The industry must begin to move away from the old way of doing things. And begin to adopt more efficient production processes.
by Richard Allan / October 25, 2022
Traditional construction is open to many independent variables. Variables that we can’t control; weather, volatility of material prices, imports. But, accelerating manufacturing-based construction can help us mitigate that. It will allow us to create independence, and create future revenue streams for the industry.
“If we look at the key performance indicators that the government set for the construction industry around improving productivity, faster delivery, reducing embodied carbon, improved costs, and addressing the imbalance of trade. I think we are making great headway in three of those, but reducing embodied carbon and balance of trade are not being improved just yet.” said Steve Nesbitt, Chief Technologist at The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC).
The MTC operates Construction Innovation Hub. The hub works with 600 organisations from contractors to policymakers. And it has a powerful vision:
A world where our built environment improves quality of life, delivers greater social value, reduces environmental impact and is delivered by a world-leading, innovative and sustainable industry.
To implement their vision, the industry must begin to move away from the old way of doing things. And begin to adopt more efficient production processes.
“We need to be looking at mechanisms to migrate away from traditional construction methods and materials, which have a high energy production. By creating new innovation methods and landing them in UK sectors we can start to look at exports to address the imbalance of trade. Net zero concerns are at the forefront of most people’s agendas. When people look at new construction programmes, they are far more cognisant now than ever before.”
“The future is great for the construction industry. It’s a major component of the UK economy, it just needs a bit of nurturing to flourish.” said Nesbitt.
