Productivity Partnership Newsletter February 2014

FEATURE

CANTERBURY REBUILD INTENTIONS RELEASED

The public sector's plans for rebuilding Canterbury were shared at an industry forum in Christchurch on 28 January. The Christchurch Rebuild – Construction Market Engagement Forum was instigated by the Productivity Partnership and hosted by CERA with support from MBIE.

There was standing room only as more than 300 people from the supply side of the industry gathered for a forward view of projects planned by major public sector clients including Housing NZ, the Ministry of Education, University of Canterbury, Christchurch City Council, NZ Transport Agency and the Christchurch Central Development Unit.

In addition, SCIRT provided an update on progress and lessons learned from their work on the horizontal rebuild and the Construction Strategy Group provided an industry perspective on the rebuild.

There was a high degree of interest in the information and repeated calls for a scheduled programme of work to give visibility to when projects are going to market and the resources they will require. The clear message from the industry was "involve us as much as you can, as early as you can".

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FEATURE

ON SITE

Currently, the Productivity Partnership is working with industry on:

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FEATURE

IN PARTNERSHIP

With the tsunami of work the New Zealand construction industry is facing over the next five years the key question must be: How do we meet demand without compromising quality or blowing the budget? For residential builders at least, new ways of building will have to be part of the answer.

For many people "prefabrication" conjures up images of cheap kitset homes assembled in a rush. I prefer the term "industrialised construction" and by that I mean approaching the construction process as a manufacturing exercise, rather than a craft, in a systematic way. It involves streamlining the total build process to reduce wasted time.

The work done by the Productivity Partnership on value stream mapping identifies how much time is wasted in the usual house construction process here. By planning every step of the construction process upfront at the design stage and using smart technology, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), we can shorten project times and produce quality homes more cost-effectively. Benefits are increased by adding offsite construction into the mix – the Partnership's research shows that weather delays cause significant waste on construction projects. Building as much as possible indoors before transporting it to site increases dimensional precision and reduces waste of time and materials considerably.

We know that volume builders are embracing prefabrication and introducing clever offsite construction techniques to shorten the time it takes to build a home. For example, Stonewood Homes has set up a joint venture to produce ready-made bathrooms delivered to site, which has knock-on effects in increasing the precision possible for everything bolted or nailed to the bathrooms.

But how can the ordinary Kiwi builder or smaller enterprise leverage the benefits of offsite construction? One man alone may not be able to do it but three builders can rent a site and do it together. Every builder can take a more professional approach to managing their business and refocus from a short-term horizon to a longer term view with an emphasis on the whole of life value of their products.

The Partnership's value stream mapping project estimated that better client education, client-designer-builder partnerships in the early project phase, adoption of project management routines by small builders and sub-trades, and reduced weather delays could reduce the construction time for a typical new, low-rise house built by a small builder from 49 to 21 weeks, with significant cost savings. If you consider that work by BRANZ put the cost of every extra week at around $1500, that would be a very significant saving.

My challenge to the industry is to rethink "prefabrication" to realise its potential as a way of addressing the pressing issue of housing affordability in New Zealand. There is a lot that can be done to create a supporting ecosystem for industrialised construction in New Zealand and the Partnership actively encourages that.

Chris Kane

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FEATURE

ANOTHER LOOK AT PREFABRICATION

Late last year PrefabNZ Chief Executive Pamela Bell joined Productivity Partnership Manager Chris Kane and other key industry players to study use of prefabrication in construction in Germany and Austria. Chris shared his tour highlights in our December newsletter. Pamela continues the conversation with her observations.

"Imagine a supermarket for houses…an outdoor store with 60 or 80 different houses to choose from. First you choose the design you like and then make the detailed choices such as roofing and cladding, all in the same place." Showhome village Bauzentrum Poing is one of Pamela's outstanding memories of the study tour. She says that providing a sophisticated front door to the industry is something we can learn from immensely. "PrefabNZ is replicating that in a very small scale with our Hive Home Innovation Village in Christchurch. The idea is that customers can touch and feel everything. Germans are great at making the home build process customer focused. Everything is presented in a client friendly way, right down to play areas for children.

Need for transparent demand

Pamela recognises that the size of our market presents a challenge. "The main barrier to more prefabrication in housing construction is the need for transparent demand – a sizeable pipeline of work in one place - so that businesses can justify investing in the required machinery. What we saw is achievable in New Zealand but the technology and systems would require much greater certainty of demand to be picked up and applied here."

In Germany use of prefabrication isn't just the domain of big players – a lot of small scale, third
generation businesses (like Keith Hay Homes and Lockwood in New Zealand) are "into it".

