Pre-manufacture
The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model, published in 2016 by the Construction Leadership Council suggests in relation to pre-manufacture that: ‘Many different terms are used in the realm of construction innovation including "off-site manufacture" "modern methods of construction" or "pre-fabrication"'.
This review uniformly adopts the term pre-manufacture as a generic term to embrace all processes which reduce the level of on-site labour intensity and delivery risk. This implicitly includes a ‘design for manufacture & assembly’ approach at all levels ranging from component level standardisation and lean processes through to completely pre-finished volumetric solutions. It also includes any element of on-site or adjacent to site temporary or ‘flying’ factory or consolidation facilities which de-risk in-situ construction, improving productivity and predictability.
‘Industry 4.0’ is a term often used to reference the fourth industrial revolution underpinned by cyber-physical ‘smart’ production techniques. It is however clear that in many respects, construction has not even made the transition to ‘industry 3.0’ status which is predicated on large scale use of electronics and IT to automate production. It is important therefore to see this as the immediate goal and to use terminology and definitions based on industrial strategy benchmarks that reflect this current reality.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- BRE response to Farmer Review.
- Building Skills for Offsite Construction.
- Construction 2025.
- Construction industry reports.
- Construction Industry Training Board CITB.
- Construction Leadership Council.
- Eight ways to win the fight for talent in construction.
- Farmer review.
- Government Construction Strategy.
- Interview with Mark Farmer.
- Modernise or die - the need for change in construction.
- National Infrastructure Plan for Skills.
- Procuring for value report.
- Recruiting and retaining talent in the construction industry.
- Skills to build.
- Tackling the construction skills shortage.
Featured articles and news
What they are, how they work and why they are popular in many countries.
Plastic, recycling and its symbol
Student competition winning, M.C.Esher inspired Möbius strip design symbolising continuity within a finite entity.
Do you take the lead in a circular construction economy?
Help us develop and expand this wiki as a resource for academia and industry alike.
Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce
Risks of undermining UK’s energy transition due to lack of electrotechnical industry representation, says ECA.
Cost Optimal Domestic Electrification CODE
Modelling retrofits only on costs that directly impact the consumer: upfront cost of equipment, energy costs and maintenance costs.
The Warm Homes Plan details released
What's new and what is not, with industry reactions.
Could AI and VR cause an increase the value of heritage?
The Orange book: 2026 Amendment 4 to BS 7671:2018
ECA welcomes IET and BSI content sign off.
How neural technologies could transform the design future
Enhancing legacy parametric engines, offering novel ways to explore solutions and generate geometry.
Key AI related terms to be aware of
With explanations from the UK government and other bodies.
From QS to further education teacher
Applying real world skills with the next generation.
A guide on how children can use LEGO to mirror real engineering processes.
Data infrastructure for next-generation materials science
Research Data Express to automate data processing and create AI-ready datasets for materials research.
Wired for the Future with ECA; powering skills and progress
ECA South Wales Business Day 2025, a day to remember.
AI for the conservation professional
A level of sophistication previously reserved for science fiction.
Biomass harvested in cycles of less than ten years.
An interview with the new CIAT President
Usman Yaqub BSc (Hons) PCIAT MFPWS.
Cost benefit model report of building safety regime in Wales
Proposed policy option costs for design and construction stage of the new building safety regime in Wales.
Do you receive our free biweekly newsletter?
If not you can sign up to receive it in your mailbox here.