The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to look for safer and more innovative ways of building homes and offices. Prefab construction backed by digital technology has the potential to create sustainable, high-quality housing safely and with speed. Deploying big data and artificial intelligence during the design and construction process will transform the building sector and facilitate us in providing sustainable & affordable construction for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted all the industry verticals, especially construction where social distancing norms are impossible to follow. Global supply chain concerns and labour shortages have resulted in construction project delays around the globe. Even pre-pandemic, construction companies were already looking to boost productivity and sustainability while reducing costs. Now, more than ever, industry leaders are scouting for solutions to build more efficiently. This is the prefabricated (prefab) construction era.

With rising materials costs, developers are fast taking the cost savings route. The biggest benefit that prefab construction offers is economies of scale that ultimately results in higher productivity and lower cost per unit. Another big reason omgomg for the switch to prefab is that lesser amount of material waste is generated during construction. If experts are to be believed, 30-40% of the materials used in traditional construction go to waste; compared to that, prefab construction results in only 2% of material waste, which is a huge savings in itself.

In addition to savings incost, prefab construction offers the benefit of time savings. The beauty of prefab is that work can happen simultaneously onsite and offsite. When there are weather and other environmental issues that can hamper construction, work can be performed offsite indoors, ensuring that there is negligible impact on a project’s timeline, making the process efficient and cost-effective. Additionally, modular construction greatly reduces the labour costs involved for those running these projects. Besides upping the efficiency and affordability, prefab construction also has inherent environmental benefits as it results in fewer emissions, less raw material waste, etc.

What does the post-pandemic world look like?

Increased digitization is the WORD.  COVID-19 pandemic has made remote ways of working the new normal. ven the construction industry isn’t spared, with designers and engineers relying heavily on digital collaboration tools such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). Leading engineers and contractors use 4D and 5D simulations to replan projects and reoptimize schedules. Right from project concept to commissioning, integrated digital-twin solutions are being used.

While the industry was facing a shortage of skilled labour even before the pandemic, the introduction of physical-distancing measures and restrictions on cross-border movement of labour, and skilled labour shortages made it even worse. This scenario has fuelled the need for the deployment of digital tools to enhance productivity, including 4D simulation, digital workflow management, realtime progress tracking, and advanced schedule optimization. With a view to speed up and automate design & construction elements, there is also going to be an increase in R&D spending to develop new standardized building systems. As we go ahead, more players will invest in the automation of onsite and back-office processes. Besides, players are consolidating to ensure economies of scale and support IT, talent, R&D, and technology investment.

The construction sector has been using Building Information Modelling (BIM) for a long time now. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the adoption of BIM more widespread. BIM enables projects to continue in a digital and virtual environment. This collaborative approach facilitates sharing of data across businesses and aids in smarter construction. The data can then be fed into manufacturing processes for components and modules that are later put together to form finishing buildings in the prefab industry.

Smart technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are fast gaining prominence in the construction space too. Architects are using big data and complex algorithms to create standardized designs at pace, which can then be tested on a virtual platform to gauge the viability of the project & the associated cost and can also ensure that the developer’s specific ideas and requirements are met with – resulting in faster decision making. The standardized components can then be produced in factories.

Reimagining for the next normal

McKinsey has proposed a 5R philosophy to survive in the post-pandemic world. These are Resolve, Resilience, Return, Reimagination, and Reform. Reimagination can help engineering, construction, and building materials (ECB) leaders look beyond the immediate crisis and start to plan for the next normal. Now is the time for ECB companies to prepare for a more productive and resilient industry.

As we go ahead, building in controlled environments makes more sense in an industry that demands close supervision of the movement and interaction of the workforce – further strengthening the case for offsite construction beyond the obvious benefits of quality and speed.

If you are convinced that prefab is the future, Wait No More! Switch to Steelion for all your prefab construction requirements…

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Sources: McKinsey, WeForum, Global Infrastructure Initiative