Unlike in the world of human interactions, popularity is equated with quality in the world of technology. The AEC industry is strongly supported by the technological advancements of our age, and manufactured homes are becoming more and more popular. The emergence of prefabricated or modular construction in the housing industry is an affordable and reliable solution to the challenge of quality housing around the world. Manufactured homes, sometimes known as prefab, prefabricated, or modular homes, are manufactured off-site in sections, from just bathrooms to entire floors, that can be transported, placed, or assembled to form housing units. Manufactured homes can be free-standing single-family dwelling units (houses) or individual units that have been stacked on top of one another to form multi-story homes or apartment blocks. How useful prefabrication is in the housing sector, why this is so, and who can provide key services for accurate prefabrication design are some of the things we will explore.
So what are prefab buildings?
Manufactured buildings can be constructed from components (such as panels), modules (in the case of entire modular homes, houses on wheels), or sections (parts of manufactured homes) built off-site and transferred to the site when ready to be built. installed. . A team of technical experts attaches the different services to the layout of the building. These can include two-story homes and custom homes. Modular or prefabricated homes can be created in sections and then transported to the site to be assembled as part of the construction process or installed. Entire rooms, such as bathrooms or kitchens, can be created in a factory environment as prefab units. Steel frames can be erected on site to ‘fit’ into the prefabricated units or full concrete foundations can be placed in the ground in preparation for the arrival of the new house. The financing, construction and appraisal of these homes is carried out in the same way as for normal homes. Manufactured homes can also be assembled on production assembly lines, which are transferred in full sections or stories to the site, where these complete housing units are connected floor by floor and then also connected to the main water supply, sewage system and local power lines.
How are they built?
They are usually built in factories that are some distance from the actual home site, in fact they could be in a different country. These purpose-built factories effectively consist of assembly line environments, where different items and trades come together at different stages of the assembly line to add the various components to the building. Beginning with floors, walls, and ceilings, the structure moves through internal fixtures and MEP elements such as pipes, plumbing, boilers, bathrooms, and full kitchen fixtures, before moving on to finishing areas such as glazing, doors, electrical fixtures and even bathrooms. tiling. Once the house is assembled, it goes through final quality checks before being handed over to logistics teams for transport to its permanent site.
Plumbing and electrical lines are connected to the city’s water and electrical hookups and the precast sections are sealed. Manufactured homes can have multiple rooms and be of different layouts. These houses can be established on a permanent basis, blending seamlessly with other regularly built houses. Home repairs are carried out by the real estate agency involved in their sale.
During the break-in period, a manufactured home is ‘installed’ in place, after which some cracks in the drywall may occur. Appliances that were installed incorrectly can be repaired by changing the wiring or plumbing, and ventilation, heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems can be installed correctly by an installation team.
One of the driving forces behind a successfully assembled and reliably functioning manufactured home is the effectiveness of its design. Increasingly, architects, engineers, contractors, and commercial contractors use BIM (building information modeling) construction drawings at some point as part of DfMA (design for fabrication and assembly). DfMA is a design process that groups design for manufacture, or the ease with which parts of a product will be made, with design for assembly, which refers to the ease with which parts will be assembled. DfMA helps the design team reduce manufacturing and assembly costs by identifying, analyzing, and eliminating waste and inefficiency from product design. DfMA modeling and drafting is rapidly becoming an integral part of design for prefabrication.
Construction drawings, or shop drawings, graphically illustrate the details, data, and specifications of a prefabricated design, contain information about MEP (M&E) systems, and include details of prefabricated components. BIM technology is part of the larger virtual design and construction (VDC) process that helps find solutions to challenges faced by subcontractors and designers before building prefabricated components in the factory.
Technological advances have made it possible and indeed preferable to outsource the provision of BIM services such as modeling and drafting. Outsourcing companies specialize in delivering drawings and models quickly, using the latest software such as Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, and others, and employing well-qualified experts. The modular construction drawings provided by these CAD drawing companies are usually accurate and error free.
Prefabricated construction has reportedly been used in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai and in the construction of the prestigious Sydney Opera House.
Advantages of prefabrication
- Faster completion of projects, therefore cost reduction.
- Various uses: It can be used to create high-rise buildings, single-story buildings, villas, townships, as well as to create roof slabs, terrace blocks, wall panels, columns, stairs, bathrooms, lamps, etc.
- Customization – Unique property specifications can be easily tailored, reducing expenses
- Durability – Prefabrication in the structural aspect of construction reinforces structural strength, sometimes helping to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters. Concrete panels are created with high quality elements in a controlled factory environment and therefore last longer.
- Very suitable for certain sectors that have repetitive design elements, such as student housing, educational institutions, health centers, prisons, police stations and housing for the elderly.
- Greater and more efficient quality control in factory settings
- Safer and less stressful work environment for workers in a factory than on site, especially in crowded areas, as on-site hazards to workers are eliminated
- Less space is required on site to assemble components that have already been assembled off site
- Less waste is generated during construction as prefabricated component waste is disposed of at the factory and not transported to site.
- Competitive advantage: allows flexibility in design decisions up to the nth moment
- Saves space: the house can be built in tight spaces on tight schedules and takes up less space
Modular construction in the housing industry has broadened its reach for buyers and builders. Buyers have more options to choose from and builders have more building options for construction, changing the overall construction landscape. On projects, MEP contractors use an increasing number of modular construction plans during collaboration. Prefabricated construction is more affordable and greener, as such buildings are better sealed against drafts and there are better quality control systems in factories, leading to better insulation and better energy efficiency. Ultimately, this will benefit residential and commercial neighborhoods and projects.
The various advantages of using manufactured housing can only be enjoyed when the DfMA blueprint and drawings are perfect. Since this requires a considerable amount of time and resources, an increasing number of Western companies are looking abroad for their prefabrication design services.
Benefits of Outsourcing Precast Design Services
- Cost reduction, as spending on skilled labor and resources abroad is significantly less expensive
- Use of advanced tools and technologies, such as AutoCAD and Revit, by experienced and well-qualified human resources.
- Standardization of drawings across projects, to make MEP installations and other services easier
- 3D axonometric drawings of the entire construction project are generated, showing methods and means by which individual subcontractor components or systems can be placed in the project.
- Qualified draftsmen and other technical professionals work faster, maintain accuracy, provide full audit trails with drawing references, approval records
- Faster turnaround time, as foreign companies employ ready and dedicated teams of trained personnel capable of working with ever-changing specifications, helping to complete projects on time.
- Greater flexibility, as outsourcing allows Western companies to pick and choose services based on their needs. The flexibility thus generated helps to expand the business.
Outsourcing prefabrication design services is therefore an increasingly popular option and this approach will save time, increase productivity, ensure higher levels of safety and increase profits. Using Revit, AutoCAD, and other software to create modular construction drawings and models helps provide high-quality precast design support for Western companies in the industry.