Panellised system pluses

"What's interesting is that small operators there design and build in one place," says Pamela. "It's an integrated construction process where logs go in one end and come out as a panellised housing system, ready to be assembled. It's not too far removed from what builders here already do. Pre-nailed roof trusses and wall frames are now standard. Prefabricated panelling is adding another product to the mix. Panels need to be assembled on site and internal finishing needs to occur but that gives builders a watertight envelope to work within."

Pamela says one of the positive spin-offs is a lack of weathertightness issues. "The builders we spoke to in Germany didn't know what we were talking about because water ingress doesn't happen to panellised systems made offsite and installed at site." Benefits include shorter build times, reduced risk and liability and increased client value.

Sustainability valued

Huge value is placed on future-proofing homes and making them sustainable so that running costs and long-term value are considered alongside the initial
cost of building.

"We need to educate clients so they understand cost in different dimensions and communicate value to the next purchaser. Things like double glazing, insulation in walls, solar heating and low maintenance finishes provide a return on investment over time. It's about creating a quality environment in which to live."

Pamela believes the need to take a lifecycle view of value is applicable across the industry.

"Volume builders need to pay particular attention to future-proofing. If New Zealand companies don't take up further prefabrication and higher quality construction methods, they are open to being undercut by competitors from China and Australia."

Lack of variety isn't an issue with panellised prefabrication according to Pamela. "These places don't look like log cabins. Timber panels mostly have plaster finishes on the outside so they fit into traditional masonry construction. We're talking about a wide range of very sophisticated styles – like the Hufhaus on Grand Designs."

Enthusiastic about the possibilities, Pamela would like to see greater acceptance of prefabrication by both the industry and clients as a way of addressing housing affordability.

Learn more about the benefits of prefabrication at the PrefabNZ 2014 Conference, 26-28 March in Auckland.

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ARTICLE

MULTIPROOF CUTS RED TAPE

It's four years since the Multiproof scheme was introduced to streamline the building consent process for volume builders and designers. Run by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Multiproof is a way to strip out unnecessary cost and delay from construction.

When a builder or designer intends to use the same design at least ten times in two years they can apply to MBIE for a Multiproof approval. This is a statement by the Ministry that a set of building plans and specifications complies with the Building Code. Multiproof approval reduces the time taken by Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) to process a building consent application from 20 to ten working days. The only things they still need to check are site-specific details such as foundations and drainage.

"The scheme assists with the surge in residential housing construction because it fast tracks building consent and makes more efficient use of resources," says MBIE Manager Determinations and Assurance John Gardiner. He says MBIE is actively working with applicants to provide for greater design flexibility. "Enhancements are being trialled to better meet the needs of the sector, particularly volume builders."

Take the short cut and find out more about Multiproof.

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FEATURE

IN PARTNERSHIP

The Partnership's secret weapon 101 is Heather Staley. She collates and analyses data on the building and construction sector so it can be communicated to decision-makers and be better understood by industry. "I think of myself as a translator", says Heather. She brings a background in economics and broad experience in the government sector to the task. Heather joined the Partnership in 2013.

A former chief executive of EECA, her motivation comes from helping government work with industry to deliver better public outcomes while making businesses more profitable. That applies whether it's helping businesses run safer and healthier workplaces, use energy more efficiently or, in the case of construction businesses, become more productive.

Analytical and perspicacious, Heather also has her feet on the ground. Weekends are spent with her husband, Gari, breaking in a rocky lifestyle block in Greytown. Quilting is a hobby and New Zealand contemporary jewellery a not-so-secret passion. Heather has an eclectic taste in music ranging from hip hop to baroque classical.

Oh and let's not forget her regular team muster for the Dominion Post's 5 minute
quiz…another opportunity to ensure that facts are not lost in translation.

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ARTICLE

HANDING BIM TO YOU

At the end of February the Productivity Partnership plans to circulate several documents to help promote and accelerate the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in New Zealand.

These will consist of a final draft of an updated BIM Handbook being released for industry-wide comment, prior to being proposed for adoption by the Construction Industry Council as a standard industry document. A BIM Contract Schedule will also be circulated for industry comment before forming part of a suite of recommended BIM terms and conditions of contract.

And finally, to help promote BIM, a brochure entitled "The Economic Benefits of BIM" has been prepared, summarising much of the international evidence supporting BIM's use.

"The Productivity Partnership remains committed to its goal of increasing productivity in New Zealand's built environment, and sees accelerating the use of BIM as essential to that," says Andrew Reding, leader of the Partnership's Construction Systems Workstream.

"These documents are critical tools in achieving the wide-spread use of
BIM in New Zealand's construction industry."

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