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Inaugural Constructive Change with Modern Methods event by CIOB and Built Offsite: government and industry leaders gather to discuss MMC’s future.
On March 7th, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Built Offsite launched their inaugural “Constructive Change with Modern Methods” event series at Sunshine Contracting Group in Sydney. Sponsored by CSR, this series aims to propel the Australian building industry towards the adoption of modern methods of construction (MMC).
The sold-out breakfast event was also live streamed to a local and international audience. The diverse turnout featured Tier 1 and 2 contractors, property developers, subcontractors, material suppliers, multi-residential home builders, offsite manufacturers, consultants (cost, design, engineering, project management), technology and software providers, start-ups/scale-ups, and government agencies.
In the event-series opening address, Brendan Sweeney, MCIOB, Regional Director of Multiplex NSW/ACT, emphasised the collaborative spirit of the series, stating, “Today’s event marks the beginning of a series of events, which is a collaborative effort between the Chartered Institute of Building and Built Offsite. The series also aims to engage industry professionals and stakeholders of our global organisation. We have over 50,000 members represented in over 100 countries around the world.”
Martin Fenn, MCIOB, CIOB’s MMC lead for Oceania, independent MMC advisor, and the event series, further highlighted the focus on “innovative construction, modern construction, productivity gains, increases in quality, safety, decarbonisation, using MMC as a tool.”
“Today’s event is going to be one of many that we will be holding across the eastern seaboard. So, look out for the events on CIOB channels, Built Offsite and LinkedIn.”
Michael Dolphin, publisher of Built Offsite, said: “The event series has been configured to connect the government with building industry professionals. A fundamental element in the transition to MMC is that industry has a clear view, a roadmap, a ‘survival guide’ on how to get there. It will be a journey, a challenging journey, but it’s one that we’re delighted to be collaborating with the CIOB to further this crucial transition to modern methods of construction.”
The event series opening speaker, Michael Wheatley, Chief Executive and Head of Housing Portfolio at Homes NSW, discussed the housing challenges and the government’s commitment to MMC as a solution. He emphasised the significance of collaboration and the government’s investment in MMC, stating, “The government’s last budget committed $10 million for homes in New South Wales to deliver some demonstration projects in MMC.” Wheatley further elaborated on the importance of MMC in solving the housing crisis, stating, “MMC and building offsite is one of those levers. It is an absolute key lever that will contribute to solving the housing crisis and this is about pulling on that lever as hard as we can along with all the other ones.”
“We absolutely have an opportunity as government to support MMC and the industry to actually building a pipeline that will help the industry to invest and then continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of MMC. We know that it takes a lot of investment upfront for MMC and having that surety of pipeline means that we can drive, or that the industry can drive, efficiency and speed and cost reduction that MMC can deliver. We need to bring everyone together and work out how to do this. We need to work with the local governments with, through the Department of Planning and Housing and Infrastructure so that we can actually create planning certainty across all levels.”
The event series next speaker, Angus Abadee, Director of Building and Construction Policy at the NSW Department of Customer Service, who underscored the critical role of MMC in meeting housing demand and improving construction efficiency. He highlighted the government’s commitment to quality and innovation, stating, “We want Building Commission New South Wales to be the new cop on the beat.” Abadee stressed the importance of balancing the need for more housing with the maintenance of quality standards in construction. He further discussed the potential of MMC to add value to the construction industry, stating, “We do see that MMC has the potential to significantly add to the value proposition in the New South Wales construction industry, particularly around housing.”
“We need to take the time to invest in MMC so that architects, engineers, builders know what’s required to use those projects. Critical to that will be the prospect of integration. When we have gone out onto sites to inspect the use of MMC, we see huge potential, particularly around some projects that use modules and pods, such as bathroom pods, to expedite the delivery of housing.
“We think that’s fantastic, and we want to see more of that. But we also see some real common issues that are so easily resolved, but are holding back the adoption of it because it adds unnecessary costs. And that’s the potential we see with MMC. We’ve heard about the lack of clarity in the regulatory framework, and let’s call it out, it is unbelievably confusing about how to use MMC in New South Wales.
“What we want to do is we want to treat it as consistently as possible with onsite, so that when onsite developers and builders are making a decision between onsite and offsite, we remove those barriers to them adopting MMC.”
The event series sponsor CSR’s Ryan Baxter, NPD Project Manager explained that design should align with the production of prefabricated elements to reduce building costs. The scope of prefabricated works should change the construction process, and project scale and timing should be consistent to streamline manufacturing operations. This approach forms the basis of CSR’s new solution program for prefabricated construction, which leverages their experience in integrating systems.
The next event in the Constructive Change with Modern Methods series is scheduled to be held in Melbourne, where the CIOB will announce some exciting news. They are currently formalising strategic partnerships with several key MMC membership bodies across the globe. The goal is to share knowledge and promote what good looks like, particularly highlighting the great work happening in Australia. Watch this space!
