The Digitising Offsite Construction

Transformation is happening all around us and whilst others have been quick to make the digital leap - the construction sector has lagged behind other industries with projects and costs often overrunning. A key problem is the highly fragmented nature of the industry - with project teams often working in isolation which leads to inefficiency and holds back innovation.

Taking place on 28 February 2018 in partnership with BRE, Explore Offsite Outlooks will get to grips with the latest innovations and understand how best to implement technological advancements into an offsite construction strategy.

Labour shortages and the risks from Brexit means achieving the government's 2025 productivity goals will be impossible without establishing new ways of working. BIM and digital construction processes coupled with offsite manufacturing are a key part of the solution.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been the subject of much debate in recent years but the aim of driving greater collaboration across the disciplines of architecture, engineering, manufacturing and construction has to be the right approach. Digital transformation is happening all around us and the developing technologies, such as global connectivity and new advances such as drones, satellite images, robotics and electric cars are set to accelerate and will continue to change the way we live.

The construction industry, however, has been much slower to adopt and benefit from the digital transformation. McAvoy's view is that there is tremendous synergy between offsite construction and the latest digital techniques, offering the a prime the opportunity to radically improve the way we design and produce buildings.

The construction of the brand new West Hill School in Leatherhead, Surrey is continuing to progress at speed, with The McAvoy Group on track to hand over the building in early August.

The new school, which will incorporate classrooms, teaching training areas, a food technology room, a library and staffroom, is connecting two separated buildings on the site currently, with a height difference of 870mm.

Construction of the new school building began in January 2017, at McAvoy's manufacturing facility in Lisburn. McAvoy were on site on 21st March 2017 to begin installation of the bespoke modules, with the project on schedule to be handed over on 8th August. To offset the height difference in the existing buildings, McAvoy was able to incorporate a ramped gradient within the design, nullifying the height difference

McAvoy was presented with the award for Best Virtual Reality BIM at the third annual RICS BIM4SME Awards. This is for the design and delivery of a two-storey primary school building for children with special educational needs at West Hill School for Surrey County Council.

Eugene Lynch, Managing Director of The McAvoy Group, said, "We are absolutely thrilled that our industry-leading commitment and investment in BIM has been recognised in this way. McAvoy was the first offsite construction specialist to be accredited to BIM Level 2 - which was a major achievement. We are now working towards BIM Level 3 as we really value the efficiency benefits that the process and the latest virtual reality technology can bring to our customers and our offsite projects."

This will be discussed in greater detail by Geoff Fawkes, Business Development Director, The McAvoy Group - he will be presenting on 'Digitising Offsite Construction. The McAvoy Group has received national recognition for its commitment to adopting and implementing Building Information Modelling. The team has recently been presented with a major industry award for its use of BIM and virtual reality for a complex offsite project to extend a special needs school in Surrey. Find out how the latest advances in digital technology were applied to West Hill School, how they benefited the client team, and added value to a challenging construction scheme.

Geoff will be joined at Explore Offsite Outlooks by an outstanding speaker line-up that includes: Andrew Orriss, Sales Director - SIG360; Ben Lever, Future Skills Manager - CITB; John Eynon, Engagement Lead - BIM Alliance; Dominic Thasarathar, Primary Thought-Leader - AutoDesk; Alan Clucas, Director - Explore Manufacturing - Laing O'Rourke… and more. For the full list of speakers go to: http://www.exploreoffsite.co.uk/2018-events/explore-offsite-outlooks/conference-speakers/