b'PREFAB Photo courtesy of Freeport Industries.EXPLORING PREFAB AND MODULAR CONSTRUCTION BY MATTHEW BRADFORDOFF-SITE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT METHODS INCREASING IN POPULARITYpportunities are taking shapeTAKING IT INDOORS the site, the amount of people and O for prefabrication (prefab)Prefab and modular construction havetrades needed on site is dramatically and modular construction.been in the works for centuries. Today,reduced. Moreover, says Bowerbank, Thanks to manufacturing advancesthough, builders in this corner of theOn-site labour can focus their and industry pioneers, off-site buildingindustry leverage enhanced designs,skillset on the assembly of these is gaining traction as an affordable,fabrication technologies and assemblybuildings, and not so much cutting efficient and high-quality approach totechniques to make these methods and pouring and swingingproject development. more accessible and affordable. As aa hammer.The terms prefab and modular areresult, off-site building is becoming more common in large-scale projectsSpeed: Modular construction teams often used interchangeably, but therewhere multiple manufacturing activitiesuse standardized methodologies are key distinctions. Prefab is a broadcan take place at once, and its now aand advanced equipment in a term that defines the process of makingmore feasible solution for communitiescontrolled environment, using standardized components in an off- that do not have the people or processes that are continually site factory (e.g., walls, windows,resources for traditional, on-sitebeing improved to drive greater cabinets, flooring, etc.), which are thenconstruction projects. quality and efficiencies. This all transported to a construction site andcontributes to faster construction installed into the build. Modular, on theThats really where we see the needtimes, especially considering that other hand, describes a more volumetricfor modular solutions the most, addsmultiple fabrication activities can be approach to prefab construction inJason Friesen, senior manager withhappening simultaneously.which entire enclosed sections are madeFreeport Industries, which specializes off site and brought to the site Costs: With standardized processes, in the design, construction and for installation.installation of modular homes in B.C.faster timelines and reduced labour demands come cost savings. The Essentially, modular is the notion ofIts smaller communities, remote Firstlogistical efficiency of having creating self-contained boxes and thenNations communities or even smallerall trades working in the same clicking those boxes together on site,organizations that dont necessarilycontrolled environment without explains Andrew Bowerbank, CEO ofhave the capacity or labour to manage athe risk of weather-related delays CETANA Group and executive directorconstruction project by themselves, butalso helps keep timelines intact. for the newly formed Prefab Buildingsstill need that daycare centre or Similarly, says Friesen, We buy Initiative. For example, buildinghome [built]. all our materials at the front end, factory-made temporary housing forso you dont have to worry about workers in remote areas, washrooms forIn experienced hands, prefab andinflationary charges post-contract.hospitals, self-contained greenhouses ormodular construction pose several even a full turnkey home that might beadvantages for project owners: Quality Control: Manufacturing indesigned and built in, say, four parts,an enclosed, temperature-controlled which are then clicked together to createenvironment with specialized teams Reduced Labour: With everything a larger home. assembled in a factory and shipped tobeholden to high building standards 26 SOUTHERN INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION'