Modern Building Services

28 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES APRIL 2021 FEATURE PACKAGED PLANT PACKAGED PLANT L ook at all of the different sectors and all the talk is about an increased focus on offsite, or modular, construction. School projects, hospital rebuilding and particularly new housing, all have recently received a nudge in this direction from the government in support of its ‘Construction 2025’ strategy. Whether it’s an order to use as much MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) on a build as possible or seed funding for an MMC taskforce, there’s no avoiding it’s a manufacturing and assembly methodology that is going to grow and grow. Just a few years ago M and E contractors would do the ‘traditional versus modular’ build calculation. Nowadays many go straight to modular. For the HVAC sector, typical opportunities for growth for packaged plant are wide ranging. They include building services, for everything from offices, schools, and multi-occupancy residential schemes to prisons and hospitals; manufacturing, for heating, pump and OEM package manufacturers; and for industrial applications, such as process pipework, power generation, food and beverage and pharmaceutical. All will demand bespoke solutions that will require complex manufacturing processes beyond just plain pipe bending, for products such as skid frames, pipework systems andmodular valve assemblies. The advantages of packaged plant over on-site construction are well established. Faster speed, repeatability, improved health and safety, a controlled environment, and reductions in labour costs are some of the key ones. Also, advances in the systems and materials used mean, in many cases, that the adoption of packaged solutions enables a bigger contribution to be made towards sustainability objectives. In the HVAC industry, the introduction of new technologies and new product ranges have enhanced the opportunity to participate in this burgeoning sector. The development, for example, of the flame free press fitting system for completing pipework joints matches the requirement for greater speed, certainty and cost control. Co-operation and communication If the unprecedented events of the past 12 months have achieved anything positive, it is that it has accelerated digitalisation in the construction industry, including the HVAC sector. All along the supply chain ‘new’ forms of communication have been adopted and, in particular, a reliance on data-rich sources of information, such as BIMmodelling (Building Information Modelling), have increased. Be it a project consultant, specifier, building services engineer, or M and E contractor, there is now an expectation among them that this higher level of detail is made available by manufacturers. Those that don’t will miss out. Indeed, digital collaborative platforms such as NBS (National Building Specification), on which BIM objects can be accessed, are helping drive a change in culture that is leading to greater co- operation and sharing. The BIMobjects, for example, that are available for all our >B< Press fittings ranges have been created in accordance with ISO 23386:2020, which means they are machine- readable, versatile and consistent across different software. Whilemaking the above available is essential for a successful offsite project specification, it is only part of the story, a process in which I would summarise the key stages as ‘project review’, ‘design’, and ‘manufacture’. Demand for packaged plant andmodular construction is continuing to grow. Here, Roger Hoskins of Conex Bänninger discusses the opportunities for the HVAC industry and offers some tips for achieving a successful offsite project specification. Getting the package right