DfMA overlay to RIBA plan of work

On 28 September 2016, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Offsite Management School launched a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) overlay to the RIBA Plan of Work.

The Offsite Management School is an initiative of leading contractors and clients that believes ‘…the industry must go through a process we have called Construction Industrialisation’ which focuses on; digital design, offsite manufacturing, logistics, onsite assembly and best in class maintenance.

The RIBA Plan of Work provides a shared framework for design and construction that offers both a process map and a management tool. The overlay to the Plan of Work focuses on DfMA and is intended to help users identify the significant benefits that can be realised through its use.

Jane Duncan, President of the RIBA said, "I counsel every RIBA member to read this document and consider how they can use the methods set out to help transform the way we design to make it faster, cheaper, safer and more environmentally friendly to build."

Ian Heptonstall, director of the Offsite Management School, said, “Clients and contractors are saying to us, unless we can engage the design community in designing for assembly at the beginning of projects, we can't deliver the benefits of DfMA techniques.”

Dale Sinclair, editor of the RIBA Plan of Work said, “What you realise is that DfMA is not just a subset of construction, but a matter of looking at things in a profoundly different way at the beginning of the next construction revolution.”

A revised edition of the DfMA overlay was published in 2021. This aligns with the 2020 Plan of Work. Ref https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/dfma-overlay-to-the-riba-plan-of-work

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• BIM.
• Design for manufacture and assembly.
• Offsite manufacturing.
• RIBA.
• RIBA plan of work.
• RIBA plan of work v project plans v OGC gateways.