A recurring theme in the industrial construction space – not to mention recent headline news – is the demand for increased manufacturing capacity in North America. Often referred to as “on-shoring” or “near-shoring”, companies are looking to shift production of critical components like batteries, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from overseas to the US, Canada and Mexico. This is creating high demand for new or retrofitted industrial facilities, along with a desire for compressed timelines.
This is good news for North American manufacturing, and a good fit for Off-Site Construction (OSC) as well. The benefits of modular, prefabricated construction techniques – the hallmarks of OSC – include reduced overall construction time, streamlined budget and scope management and reducing risk, among others. In short – better, faster and easier construction.
Specific benefits include:
With project teams developing new industrial projects, we are seeing an increased awareness of OSC benefits, particularly for complex mechanical systems. This is leading to a corresponding growth in RFPs specifically encouraging or even requiring OSC as an integral part of the overall project’s implementation plan. But the old adage “buyer beware” certainly applies here; not every OSC provider has the capacity and orientation to meet the demands of industrial environments – either the stringent site safety standards during construction, or the operations and maintenance standards designed into the finished product. So we always encourage our clients to conduct a rigorous pre-qualification process.
If you’re considering OSC for your manufacturing plant build, retrofit or expansion, get in touch with the Epsilon team to learn more about our capabilities and experience with the demanding manufacturing sector.
