DEFINITION
[1] The use of 19th Century construction technologies in a 21st Century off-site construction workflow.
[2] Constructing modules with the same steps and trades (in a factory setting), instead of re-arranging production into an EBOM, by also blending trades in a fabrication and assembly hierarchy.
EXAMPLES
[1] Fabricating module shells out of studs and gypsum wall board. Fabricating exterior wall panels with stud and batten insulation.
[2] Assembling module or panels without first organizing repetitive kits, subassemblies, etc.
USAGE
“The bath mod provider said they would be manufacturing our dorm’s bathrooms, but after we toured their facilities and met their carpenters, we realized they were just doing indoor construction and there were plenty of places to streamline fabrication and assembly.”
ISSUES
While indoor construction feels like manufacturing, it really just trades problems: moving the same activities off the jobsite, but engaging all sorts of new logistical challenges of transportation. Value-adds are small. Timeline benefits are quickly offset by transportation challenges.