By Anne Corr, Market Advisor, Enterprise Ireland UK
The UK construction industry is struggling to keep up with the demand of future residential developments. The rising population, the price of property and the availability of skilled workers are continued challenges for the sector and this is even more apparent in London where there is arguably limited space to build.
In February 2017 the UK Government published the Housing White Paper entitled ‘Fixing Our Broken Housing Market’ and introduced policy measures to address the long-term supply and affordability of housing in the UK. One of the solutions detailed in the paper was the promise to invest more in offsite manufacturing. This is where Ireland can help offer a solution with their innovative modern methods of construction.
Ireland is heavily committed to investing in the construction industry and is at the forefront of introducing innovative technologies. The country is a world-class leader in lean offsite manufacturing, digital construction, BIM and low carbon offering a competitive advantage. The UK is Irelands most dynamic and important trading partner and the ongoing collaboration between Ireland and the UK is mutually beneficial in helping to better future proof the construction industry for both countries.
With the UK government pledging to invest more in the offsite construction, Enterprise Ireland, an Irish government agency responsible for export trade, are keen to develop and support offsite ventures in the UK to help meet the ongoing housing demand. To open up the conversation around offsite solutions, Enterprise Ireland recently brought together key stakeholders across the UK and Irish construction industry to discuss the challenges surrounding the London Housing Crisis and the solutions that offsite could provide.
The contributions that offsite construction can make includes:
- Doubling the Capacity
- While the houses are being produced offsite in a factory setting, the main site is freed up allowing other work to be continued which in turn speeds up the entire construction process considerably
- Improving Quality & Performance
- Quality is improved and post-handover defects are reduced
- Help to Overcome Constraints
- Architects can use modular construction to overcome the constraints of tight space requirements of inner cities while creating quality and inspirational design. The days of uninspiring ‘prefab’ builds are long gone; most of today’s modern methods of construction are architecturally interesting and structurally solid.
- Reducing Environmental Impact
- Offsite is a more sustainable construction approach due to the reduction in carbon footprint as well as, reduced impact upon local environments, as waste is substantially decreased, fewer materials deliveries and so reduced disruption and fuel consumption.
- Decreasing External Delays
- Manufacturing of homes in factory conditions are unaffected by the delays caused by weather.
- Addressing the Skills Shortage
- Off-site construction is a means to addressing the skills shortage faced by the industry. Increased use of offsite construction methods for producing housing can address supply shortages by using state of the art manufacturing techniques in modern highly automated factories.
- Reducing health and safety risk on site
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- Construction in a controlled factory environment also has the advantage of being more predictable and safer; reducing the health and safety risk
With the many benefits listed above, offsite would seem like the obvious choice for developers who are looking to manage a more efficient build. Some developers are still wary of outsourcing and choose to continue with more traditional construction methods so the promotion of offsite benefits and an education around the misconceptions of this method are key to driving change within the construction industry.
The UK is in need of cost saving solutions for the construction industry which will support future housing developments. Challenges with budgets, space, skilled workers are only set to continue so innovation within the sector is paramount. With the UK and Ireland collaborating their efforts, and harnessing the benefits of offsite, we can work towards ending the UK housing shortage.