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“Today’s conference is about Making It Happen. We have the solutions, and we have the expertise in this room to make a real impact on the future of building in Australia.” Building 4.0 CRC Annual Conference, 3 September 2024.
Built Offsite attended the event, and this is our take on the morning session. The afternoon session will be covered in a follow-up piece.
Attended by several hundred delegates, the 2024 Building 4.0 CRC Annual Conference, held at Monash College City Campus in Melbourne, focused on the future of innovation in the construction industry. Professor Mathew Aitchison, CEO of Building 4.0 CRC, opened the morning session by emphasising the shift from problem identification to solution-focused discussions. He outlined the conference theme, “Making It Happen,” and stressed the importance of turning building sector innovations into practical action. “This year, we want to highlight solutions. We’ll address the problems, but we’re also focusing on how we can fix them,” said Aitchison.
Aitchison acknowledged the ongoing housing crisis and pointed out the importance of increasing housing starts from the projected 154,000 to the necessary 250,000 homes per year. “Prefab and modular construction alone aren’t the solution,” he noted. While these methods are part of the solution, he stressed the need for regulatory reform, technological advancements, and workforce development. “We don’t want to be having these same conversations in 2034,” he remarked, emphasising the importance of progress and the industry’s responsibility to avoid stagnation.
Welcome Address by Dr Bronwyn Evans
Dr Bronwyn Evans, Chair of the Building 4.0 CRC, welcomed attendees and focused on the crucial role of partnerships in addressing Australia’s housing crisis. She outlined the current challenges, including the housing supply shortfall and the increasing number of building company insolvencies. Evans noted, “All of these challenges require partnerships, sharing, and collaboration, which are the key themes of today’s conference, underpinned by innovation.”
Evans also introduced the Homes NSW Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) R&D Program, the largest project under the CRC, launched in May 2024. She described it as a groundbreaking initiative to revolutionise housing construction in Australia. “We believe this will revolutionise how housing is built in Australia,” she said. The project aims to bring together government, industry, and academic partners to create new building solutions that are faster, more efficient, and sustainable. Evans highlighted the four pillars guiding the CRC’s work – industrialisation, digitalisation, sustainability, and people practices – stating that these themes were driving real impact within the building industry.
Dr Jerker Lessing: Sweden’s Industrialised Construction Experience
Dr Jerker Lessing, Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, delivered the Dr Andrea Chegut Memorial Lecture, where he discussed the history and lessons of industrialised construction from a Swedish perspective. He began by paying tribute to Dr Andrea Chegut, whose pioneering work in innovation continues to inspire advancements in the field. Lessing then delved into the development of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in Sweden, highlighting its evolution over the last century.
“Industrialised construction has a long history in Sweden, dating back almost 100 years,” Lessing explained. He detailed how the Swedish government introduced standardised drawings for detached houses in 1922 to address housing shortages. He noted that factory production of building components, such as wall panels, followed shortly after, laying the groundwork for companies still active in Sweden’s construction industry today. Reflecting on the Million Homes Program launched in 1964, which aimed to build one million homes in a decade, Lessing described it as a major turning point in Sweden’s construction history. “By the end of the 10-year period, the program successfully delivered one million homes. But while the numbers were impressive, the results were mixed,” he said.
The emphasis on mass production in the Million Homes Program led to some homes being built without sufficient focus on liveability or customer-centric design. Lessing acknowledged that this was a key lesson: “We have since learned that focusing solely on production is not enough. Industrialised construction must also take into account customer preferences and market demands.”
In discussing current practices, Lessing revealed that Sweden now boasts a 20% market share in multi-storey residential buildings constructed using industrialised methods, with 90% of single-family homes built in this way. “This is largely due to the long history of industrialisation in Sweden’s housing sector,” he said. He also shared insights into the collaborative efforts between industry and academia that have driven innovation. “One example is the Lean Wood Engineering program, a six-year research initiative that brought together universities and companies to develop new building systems, processes, and business models,” Lessing explained.
