‘Flying factories’ is a term created by ModCell, a company that specialises in off-site fabrication of buildings using laminated timber and straw bales.
It uses temporary manufacturing facilities created close to a construction site. Prefabricated structures are made in the factories and then transported the short distance to site where they are assembled, reducing travel times and the carbon footprint of transportation.
The research grant has been made by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK’s innovation agency. It is providing funding to rethink building processes in the UK, helping to deliver zero and low-carbon buildings more consistently. The research aims to deliver the benefits of off-site factory assembly, while overcoming the barriers of capital investment and high transport costs.
Flying factories have been trialled on a school building in Bristol, using straw and timber construction, and will be applied to a wide range of building types and materials.
According to research to date, clients benefit from a 28% reduction in cost per square metre and 30% shorter programmes, providing a higher-quality and a more predictable build cost. This is because the structure is built in controlled conditions, removing the potential effects of bad weather and other on-site hazards, and speeding up the assembly of the building on site.
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The research and development team, led by Skanska, includes: the Building Research Establishment (BRE); South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS), advising on lean manufacturing; the University of Reading, on the application of virtual-reality technology to construction; and ModCell itself.
The research will also support Skanska’s industrialisation strategy, which aims to deliver more efficient manufacturing and prefabrication techniques to the company’s construction projects and clients.
Skanska technical services director Andy MacAskill said: “We have seen on our own projects how off-site manufacture can significantly reduce waste, cost and the time spent on site, as well as reducing the environmental impact in transporting materials to our construction sites. It’s an innovation that we feel should be developed, and this is a great opportunity to do that.”
Technology Strategy Board chief executive Iain Gray said: “The government has challenged industry to reduce construction costs by up to 30%, which would enable low-carbon buildings to be constructed for the cost of a standard building. The work we are funding will encourage the UK construction industry to undertake a fundamental rethink of current ways of working and enable businesses to explore potential commercial opportunities created by novel design, procurement and construction processes.”
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