Offsite – Should Be The Norm Not The Exception

Posted on: June 4th, 2019

NG Bailey, one of the partners at the Offsite Manufacture Conference & Exhibition, has been pioneering offsite manufacturing since the 1990s and has seen a steady growth in its use – but believes there is still a long way to go until it becomes the norm.

“We welcome the increased focus the sector is getting but there is still a long way to go until it is fully embedded as part of the construction process; although offsite techniques have become more commonplace, all too often it is still an after-thought,” explained Mark Watkins General Manager of NG Bailey’s Offsite Manufacture team.

Mark believes early engagement between architects, principal contractors and engineers to co-ordinate the design and delivery of services is vital.

“The construction industry won’t realise the full potential that adopting offsite construction techniques can deliver unless the approach is planned in from an early stage. It works best when a holistic approach to projects is adopted,” he added.

The development of digital and Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems has revolutionised engineering design and enables projects to be designed with offsite manufacture planned in from the outset. [emaillocker id=”71749″]

Early engagement during the design and planning phases also helps identify any logistical challenges early in the project and enable these to be factored into the engineering design.

Mark added: “The majority of major construction projects are still designed the traditional way; this often means that the building infrastructure isn’t planned in detail until construction is well under-way. This creates extra challenges and doesn’t leave as much flexibility when it comes to designing mechanical, electrical and plumbing infrastructure solutions. It also creates a false impression that offsite solutions are more expensive than traditional methods.”

Challenging the myth that offsite solutions are more expensive than traditional methods is something Mark is passionate about.

“If it isn’t planned in properly, offsite costs can initially appear more expensive than traditional methods, but once you start to look at the true costs of projects, factoring in logistical factors, quality improvements, time-saving and sustainability benefits it becomes a very different story.

“Our clients have seen on site costs savings – and time savings of up to 90% making the case for offsite very compelling.

“Contractors and end clients need to look beyond the ‘norm’ when it comes to procurement and realise that lowest cost doesn’t always mean best value. The full benefit is realised when looking at the project as a whole rather than the offsite element in isolation”

When it comes to modern methods of construction (MMC), Mark believes that harnessing offsite is quite simply the right thing to do.

“Quality control and traceability is enhanced with equipment manufactured in a stable, clean environment; it is a more sustainable option with dramatic reductions in waste and fewer deliveries to site thus improving logistics on site and minimising the impact on local communities and last but not least on-site safety is dramatically improved.

“Offsite means sites are less congested and the people employed to assemble building infrastructure are doing so in a safe and clean environment where the need for working at height is reduced and they don’t need to work around other on-site trades.”

“When you look at the numerous benefits offsite manufacturing brings, developers shouldn’t be asking why should we use offsite, it should be why aren’t we using it.”

MECD – Offsite delivering for engineers of the future

NG Bailey was appointed by Balfour Beatty to design, install, test and commission the specialised MEP works for the prestigious Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD).

The building has eight floors and a floorspace of more than 76,000 m2 and is one of the single largest single construction projects undertaken by a higher education institute in the UK. Once completed it will house the University of Manchester’s engineering disciplines, teaching spaces and research institutes and more than 6,700 students and 1,250 staff will be based there.

NG Bailey’s bespoke building services are complex and flexible with capacity for future additions. This includes heating, cooling and circulation pumps and BMS modules installed in the plantroom modules. This enables new technologies to be installed now, or in the future as technological advancements are made or user requirements change.

A key feature is the highly specialised heating and temperature system which is designed to be fully flexible to enable research and experiments to be carried out under distinct climate controlled conditions.

It is a vast project with the majority of works being delivered using offsite techniques. NG Bailey’s designers, BIM co-ordinators and engineers worked collaboratively with Balfour Beatty to develop the innovative solutions.

All work is co-ordinated using BIM and every piece of equipment installed is quality tested before it is delivered to site, they are also tagged and fully traceable. Work is completed in phases with NG Bailey’s 137-strong on-site team working on a zonal basis.

When complete, Offsite Manufacture will have delivered more than 850 tonnes of equipment including an incredible 64km of pipework – almost enough to reach from NG Bailey’s specialist Offsite facility in Bradford to the site in Manchester.

Equipment ranging from fully assembled plant room skids through to distribution boards, mechanical risers, pipework modules and welded spools will all be delivered fully assembled ready to be installed and connected at site.

This includes:

40 plant room skids
64Km of pipework
4,000 welded spools
293 distribution boards
More than 1,000 modules
Nearly 18,000 valves
Nearly 10,000 pipe clips and elbows

This approach has taken more than 74,500 hours of work away from site helping to reduce onsite congestion and improve the interface between trades – both of which improve on-site safety performance.

Attracting the engineers of the future

A focus on education and greater collaboration between schools and industry is vital if the offsite sector is going to thrive.

Frank Clayton, Group Head of Learning at NG Bailey explained: “All too often the construction and engineering sectors are over-looked; there is a general lack of awareness about the opportunities and wide range of careers available. There is even less awareness about offsite, to put it simply, people just don’t know what it is.

“Which means schools and colleges don’t promote it and young people aren’t made aware of it – people don’t apply for jobs unless they know and understand them.

“The modern benchmarks of good career guidance include creating meaningful engagements between students and employers; at NG Bailey we support this agenda by going into schools to raise awareness about careers in engineering. We also regularly invite pupils into our Offsite Manufacture facility in Bradford”.

When an employee joins the NG Bailey offsite team they are supported through an onboarding process which features bespoke training modules based on the individual’s needs. This approach ensures we provide the trainees with hands on experience and knowledge, so they join the offsite manufacture assembly line quicker and at a higher competency level – they truly understand the part they play and the value they add in delivering an exceptional solution.

Training doesn’t stop once the employee hits the assembly line, our employees then embark on a 13-month Business Improvement Technique apprenticeship that sees the employee gain a relevant qualification.