42 Expert Opinion Andy Von Bradsky More Homes Through Manufacture A Housing Forum Working Group Report EXPERT OPINION: THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION ANDY VON BRADSKY ON INTEGRATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND OFFSITE PREFABRICATION 1 Metek steel frame federated with architectural BIM 2 Design clashes identifi ed prior to construction, reducing risk 3 Architectural model includes and coordinates service intake and slab setting out onstruction in the UK is increasingly using digital technology to speed design and improve effi ciencies and this is beginning to be taken up in modern housing construction. So-called Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be thought of as creating a virtual prototype. It allows any aspect of a design’s performance to be simulated and assessed before it is built – helping to understand the design more completely and much earlier and so reduce expensive risks later in the construction process.. The information generated in this digital model can provide a blueprint for a factory to manufacture components based on the design a process known as design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA). Using DfMA has benefi ts for customers in that they can visualise what the home will look like, and it also makes it easier to customise the design to refl ect consumer choices. The BIM data is stored and can be accessed digitally for whole life management and maintenance regimes. It also benefi ts the contractor because BIM-generated information is transferred to manufacturing software, enabling the production of frame construction drawings in remote factories, which is then used for the direct manufacture of components. Modelling off-site manufactured elements can halve the labour needed when linked to Computer Aided Manufacture operated robotics. BIM was used extensively in the prefabrication of components at the Oval Quarter in Lambeth, where PRP was the architect (see page 29). We worked closely with Metek which manufactured the offsite
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