Prefabrication in the Construction Industry

By | June 7, 2019

Many contractors are now assembling buildings in warehouses or factories and transporting them to jobsites. This is what prefabrication means. The practice is also called modular construction and it’s a trend that is reshaping the construction industry. Essentially, prefabrication is streamlining construction projects.

The Basics of Prefabrication

Prefabrication enables a construction company to assemble components partially or completely offsite instead of onsite. After assembling the components, they are transported to the project site where workers give it the final touches.

Prefabrication is employed in different manufacturing-related areas. However, it is beneficial in construction because it enables contractors to finish projects efficiently and quickly. For instance, a contractor can use concrete panels in a building. Concrete panels are difficult to produce onsite because construction workers have to pour concrete on molds and allow it time to dry. When concrete panels are produced as sub-assemblies offsite and transported to the jobsite, the project is completed efficiently and with ease.

Why Prefabrication is Important

Prefabrication comes with numerous advantages. Cost-savings is the major advantage of prefabrication. Transporting sub-assemblies like concrete panels is typically cheaper than transporting pre-production resources to the construction site.

A contractor makes fewer trips to and from the site when they transport sub-assemblies than when they transport pre-production resources. This enables them to save the money that would go to vehicle maintenance, labor and gas.

Additionally, prefabrication enables a contractor to complete a construction project faster. Constructing houses with pre-production resources onsite is generally time-consuming and tedious. When components are assembled offsite and transported to the job site, the project is streamlined to beat or meet the set completion time.

What’s more, prefabrication enhances quality consistence. That’s because the components assembled offsite have the same characteristics. Thus, prefabrication promotes the quality of project while minimizing construction defects.

If you are planning a construction project, talk to your contractor about the possibility of using prefabrication in it.