In response to the UK’s growing housing crisis, the Government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029, equating to around 370,000 per year. But how can digital technologies help housebuilders to meet this target, all while simultaneously satisfying Part L of the Building Regulations, the Future Homes Standard and Building Safety Act? Here, Ben Wallbank, Digital Construction and Partnership Manager, from Trimble, discusses this in more detail…
The target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029 is an ambitious one, especially considering that 2022-23 saw 234,000 new homes built and 2023-24 has shown a steep decline to around 150,000. It is also worth noting that for as long as records have been kept the best year on record for housebuilding was 1968, where 352,540 new homes were built – further highlighting the difficulty housebuilders are experiencing in terms of targets. With this in mind, it’s clear the industry needs to be looking toward modern and innovative processes to help improve productivity and efficiency levels onsite.
New standards are also posing additional challenges and criteria for housebuilders to meet, including the amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations, focused on enhancing the energy efficiency of new build properties. Add into this the Future Homes Standard and Building Safety Act (documenting a more rigorous regulatory framework for the design and construction of higher-risk buildings) and it is easy to see why many housebuilders are struggling to achieve the volume levels required.
Utilising new methods of construction
Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) – including offsite, standardised designs and a platform approach – are becoming recognised as effective ways to deliver high production efficiencies, quality control and traceability. However, leveraging data and digital technologies can help to streamline these processes even further, with a digital transformation capable of driving the change the housebuilding industry so desperately needs.
Data, data, data
As well as feeding into a more standardised design approach and providing valuable insight into lessons learned for future projects, data is at the heart of traceability, compliance and building safety. Having this golden thread of data is pivotal to understanding a building, the materials that went into its construction and the steps required to keep both the structure and its occupants safe. In years gone by, this data may have been stored in paper form, on various servers or a generic, shared ‘drive’. However, using a centralised, digital hub can make this whole process far more efficient, whereby the data is safe, secure and easily accessible by the right people at the right time.
It’s clear that collaboration is key if we are to maximise the benefits of digital technology, both on an individual team level and as part of the wider construction industry. By coordinating as one, we can all evolve together, helping to benefit from lessons learned and using more accurate data to plan our future projects. While a Common Data Environment can help facilitate this, all stakeholders need to buy into this way of thinking if we are to truly realise the benefits, with more data resulting in more accurate reporting.
Industry insights
In a survey conducted by Housing Today and Trimble, the majority of respondents didn’t believe their companies were maximising the use of technology, with some even saying that they still used paper-based systems. This was despite the fact that most recognised the role digital technology will play in future business plans, with 65% agreeing that this digital and traceable trail of information would improve accountability, safety and standards.
Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, culture and supply chain collaboration were deemed as the two main obstacles preventing firms from implementing and managing an accurate audit trail. trim
Conclusion
It’s imperative that housebuilders are engaging with digital technologies, if they are to meet the ambitious targets set by the UK Government. A concern already raised has been how the construction industry can effectively demonstrate compliance without impacting on wider productivity and efficiency levels. By ditching out-dated paper-based methods and instead maximising the use of technology, common data environments and digital information management systems, housebuilders can streamline the compliance process, reducing the time spent recording and evidencing this information.
Trimble Viewpoint
Trimble Viewpoint Field View and Viewpoint for Projects are great examples of this digital information system in action. A tablet and mobile-based field tool, Viewpoint Field View is designed to replace pen and paper in the field for snagging, forms and permits, project delivery and handover. With the ability to create custom tasks, forms and processes, and the traceable project data safely stored in the cloud for future reference, Field View offers enhanced productivity and complete visibility at every step.
While Viewpoint for Projects is a construction document management system that works to simplify project documentation, allowing teams to share, control and collaborate on documents and drawings with full revision control. Create custom workflows to progress construction documents through review, revision and approval, with complete audit trails and traceability.
Find out more about Trimble and the solutions it offers, here.