Reducing the impact of the construction process

The construction process environmental and social impacts – noise, dust, traffic, waste and health and safety hazards – are at the core of the sustainability agenda. However, those impacts can be minimised and quality can be improved by moving as much of the construction process as possible into the factory. This is evidenced by a study reported by the National Audit Office last year. More recently SCI has completed and published the results of a study in which SCI monitored six construction projects where off-site construction technologies were being employed. Typically a 30% reduction in construction time and a 70% reduction in waste were observed. The outcomes of this study are further detailed in SCI technical brochure: The benefits of offsite steel construction in urban locations.

There has always been a close affinity between steel and offsite construction, from the smaller end of the market in house construction through to large structures such as T5 at Heathrow. A key feature in improving performance is the ability to bring disciplines (such as services, structure and insulation) together at the manufacturing stage.

By becoming an Associate Member of Buildoffsite (an organisation dedicated to the development of more efficient construction through taking advantage of the benefits from offsite methods) SCI is working to ensure clients and contractors are able to take advantage of the experience of the steel construction sector.