Advantages And Disadvantages Of Prefabrication As Construction Method Construction Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Prefabrication As Construction Method Construction Essay The aim of this research is to establish whether an increased use of off-site manufacture will produce a more energy efficient housing stock, as the UK gets closer to its carbon reduction deadline. The objectives of this study are; To identify the key advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication as a construction method, and to establish how these are achievable compared to traditional methods. To identify the current requirements for energy efficiency in new build houses. To identify the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008 and how this will affect the construction industry. To establish the current use and opinion of prefabrication/off-site manufacture in the construction industry The UK is legally bound to cut its green house gas emissions under the Climate Change Act 2008. These cuts are a 34% reduction by 2022 and an overall 80% reduction by 2050, compared to the baseline emission value from 1990. This is not a scientific quantitative study of the actually energy effic iencies of the construction method, but more of an in-depth qualitative study of the features of prefabrication. This will be done by reviewing existing literature on the topic and comparing this to actual opinions and use in the construction industry. These opinions and the level of implementation of prefabrication within the construction industry will be established using questionnaires. From this analysis it is hoped that there are environmental benefits to using off-site manufacture/prefabrication. This should then be shown in the construction industry by it’s increasingly use. With the UK’s housing stock producing approximately 30% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, it is a sector where huge environmental gains can be made (House of Commons 2005). Although the Climate Change Act 2008 is not specifically aimed at the construction industry, the Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change, David Kennedy has called for action in â€Å"four key areasâ⠂¬ ; the method by which electricity is produced, increasing the use of electric transport, reducing the carbon footprint of farms in the UK and an increase in the construction of energy efficient homes (Adam 2010). Many reports, especially from prefabrication manufacturers themselves state the benefits of off-site construction over traditional methods. These include an increased speed of construction, better health and safety conditions on-site, better quality of final product and a lesser total cost when economies of scale apply. However when observing construction sites; off-site construction seems to not be included and traditional methods of construction seem to dominate. This study aims to find out the actual use of prefabricated, off-site components within the industry, and the reasons professionals have for either using, or not using this construction method. The hypothesis for this study states that the current use of off-site manufactured components will have a positive c orrelation to the perceived benefits from using them. For example if the perceived benefits of the using off-site manufactured components are great, then it is predicted that their use will be common within construction. Conversely if the features of prefabrication are not greatly beneficial compared to traditional methods, it is predicted that the use of off-site manufacture in the construction industry will be low. These assumptions have been made due to common reasoning, being that; if something is more beneficial than another, it will be chosen more often.