The advantages of a DfMA approach to construction

Embracing an advanced manufacturing and assembly-led approach could transform the construction industry and the lives of those who work in it, said Paul McNerney, director - clients and government at Laing O'Rourke, at GIRI’s recent members’ meeting.

Laing O’Rourke opened its advanced manufacturing facility in Nottinghamshire 15 years ago on the back of the UK government’s school building programme. In parallel, Laing O’Rourke pivoted its operating model into digitalisation, advanced manufacturing and assembly-based delivery.

There is, he said, a real sense of momentum around such approaches under the current government. “Laing O’Rourke and other organisations have been involved in discussions around the government’s industrial strategy, the 10-year infrastructure plan, the formation of NISTA (National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority) and new funding models, and I feel that there is a real connection between what the government is trying to do and what we as an industry are trying to push forward in terms of transformation and modernisation.”

Conditions for success

This alignment of interests is one of the critical factors required for the success of a DfMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) approach, Paul added. “For the very best examples to come forward, we need aligned interests. We’ve all been involved in too many projects where this hasn’t been the case, and it sets up a journey of conflict and commercial tension.”

However, he said that to unlock the benefits of DfMA, modern procurement is essential. “This means moving away from the transactional model and looking at how we can convene the right people with the right experience and capability early in the process, and how we assemble them into a framework within which they can come together and collaborate to further those aligned interests.”

That early coming together of the different stakeholders is part of a progressive pre-contract period that Paul said is another condition for success. “Everton Stadium is an example of a project where this happened. The designers, client, consultants, end users, operators and delivery organisation were all in the room together, co-creating in a digital manner the way in which that scheme was delivered.”

Design is now done in a digital setting, and the benefits of operating in a digital model are huge, said Paul. “We can technologically enable our workforce, plant and equipment and suddenly we are in a world where delivery on the project site is an assembly activity. On our projects we also use immersive suites, and this virtual environment is where all our inductions and briefings are carried out.”

Another key component of success is industrialised design, and Paul explained how public sector clients across programmes of work such as prisons, healthcare, education and life sciences have worked together with industry to align around a common design. This can be thought through once, details resolved, coordinated and then delivered many times. 

 “And the final point – no change. Set expectations at the beginning of the project, be clear, put it in the digital model and let the industry do what it does best and deliver against a non-moving set of requirements and information.” 

The benefits

Top of the list of benefits derived from a DfMA approach is tried-and-tested designs, where all the mistakes and coordination have been resolved, ironed out and put into that digital environment. Then there’s the opportunity to carry out full digital rehearsals. “There’s no need for the physical delivery of the project to be the point where we find that things don’t work or that they can’t be delivered in the way we expected. The whole point of digital models and working in immersive suites is that you can rehearse as much as you like before the final execution to ensure you get it right first time.”

The consistent quality that comes from a manufacturing and assembly-led approach is another benefit. A floor slab manufactured in a controlled environment, for example, will be as good as the hundred that went before and the hundred that come after. And that control process carries through the logistics, assembly and commissioning. Each component has a digital passport, and at any time inside the digital model, it is possible to zoom in and look at any part of its journey.

Shifting to an assembly-led approach is also transformative for the workforce, said Paul, arguing that modern ways of working can positively transform lives in the long term, reducing risk and the likelihood of health conditions linked to manual labour. Rather than working on scaffolding and ladders, trying to carry out complex and heavy tasks in difficult conditions, people are working in manufacturing facilities or using equipment to assemble and place what are essentially large Lego components. “The reduced strain and fatigue over a working life massively increases the likelihood of those involved enjoying longer with better underlying health. The places they work end up with as planned, calm, focused places of assembly.”

To support this transformation, Paul explained how Laing O’Rourke is working with colleges across the UK on apprenticeships for assembly technicians. “This is not something that has existed before and it is about equipping people with the multi-disciplinary skills they require to work in assembly and across multiple assets.” He added that this multidisciplinary approach will enable much higher productivity and start to reduce the skills shortage in the UK. 

Examples of success

He closed his presentation citing further examples of successful projects, including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, which was the first stadium in the UK to be handed over ahead of time. The brick façade was manufactured in Laing O’Rourke’s facility, transported to site and lifted into place. “798 panels, nine months, four people,” said Paul. “It was transformational in terms of productivity.”

Another project was a hospital in South Wales built to a templated design that has been refined over a series of deliveries. The project was completed during the Covid-19 pandemic and took three years from start to finish. “The practical completion certification references zero snags and zero defects on the day of handover.”

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