New homes, student accommodation and hotels have been delivered despite the lockdown. That's according to Tide Construction and Vision Modular Systems who have continued to work on projects throughout the crisis using MMC.

Alongside 1.7 million sq ft of completed developments, another 200 hotel beds, 1,500 student beds and 1,000 residential and build to rent units are on course to be completed with a further 2 million sq ft in the pipeline. Tide Construction and Vision Modular Systems are both involved in the national Homes for Heroes campaign which is asking the government to commit to 100,000 sustainable and affordable modular homes for frontline workers.

Working through lockdown
 

Construction firms specialising in MMC have been able to keep production moving and safeguard jobs in modular construction even while construction sites across the country ground to a halt. By using controlled and process driven offsite environments, both Tide Construction and Vision Modular Systems were able to continue production through the pandemic, using safe working practices that respect social distancing, hygiene and safety guidance.

While Knight Frank has predicted that the supply of new homes is likely to drop by 35% this year as house builders downed tools on 250,000 homes, modular construction continued to build. Low energy, high quality homes built using modular construction are likely to have an increasingly significant role in the Covid-19 recovery.

Robust processes
 

While no one could have foreseen the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the construction industry, it has served to demonstrate the resilience of MMC and the robust and efficient processes at its heart. MMC is already proven to deliver projects up to 50% faster than traditional methods of construction. That speed from conception to construction could be critical in delivering the affordable homes the UK needs now and in the future.

Combining resilience with quality, improved efficiency, reduced waste and time spent on site will be a major factor in the continued growth in the sector as the UK moves forward into the recovery phase.

A sustainable approach
 

Like other proponents of MMC, Tide Construction and Vision Modular Systems are disrupting an industry that is in need of change. They use offsite technology to deliver fully configured modules directly onsite, using methods that are not weather dependent. 
These modular constructions deliver greater certainty along with guaranteed jobs in modular construction within the local community. Workers enjoy a clean and safe working environment which is well regulated and offers a less transient career than working on a traditional construction site.

Fully fitted modules are then transported to the site where preparatory works will have been completed in tandem. Sites are less labour intensive and cut vehicle visits by up to 80%. More significantly when it comes to socially distanced work practices, numbers of onsite workers can similarly be cut by 60%.

The government is promising a housebuilding revival along the principles of building back better, greener and faster than ever before. This proposed revolution could be dependent on modular construction.