For those of you not familiar with the construction industry, we wanted to highlight an important step in the supply chain that is often overlooked but is increasingly helping bottom lines and project schedules – all saving you money in the end.

Prefabrication is the process of assembling building components at a location other than the construction or building site, and then delivering the elements to the project site for installation. The method controls construction costs by economizing on time, wages, and materials. Prefabricated units may include doors, stairs, window walls, wall panels, floor panels, roof trusses, room-sized components, and even entire buildings.

Due to an increased focus on sustainability and safety, and the use of building information modeling (BIM), prefabrication is a growing construction trend in the industry despite the fact that it has been around for a long time. Because it’s tried and tested, it is not surprising that 85% of professionals in the construction industry are using these processes on projects today, including 90% of engineers, 84% of contractors, and 76% of architects According to the 2011 SmartMarket Report, “Prefabrication and Modularization: Increasing Productivity in the Construction Industry.”

The use of prefabrication has made engineers, contractors, and architects more competitive in the marketplace and has drastically improved productivity. Better product schedules, reduced cost, site safety, and waste reduction are all incentives that will drive engineers, contractors, and architects to use prefabrication again in the future. Here are a few percentages about productivity improvements when using prefabrication processes:

·         66% of respondents believed that prefabrication processes have a positive impact on project schedules

·         65% of respondents indicated that use of prefabrication had a positive impact on project budgets

·         More respondents (34%) feel that prefabrication can improve site safety versus those who think it reduces safety (10%). Most users feel that these processes are safety neutral (56%)

·         76% of respondents indicated that prefabrication construction reduces site waste

Stop and think of the booming real estate and construction market in Boston and the metro area. With cranes high in the air at almost every corner, think of the multitude of savings from prefabrication that is ultimately savings to the customer (sometimes a private organization, sometimes the City and taxpayers), and can therefore be reinvested in elevating our quality of life.