NHPF Industry Report
Make More Modular Housing and Make it Close to Cities Where it is Needed
“When buildings are constructed in a pre-fabrication plant, the quality is better than on site building. These houses are so well-designed even a trained eye struggles to tell the difference between one built in a factory and one built onsite.” —AVI FRIEDMAN, PROFESSOR OF ARCHITECTURE, MCGILL UNIVERSITY, CANADA Nearly 70% of those surveyed believe residential buildings should be required to have a percentage of rental units for lower-income earners. However, ensuring enough affordable housing is built by future generations will take more than a positive attitude. It will take changes to the construction industry at a granular level. According to Roger Krulak, CEO, Full Stack Modular, future builders must incorporate modular construction, building components or entire houses in a controlled factory environment and then assembling them onsite. The process streamlines everything,
significantly reducing construction time, delivering projects 20 to 50% faster than traditional methods, with elevated quality, and with practice, cost savings of up to 20%. This approach also offers a strong business case, mitigating delays due to weather exposure, materials availability, on-site delivery issues and assembly. It also requires 67% less energy to manufacture modular buildings.
According to Krulak and others, the process is also generally safer and healthier, shielding employees from the outside elements. These factors resonate with younger generations’ emphasis on healthier lifestyles. For modular to become industry standard, leaders like FullStack have to solve the proximity issue, i.e., eliminating the need for long-haul deliveries that use gas and other resources.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE MODULAR BUILDING PROXIMITY:
• Network of manufactories, way stations, and project sites. Just as Amazon delivery drivers optimize their routes for efficiency by making multiple stops, the modular construction industry could similarly benefit from this approach that would significantly enhance the efficiency of on-road deliveries, thus reducing the overall carbon footprint associated with construction projects. • Standardize certain project aspects to further multiply efficiency gains.
• Establishing strategically located regional "way stations" partially pre-fabricated and partially pre-assembled modules can be collected, organized, and temporarily stored, similar to Amazon or FedEx distribution centers • Specialized materials management and schedule management software would enable manufacturing managers to order raw materials in bulk, simultaneously assemble modules for multiple projects, and then deliver these modules to their respective sites with exceptional efficiency.
THE NHP FOUNDATION 2023 SYMPOSIUM: INDUSTRY REPORT • 7
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