Simplified design leads to more efficient construction. Design for Manufacture and Assembly, also known as DfMA, is a design process that simplifies the manufacture and assembly of various construction elements. In general, DfMA, prefabrication and modular construction are terms which are used interchangeably. Therefore, the creation of prefabricated construction BIM modelling, modular construction drawings and DfMA modelling and drawings are required for the effective implementation of DfMA. The advantages of DfMA, especially faster build times, have been especially beneficial for the healthcare sector. Build time is a significant factor in the construction of new premises or addition of new complexes or renovation of existing healthcare facilities. Just how does DfMA accomplish that?
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Well, initially, it was concrete components such as columns, beams and floor plates, that were prefabricated in the construction industry. Prefabrication evolved to include more elements, such as glazed, sealed and serviced components, modularized MEP (M&E) systems, facade treatments and even entire floors that could be stacked on top of, or placed adjacent to, each other by a crane. One methodology of prefabricating components from design to construction soon became known as Design for Manufacture and Assembly, or DfMA. Products designed using DfMA are of high quality and reliability, and while using DfMA the design stage progresses to the production stage with fluidity, ease and speed. Wet and dry services can be prefabricated in the factory and connected on site, speeding up the process. In some cases, modular construction enabled the building and the site work to be completed at the same time, and depending on the materials used, modular construction has been known to reduce the overall project time by up to 50%.
Unique to DfMA is the capability to manufacture a building's floors, walls, ceilings, rafters and roofs all at the same time. While constructing in situ, floors are placed in position, then walls are put up, and lastly, ceilings and rafters are added on top of erected walls. Using DfMA, BIM modeling floors, walls, ceilings and rafters can be created simultaneously and can even be assembled at a factory to be transported to the site as a module, resulting in a faster process compared to conventional construction methods.
The use of DfMA has been known to improve safety as well as speed up the construction process, especially with steel work. Connections carried out at heights can be minimized or eliminated by using prefabricated modules. In certain cases, when panels are fixed from the interior of the building, scaffoldings can be eliminated, saving the time spent erecting them and associated costs. Standard assembly practices, such as vertical assembly and the use of self-aligning parts also saves time during prefabrication in construction.
DfMA is ably assisted with the use of BIM (Building Information Modelling) technology. Embedding this technology into projects early in the design stage can minimize the time taken for the project and, as a result, the costs incurred. Hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities particularly benefit from DfMA, since healthcare projects typically take a long time to construct. This is due to the fact that many healthcare facilities include a variety of services that require complex data communications, clinical components and security equipment. Manufacturing individual components and assembling them into modules off site can improve the coordination of services, the quality of components and their reliability. One of the key reasons why using DfMA can save time and reduce costs is that it enables the use of fewer parts in the construction process, and the components used are not unique. Also, harsh or sudden changes in weather need not slow the process of construction, as components are fabricated in factories, safe from adverse weather effects.
Using DfMA results in certain advantages, and some of the primary objectives of using DfMA are to:
For hospital design, DfMA can be introduced during the bid stages of the project. The building's structural and non-structural elements can be fabricated off site. This may include main structural external shear walls, which may be pre-installed with insulation and concrete. Facades can also be manufactured and delivered as bay-sized panels of up to 20 tons each, with windows, cladding, insulation and internal plaster boarding. After being delivered to the site, these panels can be placed in position quickly by cranes to create weather-resistant structures. Floor slabs with reinforcement do not require concrete pours on site. MEP (M&E) services can be fabricated in a factory and assembled on site, saving time.
Bathroom pods are becoming increasingly popular for prefabrication in the healthcare sector. The use of bathroom pods in construction have been known to significantly reduce the project schedule. In a project where 440 bathrooms had to be built, the use of prefabrication delivered bathroom pods 10 weeks earlier than the estimated schedule and that was before the time savings of installing pods against a more traditional route, which could add months as well as logistical challenges. Another reason why prefabricated bathroom pods work well to reduce construction time is because they present an effective solution to tight working conditions on site and poorly located connection points. The extensive coordination required early in the design process for bathroom pods can be aided to a great degree with the use of BIM technology in DfMA. BIM models help to detail the connection points and can help visualize working spaces. While designing bathroom pods, designers try to place the maximum number of connections on the edges of the module's footprint, to minimize work above and around the pod in tight work spaces and therefore speed up the process.
In hospitals, modular buildings can be constructed as wards, theatres, diagnostic centers and support centers, such as offices. Modules can be repeated with the same design on different floors or different locations on site. These modular buildings can either be used as extensions or to construct complete hospitals. Repeated room design and standardised components created using DfMA can improve cost-efficiency, quality and minimise the risk of errors produced by changing design, all of which ultimately result in the structure being built faster.
