Preparing a management report and advising management on the case given - Essay Example

The paper will also present risk management issues associated with offsite manufacturing and present ways to tackle them. In short the paper is a guide to the smooth transition from the traditional methods of construction to offsite manufacturing for Zenith PM. Introduction The increases interest in offsite construction methods has been fuelled lately by two important factors – one is the intense pressure in the housing market, especially in South East England and other is a concern among the government and the industry to improve the standards in the construction industry (Barlow, Bartlett, Whitehead, & Hooper, 2002).

A number of policy documents from the government have focused on the lack of affordable housing units in UK and the effect this shortage has on the economy of the country. The UK government has come up with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) which are concerned with modernization in the housing sector (Barker, 2003). Most of these are concerned with offsite manufacturing which moves construction from the site to the factory. This helps the industry, the end customer as well as the labour in many ways.

Standardisation of production ensures that quality materials are produced; the speed of production increases and the deficiency in the labour market are covered as concentrated production makes better use of the available labour power .Offsite bulk production also reduces the cost of production and helps in cooling down an overheated housing market. The labour or the construction workers are provided better pays , working conditions and benefit from training facilities in offsite ‘factories’ where senior workers are able to properly train juniors in many ways (Campbell, 2001).

The first report of the Housing forum’s offsite manufacturing worker’s group has claimed that offsite manufacturing leads to 10 % reduction in capital costs and construction time, 20% reduction in accidents, a 10 % increase in productivity and profitability and a 10 % increase in predictability of project performance (Housing Forum, 2002). Apart from this there have been many governmental and non-governmental reports which have provided us with insights into offsite manufacturing and have given thumbs up to the process as beneficial to all.

Industrial revolution succeeded due to the bulk production of standardised goods in the factory. It transformed the face of the world and the industry. The construction industry till now has been unable to reap the benefits of factory production due to usage of traditional methods of production. Offsite manufacturing helps to bring bulk production to the construction industry. It is now time that techniques of industrial revolution transform the face of construction industry also. Offsite Manufacturing 2.

1 Definition Offsite manufacturing refers to the process in which structures are built at a location which is separate from the site of construction. Individual parts of the building are completed offsite in factories and then transported to the construction site (Barlow, 1999). 2.2 Different types of Offsite products. Some of the examples of offsite