Does Heathrow's search for offsite manufactures signal a change in the industry?

The expansion

It was wrapped in controversy when the vote came to Parliament, but Heathrow airport’s third runway expansion is now arguably the most prominent project in the nation’s construction sector. What is even more interesting however, as it has recently been revealed, is that the airport has been consulting offsite manufacturers up and down the country in a plan to build as much as the expansion as possible away from the airport.

With construction set to begin in three years’ time, Heathrow is only at the preliminary stages in deciding which logistics hubs to choose. Yet the fact decision makers have now visited all 65 sites which were longlisted for the £14bn expansion project, brings into question whether the offsite approach of this enormous task finally indicates a significant change in the construction industry?

Proud of our prefab

As a company that prides itself in the unrivalled standard maintained in the production of prefabricated buildings, this news has been music to our ears here at Springfield. Prefabricated buildings comprise of factory manufactured components, which are then transported to and assembled on site. The fact that those managing the Heathrow airport expansion are considering this construction method for such a vast endeavour is incredibly exciting for us, as the benefits of this method will be on show for a national and international audience to see.

With the bulk of construction work being completed off site, manufacturing time is drastically reduced, compared to traditional builds. Springfield in particular offer complete customisation to our clients, whether its interior or exterior, adding modules or increasing the number of levels. Pair this with our efficient production techniques and minimal time we spend on site, then you’re looking at fantastic quality for fantastic prices at an unbeatable time.

More than just a fly over?

The country is taking its final tentative steps towards a post-Brexit world, and the fact such a public project is consulting with off site manufactures is great news for all those in the modular building industry. This period of change provides a unique opportunity to transform British production and we believe Heathrow’s approach could path the way.

Not only is the reduction of cost at the forefront of the decision, but the environment would surely have been taken into consideration for such an approach. Here at Springfield, we take our environmental impact very seriously. Our prefabricated buildings are manufactured in our ISO approved UK warehouse, where we work hard to ensure the final buildings are efficient in their energy consumption. In terms of Heathrow, if a majority of the work is constructed off site, there will be relatively fewer on-site deliveries and less time in general will be spent on site. With such a huge task, this does not mean a construction team will pull up and erect a new runway in a few days, but the approach has the same relative advantages.  

The next stage of the selection process opens in autumn of this year with a pre-qualification questionnaire, and a shortlist of logistic hubs will be announced in early 2019. The final four sites will be announced later that year. The news is a monumental step in the right direction in terms of changing the construction industry for the better and we are excited to view the outcome in the coming years.