With the recent boom in offsite construction methods and more building projects being developed specifically for this approach, there’s an increasing pressure to not only meet reduced cost targets and a faster building pace, but also higher environmental performance, improved durability and lower maintenance costs. Anticipating the rise in offsite construction, Lucideon identified the need for a new range of services to add to its testing and consultancy portfolio to help manufacturers to provide assurance to funders, lenders, valuers and future homeowners when utilizing offsite products and systems for construction.
Structural Verification of Panels
To attain specifiers’ system acceptance and certification when developing modular systems, it is necessary to understand the structural performance of components both individually and as part of a full system. Lucideon designs customized test programs for wall, floor and roof panels to assess the structural integrity (wind loading, racking ability, compressive loads, etc.), thermal, acoustic and durability characteristics.
Materials Characterisation
Each element of the composite panel is characterized with regards to material and physical properties (strength, environmental, acoustic and thermal). Lucideon provides qualitative, quantitative and visual data to provide the manufacturer with more flexibility to source alternative materials with similar attributes. Also, newly developed materials that may not have documented properties can be analyzed and benchmarked against traditional solutions.
Factory Production Control (FPC)
A FPC system provides a framework to ensure consistency and traceability in methods, materials, equipment and training, in order to attain final third party certification or insurance. Lucideon holds a Notified Body status under the Construction Products Regulations for Certification of Factory Production Control - ISO/IEC 17065.
Transportability, Storage and Installation
Logistics can have a huge impact on the performance gap. Lucideon can optimize and verify the adequacy of transport, storage and installation processes and assess the impact of any damage sustained.
Benchmarking
Material properties, construction processes and finished product efficiencies can be benchmarked for thermal, acoustic and durability performance. This requires an understanding of both the structural and environmental requirements of a building. These can be measured in the laboratory and during and after construction. Identification of the characteristics and values enables generic products to be used; this broadens the range of products whilst maintaining the required performance levels and minimizing costs and waste.
Assembly Process
Laboratory trials are carried out to examine the details of lifting plans and joints, and the complexity of the assembly instructions. The ease of assembling the panels to form the finished structure is assessed on-site and models are produced to reduce potential failures in connections and seals. Best practice guides and installation manuals can be developed to aid manufacturers with training, installation, quality control and cost reduction.
Environmental Factors, Carbon Footprinting and Durability
The durability of cladding materials is critical, particularly for those with a 60+ year design life. In order to prove the design life, systems are put through a program of accelerated weathering before assessing any deterioration in the aesthetics, structural integrity and ability to resist wind-driven rain. Calculations can be carried out to evaluate any condensation risks and measure the carbon footprint of the system. Once installed, the system can also be checked for energy efficiency or cold bridging problems using thermography techniques and heat flux plates to measure energy usage.
Structural Verification of Systems
Offsite constructions usually have higher proof-of-performance requirements than traditional systems. Laboratory testing is not only for system adequacy at the development stages but also when failures occur onsite after deviations during the production or installation phases. Lucideon provides in-situ assessments (weather and wind tests, thermal, acoustic and water penetration) to enable compliance with building regulations and guarantee providers systems’ acceptance.
Click here to find out more about how Lucideon can help you at all stages of the design and construction process for offsite and modular buildings.
