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Offsite

Offsite

Making construction leaner, greener and more efficient.

Offsite construction

New and smarter construction techniques are needed to enable us to build a more profitable and sustainable industry that can deliver the significant reductions in costs, project times and CO2 emissions that are called for by the Construction Playbook.

Learn about offsite

The term Offsite Construction encompasses a wide spectrum of innovations, not just volumetric modular units.

The construction industry needs to grasp the concept of construction industrialisation, and learn new competencies, as illustrated on the graphic below.

An industrialised approach requires five key competencies;

  • design for manufacture & assembly (DfMA),
  • offsite manufacture,
  • logistics,
  • onsite assembly, and
  • best-in-class maintenance.

These competencies are underpinned by eight management skills. You can find out more about these in the management topic.

The School provides hundreds of best-in-class learning resources that help to build an understanding of offsite:

  • Sub-topics – the five elements of industrialisation: DfMA, offsite manufacturing, logistics, onsite assembly and best-in-class maintenance
  • Format – do you prefer video, e-learning, workshops, webinars or web documents?
  • Competency level – Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.

To find resources that suit you, view Topics or select Learn from the main menu. Whilst all our resources are free, we do ask that you register with the School to access them.

Check out our newest resources, helping us to make Offsite ‘for Everyone’.

Offsite for Everyone

In this short video, industry leaders explain how offsite and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) technologies can help address carbon, skills and productivity issues facing construction.

Start your learning journey

Our offsite Training Needs Assessment helps you better understand your skills, and provides a tailored learning plan to help you improve.

Assess now

DfMA – Why Now?

Whole Life Carbon Guidance for Offsite Construction

In 2023, we investigated how offsite construction can impact carbon emissions across the whole life cycle, from materials to operation. The resulting report, guided by our expert steering group and Offsite Leadership Group Partners, provides advice on the 9 key ways premanufacture can help decarbonise our built environment.

Building on experiences shared from organisations across the sector, the guidance provides tailored recommendations on how different job roles can contribute to the effective use of offsite techniques as a carbon reduction tool.

Delivering social value through offsite construction

Our 2022 report, compiled alongside Akerlof and the University of Salford, explains the ways in which offsite projects can bring about as much, if not more social value than traditional construction.

When increasing proportions of the construction process within projects take place away from the development site, social and economic benefits which accrue can be undervalued or overlooked altogether. The report discusses how, with more robust evidence gathering, communication and early engagement, the best outcomes for communities both near to site and in the manufacturing locality can be achieved.

Bringing together academic research, industry literature and stakeholder experiences, we share step-by-step recommendations for the sector on how to demonstrate the possibilities of social value, along with five case studies across key social value themes.

Design for Man and Assembly
Topic
Design for Manufacture and Assembly

DfMA is about embedding efficiency throughout a product’s life-cycle, including…

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Offsite Manufacture
Topic
Offsite Manufacture

Bringing factory thinking to the construction process, to industrialise the…

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Offsite logistics
Topic
Logistics

Moving to an offsite approach has significant impacts on offsite…

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Onsite-assembly
Topic
Assembly

The onsite assembly process is the management and culmination of…

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Design-For-Maintenance
Topic
In-use / Maintenance

Implementation of decisions taken at the design stage through the…

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Management
Topic
Management

Develop your leadership and management skills and drive sustainable change.

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Introductory offsite resources

Free-to-access training materials, videos, webinars and resources for your use.

Design for Manufacture and Assembly
Management Capabilities
Management Capabilities
Management Capabilities

The Supply Chain Sustainability School teamed up with Kier to create the Modern Methods of Construction database.

It’s really important for clients and professional designers to understand the capabilities of the offsite construction supply chain. This interactive map allows offsite manufacturers to have visibility of who does what in the supply chain and to start the process of building those really important collaborations.

The School is pleased to be part of the Smart Construction Network.

This is a collaboration of organisations who are leading the way in supporting innovative construction firms taking their crucial first steps towards adopting smarter, more modern methods of construction. Since its launch, the Network has grown to include organisations with world-leading expertise in the fields of offsite manufacturing, BIM & digital construction, and high-performance buildings.

Offsite logistics
“The Offsite School is an excellent source of knowledge on DfMA and offsite construction. Its combination of online resources and face to face training delivery means that you can choose the style of learning that best suits your organisation.”
Nigel Ostime, Project Delivery Director, Hawkins Brown Architects
Offsite Assessment
Benchmark your knowledge of offsite processes against the industry, meet client requirements and get your business recognised.
Assess Now
Training
Training and events
Join over 3,000 people attending our training and networking events every year.
Calendar

Offsite Leadership Group Meeting Notes

Catch up on what’s been discussed in the Offsite Leadership Group meetings.

Our Partners

The School is a collaboration between clients, contractors and suppliers who have a mutual interest in building the skills of their supply chain. They pay for the School, so it's all FREE for you.