The latest issue of the Modular Building Institute’s Modular Advantage magazine examines the effect of the proposed expansion of the Davis-Bacon Act in the United States, and how this could have major ramifications for US-based manufacturers
Adopted in 1941, the Davis-Bacon Act was written long before the modular construction industry gained momentum in the US. Now, the US Dept. of Labor is considering applying the law in ways that will seriously curtail the use of modular construction for federal and state projects.
Until recently, the effects of Davis-Bacon on the modular construction industry were minimal. Because modular buildings are not built at the “site of the work” (being instead built using more modern manufacturing techniques in one or more offsite factories, often in different US states), prevailing wages didn’t apply to modular construction projects, public or otherwise.
Under its new proposals, the definition of “site of the work” would be changed to apply to offsite construction of “significant portions” of a building or work. Currently, these are usually excluded from coverage unless the work is performed at facilities established by the contractor specifically for the performance of a contract or project.
Learn more about this potential expansion, its effects, and about MBI’s efforts to prevent it in this issue of Modular Advantage.
The five policies states can implement to address housing needs
The Biden Administration recently announced its affordable housing plan to help close the housing supply gap over the next five years. However, at the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor is re-defining and expanding the purpose and scope of the decades-old Davis Bacon Act to require prevailing wages to now be paid in offsite modular factories.
MBI Executive Director Tom Hardiman explores five ways states can use existing strategies to solve this apparent contradiction.
A new offsite standard in the works: Energy efficiency, water conservation and MEP systems
Ryan Colker, VP of Innovation at the International Code Council, discusses the new offsite construction standard currently under development: ICC/MBI 1210.
And more!
