Joined up thinking
After many years of working for PLC's and large private companies I decided to have a go myself with some long time friends, whom I have known for most of my working life. Not really that I have any regrets, but more about implementing ideas I have shared to colleagues over the years that surprisingly fall on deaf ears.
If the lockdown has done anything in our industry, it has massively pushed modular and manufactured products faster than the previous thirty years of trying. Its testament to leaders such as Richard Ogden and Roger Bullivant that we are now refurbishing and extending MacDonalds that they built over 25 years ago using modular buildings and foundations.
The average build time is four to five weeks for a drive thru restaurant. However, McDonald’s did stage the building of a restaurant in 24hrs in 1998. This was in Runcorn, Cheshire during National Construction week.
The question I poise is that if back in 1998 two guys who sat down in an office on the Drakelow site, the home of Roger Bullivant could make it work almost without a hitch, why nearly 25 years on we still cant build a semi detached house in under 25 weeks?
It seems pretty straightforward to me, joined up thinking. Most people would consider that they already do this and to some extent we are all guilty of thinking this, but when you actually sit down and analyse how we actually work we really don't fully understand the process.
Wind back to April 2019 and our first big scheme with a well known large developer in the Midlands, where we sat down and explained the need for joined thinking and working together. First couple of weeks were tough on the first phase, but phases two and three have gone extremely well and everyone has bought into the "joined up" approach to such an extent that it is a pleasure to work with all concerned, explore cost benefits/savings, design critique and build programme on site.
We have now moved on a few steps and started to look at pre cast garages, which will enable our client to take them off the critical path, reduce resource on site and take less than two days to install.
Joined up thinking and modular construction work hand in hand and especially when planned
Roof Truss Manufacturer
3 年Very well put Paul. As you know this has always baffled me. Having worked in manufacturing my entire life I simply don't understand why you would spend weeks traipsing through mud and rain on a site rather than do all the hard work in an automated factory. Virtually every other industry understands this concept. Glad to see that you and a few others are embracing change.