece to the building is constructed to perfectly fit to the next which is why this construction method is typically compared to building blocks.
While the module construction is happening off-site, prep work has to be done at the building site like excavation, grading, foundation, and utilities. Once completed the modules are delivered and staged at the building site in a predetermined order to make the construction as easy as it can.
Top 3 Benefits to Modular Construction:
- Streamlining your construction process – this can save you time, money, and effort on your projects that you can reinvest in your business.
- Labor Shortage – There’s less labor required for modular construction and it wastes less materials during the construction process.
- Environmental Impact – Modular construction enables you to create less site damage with less material exposed for a long period of time giving you peace of mind in between shifts and creating less waste that will just end up in a landfill.
Two Different Divisions:
Permanent Modular Construction (PMC)
PMC is a construction delivery method that utilizes different manufacturing techniques to prefabricate parts of single or multi-story whole buildings in a safe and controlled environment. Any part of the building constructed of wood, steel, or concrete can be built off site and the different parts delivered to the project site and assembled together. This method of construction is faster than traditional methods with a higher quality of control and typically produces less waste than a normal project would.
Relocatable Buildings
Relocatable buildings are constructed the same way normal modular buildings are only they are designed specifically to be reused or repurposed multiple times, being transported to different building sites for different purposes.
Modular construction is quickly gaining traction in the construction industry all around the world. Japan alone has over 9 million prefabricated homes that were built using modular construction. Japan isn’t the only one though, around 84% of single-family homes in Sweden are prefabricated.
This kind of construction method still has a long way to go before its considered mainstream but if it lives up to the potential shown in the projects already completed using modular construction, I think we can expect big things in this part of the industry.
