Construction worksites have a reputation for being chaotic, confusing, dangerous, or any other label that aligns with the hectic tones and feverish paces often emanating from them. There’s no arguing when it comes to their nature and how to define them. These workplaces are unique in their composition, tempo, and the skills that drive the dizzying array of people and parts. The profile of the construction worksite is steeped into the minds of most, but the industry is constantly looking for ways to improve its processes and change preconceived notions and the overall narrative. One of those ways is construction prefabrication.
What is Construction Prefabrication?
Construction prefabrication, or prefab, is defined as the process of constructing off-site and transporting those constructed parts to the actual worksite for assembly. Several parts of a structure are completed using this method including:
Roof trusses: Roof trusses are triangular framework components that support the roof of a building. These pieces are becoming popular due to their ease of installation, cost, and efficiency.
Stairs: Prefabricated stairs allow professionals to hand the project over to the final customer while significantly reducing the costs of labor.
Kitchen and Bathrooms: Kitchens and bathrooms are time-consuming, but by using prefabrication, professionals can use factory modules, increasing speed, quality, and lowering costs.
MEP: MEP or mechanical, electrical, and plumbing are painful, but necessary parts of the construction project journey. Prefabricated processes remove the pain, and simplify the construction process, regardless of the size or scope of the project.
The Benefits of Construction Prefabrication
Construction Prefabrication offers several key benefits including:
Increases quality: Construction sites are busy, and mistakes often occur that can impact the quality of work and timelines. Using a prefabricated approach and building offsite employs a predictable, repeatable method in a controlled space that dramatically improves the quality of workmanship by infusing process consistency.
Improves efficiency: For the most part, the construction industry, especially sites that produce projects, is considered a cause-and-effect environment whereby one process initiates another directly tied to the delivery of the final product. Waiting for one component to be completed before beginning another is tedious, and the smallest outlier can adversely affect efficiency, but that changes with the integration of prefabrication. The prefabrication method allows workers to produce concurrently, removing the wait time and inherent interdependence while significantly improving project efficiency.
Protects the environment: Construction is a necessary component of the global economy, but also one that does an extreme amount of damage to the environment. Air, water, noise, landfill, and several forms of pollution account for nearly 40% of the world’s carbon emissions. Using prefabrication principles where construction takes place offsite dramatically reduces the pollutant quotient and helps professionals protect the environment.
Moves the project forward: The only certainty about construction projects is often uncertainty. Weather, disruptions with supply chains, and a host of other challenges outside the control of site professionals are constantly rearing their heads. The beauty of prefabrication is that even during inclement weather or when supply chains are unstable, production continues, and project delivery, something that isn’t always certain, stays on track.
Provides clarity: Construction worksites will always be busy, but regardless of how busy they are, there still needs to be some semblance of order. People add to the confusion, but with the infusion of prefabrication, projects require fewer people to be on-site, increasing the clarity of duties and leading to a cleaner delivery.
Conclusion
Construction is a complex proposition, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Simplifying the processes can be done through several methods, and prefabrication is fast becoming the most preferred. Quality doesn’t decline; it improves and the impact it has on efficiency is immense. From an environmental perspective, professionals should always look for ways to lessen the damage their work does to our world, and prefabrication is an option. Projects also tend to move faster when components are assembled offsite, translating into unprecedented clarity. All these variables combine to make construction prefabrication a true game-changer that leaders and professionals in every silo of the industry should fully embrace.
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AIA Contract Documents has provided this article for general informational purposes only. The information provided is not legal opinion or legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship of any kind. This article is also not intended to provide guidance as to how project parties should interpret their specific contracts or resolve contract disputes, as those decisions will need to be made in consultation with legal counsel, insurance counsel, and other professionals, and based upon a multitude of factors.
