Construction sites have been around since the dawn of civilisation.
Increased skill/knowledge/preparation:.Our experience has shown that the automation and design of P-DfMA processes simplifies the construction and the need for a skilled taskforce and their preparation.
It also reduces the number of people onsite, increases safety as a result of reduced work at height, lowers capital costs and improves construction speed.. Passivhaus and net zero carbon challenges.There is an increasing amount of pressure growing in the construction industry to design net zero carbon buildings, both in terms of operational and embodied carbon.In this context, bodies such as the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI), RIBA, GLA and UKGBC, have developed guidance documents on embodied carbon, which include specific targets and roadmaps to achieving net zero carbon prior to 2050.. Based on LETI Climate Emergency Design Guide, a typical medium size residential building embodied carbon, would be 33% of the total carbon, whilst the operational carbon would be around 67%.
However, for an ultra-low energy building, like Passivhaus, the breakdown would be 77% embodied and 23% operational and this balance is likely to become more enhanced with the decarbonisation of the grid.This means that embodied carbon is becoming a more important focus for the sustainable design of buildings..
Typical operational and embodied carbon breakdown for medium scale residential for a standard building (left) and for an ultra-low energy building.
Passivhaus standard has always been focused on operational energy, and it is only in recent years that the focus has grown to both operational carbon emissions and the embodied carbon within the building..In this article we go into detail on a case study where discrete event simulation (DES), developed in collaboration with Tata Steel, supports the analysis and development of an off-site, automated factory which manufactures the FASTtruss structural building assemblies.. How can automation be used in construction?.
Traditionally, construction has been an on-site process with a minority of off-site construction operations, but it is now shifting to include a hybrid of both on-site improvements and increased off-site operations (.https://www.brydenwood.co.uk/offsiteoronsiteconstruction/s125064/.
The shift offers a range of benefits across the construction life cycle.Working this way, components or systems (including those related to platform design (P-DfMA), or in some cases modular construction) can be more readily fabricated in off-site facilities and transported to site for final assembly.