It is no secret that the UK has been wrestling with a housing crisis for many years. Despite the efforts of successive governments, as well as builders, developers and planners, we are still not building enough homes to meet demand
In this new ebook, The Access Group argues that the lack of supply, when combined with emerging challenges and barriers at home and internationally, means the construction industry must now accept that the old ways of working alone are not going to solve the problem.
It is not simply a question of building more; faced with the ongoing fallout from Covid-19, surging global demand for materials (and associated price rises), a new regulatory landscape for building safety beginning to take shape and a long-standing skills shortage, there needs to be a smarter, more diverse approach that embraces digital technology and Modern Methods of Construction.
The government has already backed greater diversification of the housebuilding sector by supporting SMEs into taking on a bigger role in the delivery and encouraging wider adoption of MMC.
MMC projects
The ebook looks at some of the projects that are working towards this aim, such as the Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH) scheme, which is trialling new digital design tools, advances in manufacturing and improved near-to-market offsite panellised MMC systems on live housing projects.
But MMC alone will not crack the housing crisis and traditional forms of construction will still have a key role to play. However, they do not have to be unchanging – and there are many ways technology can help.
The ebook examines several software options to boost productivity, efficiency and quality, from estimating and procurement software to HR and payroll, risk management and enterprise resource planning, as well as the benefits on offer from mobile apps and cloud storage.
So as housebuilding looks to the future, the Access Group is calling on the industry to embrace the challenge of digital transformation to shape the future.
