Approaches which modularise process plants and utilities move construction techniques into mass production techniques.
We must find ways to deliver what we need using much less.Optimisation of materials, better control of logistics, automation in construction, fewer people on site – all of these factors will help to create an overall lower carbon version of the built environment.
We’re already working hard with concrete manufacturers to find the lowest carbon form of concrete we can possibly use.We’re talking to steel manufacturers about the types of steel which will be made by electric arc furnaces powered by hydrogen fuel cells.We’re evaluating whether it’s viable to grow enough forests to build buildings using timber.
All of these issues must be addressed now.. Modern construction for the next generation.Finally, there is the question of the workforce itself.
At present, there simply aren’t enough young people coming into the construction industry.
Construction isn’t seen as an attractive option by the next generation, who would prefer to work in tech.However, local industry discussion of DfMA remains dominated by the idea of standardised PPVC modules being stacked up to form finished buildings..
The ongoing struggle to deliver PPVC cost-effectively in Singapore has an increasing degree of urgency.The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Singapore’s foreign workforce shows the need to drive greater productivity while reducing over-reliance on foreign labour is more urgent than ever before.
But the big question is, ‘What next?’.Hong Kong: Modular Integrated Construction.
(Editor: Powerful Streaming Gear)