Offsite Manufacturing Building Blocks

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The need for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) that will allow the digital transformation of the construction sector and help achieve zero carbon emissions, has been highlighted in UK government's Industrial Strategy Challenge for Transforming Construction. Nevertheless, the mainstream adoption of MMC is delayed, as demand is inhibited by low supply capacity and suppliers are reluctant to increase capacity because of the uncertain constancy of demand (DfMA Overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work 2020).To make matters worse, the majority of off-site manufacturing facilities rely on manual labour. As a result, the UK government's CO2 emissions, productivity, and efficiency targets in the Construction Sector Deal are not being met.As a response, DataFormLab is developing a Business-to-Business marketplace for construction; a procurement platform for off-site manufacturing with a seamless digital workflow linking design and fabrication.As part of the procurement platform's onboarding process, DataFormLab will simulate and evaluate the integration of automation in offsite manufacturers' factories, in order to de-risk investment in MMC and assist manufacturers in efficiently integrating new technologies into their current workflows. Discrete Event Simulation will be used to create a digital twin of their factory's operation and assist them in making data-driven decisions.DataFormLab will identify the different available automation technologies and develop the corresponding offsite manufacturing 'Building Blocks', while also creating a platform for visualising the latter and their associated data in order to facilitate communication with stakeholders.The vision is to promote a new business model for construction, allowing for the rapid adoption of MMC. This project is a holistic solution, tailored to the needs of all sizes of businesses that want to participate in the digital transformation of the industry. By demystifying automation, it enables more manufacturers to make informed business decisions and enter the automated offsite construction market, resulting in an overall mentality shift.DataFormLab will work closely with stakeholders to receive early feedback. This will ensure strategic business questions drive technology innovation plans.