Why Pre-Fab Construction? A Recent Report Heralds Modular Construction’s Superior Productivity
At SurePods, we’ve long been proponents of prefabrication. While many in the hospital, multi-unit residential and healthcare sectors have similarly jumped aboard the modular construction train, the rest of the building industry has been slow to catch up.
Still, as a new report by McKinsey & Company details, construction professionals are increasingly coming in contact with and even specifying prefabrication, busting long-standing modular myths left and right. According to the report: “Modular (or prefabricated) construction is not a new concept, but technological improvements, economic demands, and changing mindsets mean it is attracting an unprecedented wave of interest and investment.” While by no means the norm, pre-fab is poised to disrupt the industry.
The report goes on to share that “recent modular projects have already established a solid track record of accelerating project timelines by 20 to 50 percent.” These findings directly match up with SurePods’ advocates’ experiences, where prefab saved 10 percent or more on construction timelines.
But how exactly is prefabrication able to achieve this? The report specifically cites the “maturing of digital tools,” which plays a part in accelerating assembly line machinery and “optimizing delivery logistics.” The latter ensures a more efficient overall process. For example, here at SurePods, we work with manufacturers to accurately predict when the modular bathroom pods will arrive on the job site. We also see further schedule savings occur thanks to the consolidation of 10 plus construction trades and the modular bathroom pods’ easy maneuverability and connectivity.
Along with these time-saving factors, the report credits prefabricated modular construction with “adopting new, lighter-weight materials as well as digital technologies that enhance design capabilities and variability, improve precision and productivity in manufacturing, and facilitate logistics.”
Indeed, in the words of McKinsey & Company, it seems “modular construction’s time may have finally come.”
Want to join the modular movement? Email us at [email protected], and we’ll be in touch about how SurePods can potentially shave months off your next hotel, dormitory, apartment, military housing or hospital project.