On-site vs off-site construction

Emphasis is placed on the necessity of a diverse energy portfolio to ensure reliable and sustainable energy access worldwide.. 4.

Standardised labour operations.The reliance of traditional construction on variable quality of workmanship/skill of the site operative makes it difficult to guarantee that what was drawn and specified is actually what is installed..

The design of platform interfaces is so accurate it reduces reliance on skilled trades and workmanship and provides a visual and straightforward Quality Assurance process, for greater consistency and accuracy:.The manufactured brackets that create the interfaces between beams and columns use very simple standardise tasks (bolted together vs requiring specialist steel erectors) ensuring a level of consistency normally unachievable in traditional construction..Brackets are designed in a way that they can only be installed correctly (referred to as ‘poka-yoke’ in manufacturing) making it impossible for an error to occur or making the error immediately obvious.

In addition, the brackets are colour coded, with each colour relating to a specific condition, e.g.end of bay, base of column etc.

Each colour is also liked to a series of standard tasks, such as a number of bolts and setting on their torque wrench.

So, the operatives need only match the colour with the type of interface.An analogy in the manufacturing sector would be a set of mechanical parts that is used to create the standardised chassis that sits inside many different models of car.

Recent decades have seen rapid change in manufacturing efficiency driven by whole sectors working with a defined range of components to enable rapid innovation to take place.Mass production encourages continual improvement in component design and manufacture, speeding up product evolution..

Conclusion: Construction Platforms, a Way Forward.The central concept of volumetric methodologies such as PPVC and MiC is to retain conventional construction practices but simply relocate them away from building sites and into factories.