The State of Prefab Construction

If automobile manufacturers can create high-quality products on a large scale in a factory, why can’t builders implement the same technology and processes? That’s a central argument among proponents of permanent modular construction, as they tout its potential for time and cost savings. However, in the notoriously slow-to-evolve building industry, prefab has struggled to gain a larger share of the market. In an effort to draw more attention to permanent modular construction, the Modular Building Institute, National Institute of Building Sciences and other industry groups hosted the second-annual Offsite Construction Expo Sept. 21 to 22 in Washington, DC. From obstacles blocking wider implementation to an example of taking modular to the extreme, the expo explored where offsite construction is now — and what’s next for the method. Here are a few takeaways from the event. Offsite construction still has a long way to go Despite the promises of a higher quality product in a shorter timeframe and growing chatter around the alternative method, permanent modular construction still faces the obstacles of an...