Looking ahead, Lessing was optimistic about the role of industrialised construction in addressing global challenges. “Industrialised construction can play a key role in addressing the housing shortage and reducing environmental impact. But to succeed, we need to keep the customer at the centre of our efforts, continuously improve our systems, and invest in research and development,” he concluded.
Daryl Patterson: Operational Excellence and Productisation
Daryl Patterson of West Island Workshop provided a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities in the construction industry, focusing on the importance of operational excellence and productisation. Patterson reflected on his 15-year career, sharing key lessons learned about productivity and the value of standardisation. “When you move beyond ad hoc project delivery, which is still how around 80% of the world operates, you can start thinking about operational excellence,” Patterson explained. He stressed that the construction industry’s productivity has lagged behind other sectors for decades, and this must change.
Patterson introduced his “Patterson Value Creation Chart,” which outlines the steps companies need to follow to improve productivity. “It’s about developing standard operating procedures, strategic procurement processes, and continuously monitoring for improvement. These foundational steps can lead to significant productivity gains,” he said, adding that companies can expect a conservative 10% improvement by fully embracing these principles.
A key point Patterson made was that productisation – treating building elements as repeatable components – is critical to achieving efficiency in construction. He cautioned against skipping steps, explaining, “Many companies try to jump straight from ad hoc project delivery to manufacturing components. But that’s a big leap, and it doesn’t always work. You need to go through the steps of operational excellence and productisation first to really see the benefits.”
Patterson also shared his experience with cross-laminated timber (CLT) projects from his time at Lendlease, explaining that while the quality of the buildings was excellent, the lack of standardisation led to inefficiencies. “We found that we weren’t learning enough from one project to the next. Each new project required a different set of lessons and solutions, which made it difficult to reduce costs and improve efficiency,” he said. Patterson also reflected on a modular bathroom company he had set up, which produced high-quality bathrooms but ultimately had to be shut down due to the inability to achieve economies of scale. “We learned that unless you can standardise and scale, you won’t get the cost savings you’re aiming for,” he concluded.
Patterson outlined five conditions for the success of MMC, including standardisation, rethinking procurement models, and focusing on learning effects across the industry. “Every time you double the volume of production, you reduce the cost and increase the quality by 20%,” he said, referencing Wright’s Law. He also advocated for a system design mindset, where the focus is on creating standardised, repeatable components that can be manufactured efficiently.
Building 4.0 CRC’s Annual Conference also featured Ampitheatre sessions during conference breaks.
Justine Prain: Energiesprong and Net-Zero Energy Retrofits
Justine Prain presented an inspiring account of the Energiesprong initiative, a net-zero energy retrofit program that began in the Netherlands and has since expanded across Europe and into the UK. Prain shared her experience of implementing these retrofits on some of the UK’s oldest homes, transforming them into energy-efficient, net-zero properties. “Most of the homes we’ll have in 2050 are already here today, and we need to retrofit them quickly if we want them to be fit for the future,” she explained.
Prain outlined the core tenets of the Energiesprong approach, which includes reducing heat demand by 70%, using offsite manufacturing, and creating a business case for retrofitting. “The challenge is to create homes that are not only energy-efficient but also better for the people living in them,” she said. Prain highlighted how Energiesprong’s projects have transformed homes with high energy bills and poor living conditions into comfortable, energy-efficient properties.
One of the pilot projects Prain discussed was in Nottingham, UK, where panelised wall solutions and energy pods were installed to retrofit homes. “These panels and cassette roofs were craned onto site as complete units, and the energy pods, which house heat pumps, batteries, and inverters, were manufactured offsite and delivered as plug-and-play solutions,” she explained. The project achieved significant carbon and energy savings, with residents reporting improved living conditions and lower bills.
Prain emphasised the importance of scaling up these retrofits to meet climate goals and improve housing quality. “It’s all about creating a business case to scale up net-zero energy retrofits. This isn’t only to achieve climate goals, but to make homes better for people to live in,” she said. She also discussed the importance of creating partnerships and fostering innovation within the sector. “The open, honest sharing of information was crucial to finding solutions in a still-developing market,” she concluded.
