Allow for standard products as well as compatible enhancements.

The UK’s Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) recently established a Joint Industry Working Group on MMC which proposed the following categorisation: 3D primary structural systems, 2D primary structural systems, Non-system components, Additive Manufacturing, Assemblies and sub-assemblies, Material and Product Innovations and Site Process Innovations.This categorisation is quite diverse and includes a range of pre-manufactured and pre-assembled systems but also non-system components, site-based material innovations and process innovations..

There is no fixed list of MMC methods in each category.There is great scope for the construction industry to innovate and develop new MMC methods to expand the toolkit and enhance the DfMA designer’s ability to achieve benefits on future construction projects..Under the MHCLG categorisation, volumetric modular construction (known in Singapore as Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction or PPVC and in Hong Kong as Modular Integrated Construction or MiC) is an example of a 3D primary structural system..

In addition to volumetric solutions, many other different MMC methods including flat-pack and componentised systems are primarily prefabricated and are often grouped under the umbrella term “Offsite”..The future of construction: not just components.

The MHCLG categorisation of MMC is comprehensive and includes the application of digital tools to drive productivity improvements both on site and in factories.

The use of digital tools is an important part of DfMA which relies on capturing knowledge about how a building will be delivered from the earliest stages..Collaboration will be key to success, as we begin our journey reshaping construction into an industry fit for the future..

The rise of the Construction Innovation Hub.My journey in government began in 2010.

I was involved in the nuclear sector when I was first approached to be an advisor in the UK Government Department of Energy and Climate Change.I quickly transitioned to a forerunner of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority where I spent nine years in central government before taking on my current role as Programme Director for the Construction Innovation Hub, with the aim of delivering the Construction Sector Deal.