Connecting MMC Data with Home Manuals

10th, August 2021

An Introduction to MMC

Imagine playing Jenga outdoors where you are susceptible to winds, rain, traffic and any number of potential disruptions. Similarly, constructing buildings on-site leaves you vulnerable to unpredictable weather and/or environmental changes which can cause delays or risks.

One of the big disadvantages of traditional on-site construction is that properties often end up with too many changes from their original designs due to adaptations having to be made to accommodate plot conditions and other unforeseen variables, increasing liability costs.

With MMC, the majority of construction is done off-site within controlled, proofed indoor environments whilst the plot is prepared prior to delivery. Then, almost like Lego, the property is craned and lifted onto the plot in separate modules i.e. panels, per room/wing, entire sections. This reduces risk, building waste and the time it takes to complete construction whilst also allowing for better quality control throughout the entire process. (Carson Holmquist, 2020)

There are various different approaches and methods to MMC, also known as off-site construction, which can be decided from the onset to best suit the plot, property requirements and needs of the parties involved. It has become popular with property developers, especially since demand for innovative practices has increased due to labour/skill shortages following COVID-19 and Brexit. (NHBC Foundation, 2018; OECD, 2020)
The Role/Relevance of SHEDytResidential property developers generally need to produce home manuals before handover or there will be a last-minute rush to compile the necessary information, records and legal paperwork — this can result in the home manual containing dated information or being riddled with errors and other inaccuracies.

But if this process were digitised, it would allow developers to manage (upload, edit, delete and communicate) their property documents in real-time as opposed to doing a post factum job; saving a lot of time, effort and potentially money during the handover process.

This would be easiest to do for off-site construction since property data is often already held electronically so it would just be a matter of exporting it directly into a digital home manual. But for traditional construction where the ‘As Built’ drawings very often deviate from their ‘As Design’ drawings; contractors have the otherwise near-impossible task of manually logging all that data (i.e. bill of materials, fixtures and fittings, technical specs) as changes are constantly having to be made.

The Property Developer Perspective
Are you a property developer? Would you find a digital handover home manual useful? As of writing, we are searching for pilot users specifically from the MMC sector.

(B045)