Contemporary Building Techniques: Frequent Obstacles and Resolutions

Contemporary Building Techniques: Frequent Obstacles and Resolutions

In an effort to revolutionise the social housing sector, Trina Chakravarti, Project Director for the Building Better initiative, has identified four key ideas that aid collaborative partnerships in the adoption of modern methods of construction (MMC): Reach for Common Ground, Eyes on the Prize, Accept Tension, and Make Mechanisms Contractual.

The adoption of MMC in the UK social housing sector has faced numerous obstacles. Only five out of around 16 major UK-based public lenders who deal with social housing have considered implementing a funding strategy for MMC-built homes. One of the main reasons for this reluctance is a "perception of risk" surrounding MMC.

Eyes on the Prize emphasises the importance of setting a clear goal and pulling in resources to make collaborative projects successful. Trina Chakravarti's Building Better project aims to provide proof of long-term security, better investment, and more support for large organizations to move away from traditional construction and adopt MMC.

Coordination and expertise gaps are another challenge in implementing MMC. Modular construction, for instance, requires precise coordination between factory-built components and on-site assembly. Many site contractors and subcontractors lack familiarity with these methods, demanding extensive education and disciplined sequencing across trades.

To overcome these challenges, early integration and planning is crucial. Embedding MMC into project strategy from the outset improves efficiency by aligning design, budget, logistics, and schedule collectively. Education and training are also essential to enable tighter coordination and sequencing among trades.

Regulatory reform and collaboration are key to streamlining planning approvals, zoning, and inspection processes. A collaborative approach involving regulators, developers, and unions can improve compliance and productivity. Phased cost management and a sustainability focus help view upfront MMC costs as investments with lifecycle savings, promoting adoption.

Sceptical Boards, dealing with public money where expenses are scrutinised, are worried about paying in advance with nothing to show for it until later. To address this, centralised or coordinated governance frameworks can improve policy coherence and operational efficiency for MMC in social housing.

Accept Tension acknowledges that conflict is inevitable when trying to get people to agree on things that will work differently in their businesses. Comparing employer requirements can help find commonality and foster collaboration. Financial risk for manufacturers is another challenge, as they're playing a new game and their credit profiles are still embryonic. Trina Chakravarti's team offers free resources to help with establishing binding risk-sharing agreements.

Trina Chakravarti has formed a strong partnership with Procurement for Housing to aggregate supply pipelines and make it easier for housing associations and manufacturers to access MMC. This partnership helps navigate the market, as MMC is met with scepticism due to being a completely different way of doing business.

In conclusion, the key to successfully implementing MMC in social housing is holistic early planning combined with education, regulatory improvement, and a long-term cost/sustainability perspective. MMC presents plenty of new challenges that need tailored solutions, but Trina Chakravarti's work is helping to facilitate collaboration between housing associations, local authorities, and manufacturers to advance the use of MMC in building quality social housing fast.

[1] Building Better, (2021). [Accessed 2022-01-10]. Available at: https://www.buildingbetter.uk/ [2] Chakravarti, T., (2021). [Accessed 2022-01-10]. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinachakravarti/ [3] Procurement for Housing, (2021). [Accessed 2022-01-10]. Available at: https://www.procurementforhousing.com/ [4] Government Construction Sector Deal, (2018). [Accessed 2022-01-10]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/construction-sector-deal/construction-sector-deal [5] Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Task Force, (2018). [Accessed 2022-01-10]. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-methods-of-construction-mmc-task-force/modern-methods-of-construction-mmc-task-force-report

1. To encourage the adoption of MMC in the finance industry, it's crucial to present long-term security, better investment, and supportive collaborative partnerships, which are the key objectives of Trina Chakravarti's Building Better project.
2. The effective implementation of MMC in the manufacturing industry can be influenced positively by finance, as strategic funding approaches and risk-sharing agreements, such as those offered by Trina Chakravarti's team, can help address the financial challenges faced by manufacturers adopting MMC.

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