Roundtable: do modern methods equal quality and efficiency?

Throughout the pandemic there have been plenty of voices asking how the country can ‘build back better’. For construction, the phrase can be read both metaphorically and literally. Even before the pandemic, there was no shortage of calls for it to fundamentally rethink the way it operates.

The contribution that modern methods of construction (MMC) might make to that reinvention was the subject of a Construction News virtual roundtable held in March, in partnership with construction software provider IFS. A panel of experts gathered to discuss how improved business processes and MMC might drive future efficiencies in the residential sector.

MMC through the pandemic

Wayne Hill, construction services director at housing association L&Q, observed that motivations for adopting new processes can change. “Four or five years ago, MMC was seen as a solution for a skills gap and materials shortages, because ultimately it delivers efficiency.”

He added: “If you’re expanding as a sector and you’re under resource pressure, you can do more with less, so it’s perfect. And if you’re under pressure, whether it be economically at the moment or because you’ve got less hands on deck because of COVID, the same efficiency works in reverse.

“Ultimately, anything that delivers genuine efficiencies to any business has a place – whether you’re in a growth period of a market or retraction. So interestingly, the very arguments that we used five years ago [are now] being recycled and rebadged.”

“Companies need to become hybrid businesses, not just focused on the traditional construction model. They need to become manufacturing, logistics and construction centric”

Kenny Ingram, IFS

Emily King, client solutions director at contractor Mid Group agreed, adding that specialising in MMC made it easier to keep working throughout lockdown. “Because we had MMC solutions, we had fewer people on site, so our [projects] could keep running,” she said. “We closed one site down in the centre of London for a week while we figured our travel plans, but everything else kept going.”

In turn, that meant projects could stay on schedule. King said the firm had just handed over a school to the Department for Education and said they had been praised in the feedback for it being on time and on budget during the pandemic.

“Now that has to be because we were using MMC. We have fewer people on site, so we could keep going with social distancing. Whereas we didn’t have that evidential comparison before [the virus], I think we do now and if we don’t collect that data, we’re at risk of going back to where we were. And that isn’t a sustainable way of working. We have to find out, from a data perspective, what was beneficial, what did work and what didn’t.”

Oliver Novakovic, technical and innovation director at Barratt Homes, said the housebuilder had remained “bloody busy” throughout the pandemic.

“One of the things we get out of MMC is that we can deliver more units on a site,” he said. “And the benefit is if we deliver more units on the site with the same amount of people, we then get the savings we need in housebuilding to make it cost-effective. We can’t make MMC stack up unless we get the benefits out of it, which is delivering at speed.”

Levelling-up agenda

Several panellists were optimistic that governmental support for MMC might drive increased confidence in the approach.

Architect HTA Design’s senior associate Maribel Mantecon observed that the investment needed to build MMC factories relied on confidence in demand. “Investment from the government is really important,” she stressed.

Equally, a factory-based approach to construction might contribute to the levelling up agenda, Mantecon continued. “MMC gives you lots of things at the same time,” she said. “It provides help with economic recovery by placing jobs away from the places where housing is required. So, you can have factories in the north of England where those jobs are needed the most.”

She added: “The other big thing that we have at the moment, that we just can’t forget, is the really serious environmental crisis. MMC is a very sustainable way of building because there is so much less waste. It really helps us go towards the zero carbon aim that we have targeted for 2050. I do believe that there is a serious opportunity now for the way we build to change, which we haven’t been able to do until now.”

That view was endorsed by Jamie Hillier, founding partner of MMC consultancy Akerlof, but he also voiced the concern that the economic pressures brought by the pandemic could lead to short-termism among firms operating in survival mode. “Then there’ll be a gravitation towards traditional construction,” he warned. “So, I think you could see a split in the market, with those that embrace and take that longer term vision and others who, through circumstances, are driven to take a different route.”

Novakovic also cautioned that wholehearted adoption of MMC requires cultural change throughout a business, which could prove problematic for some housebuilders. “MMC is something new and culturally there could be resistance,” he said.

IFS vice president Kenny Ingram said that successful delivery of MMC requires a different approach: “Companies need to become hybrid businesses, not just focused on the traditional construction model. They need to become manufacturing, logistics and construction centric, which means the processes and usually the business systems need to change.”

“It is very much a holistic approach, about the impact it has upon culture and behaviours”

Jamie Hillier, Akerlof

Novakovic added: “The key thing with MMC is: it only works if culturally a division, the site team, the trades – everyone – is up for it and they know what they’re doing, and it’s not more difficult than it was with traditional [methods]. As soon as it becomes more difficult, you get people downing tools.” But he also suggested that COVID-19 may have tipped the balance in favour of that cultural shift.

Edward Rees, regional director at contractor Wates, added that clients – whether public or private sector – must be wary of demanding rapid change. “I think some clients get carried away and try driving the agenda, but it is about creating that balance because we still have an existing trade workforce,” he said. “So, it is about harmonising the introduction, not just changing overnight. It is about creating that balance going forward.”

Sometimes, however, change can happen quickly. Urban Splash has accelerated its move towards MMC through its House by Urban Splash arm, due to its partnership with Japanese housebuilder Sekisui House, which has ploughed £90m into Urban Splash. It also shares its insights.

“It’s the biggest housebuilder in Japan, modular-wise, so we can tap into its expertise as well,” said Dan Pollard, head of manufacturing at House by Urban Splash. “We have an in-house Sekisui team, looking at how they produce buildings in a controlled environment.”

However, it isn’t just construction that needs to change – it’s the great British housebuying public too. With images of post-war pre-fabs still conjuring up negative associations, housebuilders can be wary of selling homes built using MMC. But that mindset could be ripe for change, according to IFS’s Ingram.

“Quality is a hot topic in housebuilding,” he said. “The skills shortage I’m sure is a major contributor to poor quality and obviously manufacturing should drive a much higher build quality. At the moment, people buy a house and then they find out [whether] the quality is bad when they move in.”

The panel was also clear that embracing MMC has to come alongside improved business systems. “I think they go hand in hand,” King said.

“It’s a change in mindset; it’s a change in approach. MMC is not volumetric; it’s not flat pack; it’s not a single solution. So you need the digital tools to support that transition. MMC becomes traditional if it’s not supported with the systems needed. For me, they’re one in the same if they’re to be successful.”

Hillier couldn’t have agreed more. “It is very much a holistic approach, whether it be not only transitioning from on site to offsite, but actually the adoption of your processes,” he said.

“It’s about the impact it has upon culture and behaviours and actually from an organisational perspective. It can be quite challenging because it’s certainly not the exclusive domain of a particular department. It has far, far reaching impact across all members of your business and team.”