Some of the other components for hospitals that can be prefabricated in assembly warehouses off site and then erected in situ, thus minimizing time spent locating, buying and transporting these items, are:
For example, DfMA was recently used for an American healthcare facility. Modular elements were used for patient room bathrooms and HVAC and plumbing system parts. Although reduced material waste and labor costs as well as shorter time schedules were expected results, an unexpected benefit presented itself as material cost savings, 40% to be exact. Encouraged by the savings gained using DfMA, the facility decided to opt for modular components for patient room frameworks, headwalls, rough-ins for outlets and lines. Further use of prefabricated building construction BIM work involved MEP ductwork, plumbing, fire protection and cable trays, thus expanding the scope and range of prefabricated components.
For healthcare facilities, faster construction is vital for patient care. With the use of DfMA, labor, financing and supervision costs are reduced, and almost all design and engineering disciplines can be included in the manufacturing process. In factory surroundings, weather conditions and regional climates are rendered irrelevant to work efficiency, and the risk of damaged building materials is reduced. The use of DfMA ensures that components for healthcare facilities can be designed easily, efficiently manufactured and assembled faster and at lower cost. With the early introduction of BIM technology in the design process, DfMA embodies a collaborative and integrated approach that helps the healthcare sector build faster and therefore optimize benefits.
The schematic and contract phases are the stepping stones of just about any project, be it retail or otherwise. These are valuable phases as they set the architectural intent, the visual style and suggest one structural approach or another. However important these stages are, in practice, it's becoming more and more apparent that the design development phase is much more challenging than the other two. When aiming to produce Retail/other Construction Drawing Sets, clients notice how the challenges translate in time and monetary costs.
The explanation for this comes from understanding how most architectural firms, particularly traditional ones, operate. In short, firms often spend very little time during the schematic phase for many valid reasons. For instance, in many cases the design phase for a project is not formally contracted at all, when the architecture office is pitching a potential client, or participating in a competition. Other times the client's budget is not fully determined and many design considerations aren't set up so the contract phase involves a lot of guesswork and touches the various aspects of the design superficially. This is natural and the problems arise only once the client has an all clear on the project and decides to go straight to design development without double checking the premises of the project.
In practice the link between schematic/contract phase and design development is highlighted by a rather shocking statistic: the majority of construction projects throughout the world run into cost overruns (there are many resources online, here's one that is quite reliable: [Source: kpmg.com]. The reasons why projects end up costing more money and/or time is precisely the difference between the expectations set by the contracting phase and the challenges of producing valid, deployment-ready, Retail Construction Drawing Sets. Here, choosing Retail BIM Modeling as a development approach is one fundamental way of significantly reduce design development times. But this isn't a clear cut approach nor is it the only one that ought to be implemented by project managers.
BIM, or building information modeling, has changed the landscape of project management and enables smaller teams of architects and engineers to work on larger projects all while having a clearer overview of the development process. However, Retail BIM Modeling can be cost prohibitive when approaching many local design firms. Fortunately, outsourcing the design development to a company abroad can significantly reduce costs as the client can pick an industry leader from a wider pool of firms with much lower operational costs.
Mixing BIM with outsourcing the production of Retail Construction Drawing Sets means you can dedicate more time into making sure the drawings you get can enable you to realize the design intent.
While many statistics covering cost overruns are focused on state funded, large scale projects, retail is a notorious target of this phenomenon as well. This is because often retail designs are strongly branded and end up being deployed on many locations across the target market geographical area. Mistakes made in the schematic phase can thus have dire consequences when they go through the Retail BIM Modeling rigors. Fortunately, BIM makes it very easy and affordable to adapt a base/template project to many contexts as you only build the design elements once.
It becomes clear then that, with retail in particular, it's always better to partner up with an experienced developer. Outsourcing is not only more cost effective, but also opens up the possibility to collaborate with very experienced specialists. Moreover, when time budgets are stretched, it's valuable to rely on a larger company that can scale up the workforce to meet the deadlines. Communication and collaboration tools have reached a level where working with an offshore partner is not an issue but an opportunity.
In conclusion, design development is a very complex phase and will always carry a set of risks. The best way to minimize those is to look for Retail BIM Modeling partners with notable experience in Retail Construction Drawing Sets and, ideally, involve them in all the stages of development. A large outsourcing firm will typically handle all development aspects in-house, including MEP, and will spot and manage any systemic issues with the project from the earliest stages. This way offshore design firms are well positioned to make sure your project doesn't end up in the above mentioned statistic and will help your business stay above the competition, on time and on budget.
