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UK’s Construction Innovation Hub establishes ‘rules’ how building developments harness offsite construction and manufacturing.
The Construction Innovation Hub is a UK Government-funded joint enterprise of the Building Research Establishment, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB). Its mission is to lead a revolution in UK construction methodologies to increase the proportion of work done offsite, in controlled factory environments. It embraces everything from prefabs to system builds, with large building components arriving on site that can be quickly and simply assembled by crane.
The Product Platform Rulebook is an open-access guide to support construction clients, consultants, contractors, manufacturers and product suppliers in building capability and capacity to develop and deploy product platforms to meet demand.
It sets out seven rules: Deployability, Configurability, Common, Repeatable Elements, Defined Interfaces, Quality Standard, Structured Approach to Configuration and Openness. It also sets out the principles that should be applied in conjunction with the rules.
ABOVE: Product Platform Rulebook seven offsite construction rules.
The hope is that this 60-page ‘rulebook’ will encourage clients to specify ‘a platform approach’ – the currently approved jargon for systems of building using large prefabricated panels and components.
Construction Innovation Hub director Keith Waller said: “The collaboration involved to get to this point has been exceptional – our beta Rulebook has been produced by industry and today marks the start of a further round of consultation. I look forward to seeing the rulebook evolve as it becomes the basis for platform approaches.”
UK Construction minister, Lee Rowley, who co-chairs the Construction Leadership Council, said: “Platform-based approaches are an example of how we can use digital and offsite manufacturing technologies to drive the transformation of the construction industry in the UK, improving its performance and delivering better outcomes for clients.
“This Platform Rulebook will help both construction clients and firms in the supply chain adopt more standardised parts by using product platforms to deliver new buildings and infrastructure, significantly improving productivity, quality, safety and sustainability.”
Download it HERE
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