Fewer defects, lower whole-life costs and increased customer satisfaction are just some of the benefits of modern methods of construction (MMC).
Those are the key findings in a new report published today (11th June 2024) on the outcomes of an innovative trial to demonstrate how MMC can help tackle the affordable housing shortage in the UK.
Rollalong’s partner Magna Housing commissioned asset management specialists CAMS to produce the proof of concept report.
Magna adopted an award-winning ‘MMC-first’ business case in 2020, setting out to prove that offsite construction could deliver ‘an ordinary home’.
Last year Magna completed its proof-of-concept phase of creating the first 50 factory-built homes in partnership with Rollalong.
The new report highlights evidence of the benefits of Magna’s approach in overcoming challenges to MMC, which include:
- Fewer defects compared to traditionally built homes, saving money and time.
- Overcoming planning barriers, creating homes that complement local environments.
- Increasing customers’ satisfaction with new homes.
- The ability to deliver modular homes from the factory to sites via narrow, rural roads.
- Securing industry standard National House Building Council’s (NHBC) Accepts warranty.
- Lower costs, including maintenance, over the whole life of homes.
- Showing that customers are able to secure a mortgage on MMC homes when sold.
Rollalong’s Sales Director Paul Jones said: “What we’ve created in this proof-of-concept phase is a regional exemplar, a scalable model that can be replicated up and down the country to help solve the housing crisis.
“This report puts an open and honest assessment out to the market following the delivery of the first five sites with Magna Housing, specifically looking just at the superstructure only. These modular housing developments have gone extremely well but like all concepts and new partnerships, we had overcome some challenges along the way, and we want to articulate those challenges in this report.
“Since the last project, which was delivered in 2023, we have fed all lessons learned into our latest house design and manufacturing processes and we are proud to now have a solution which can deliver homes more quickly, more cheaply and to a higher standard than traditional housing projects.
“We’ve had fantastic feedback from customers and Magna Housing are delighted with the quality of the homes.”
“Now well out of the proof-of-concept stage, we are pleased to be continuing to manufacture house types in our Dorset factory,” Paul added. “Let’s break the paradigm of modular house building being difficult and requiring huge quantities – we are currently running house types in batch quantities as small as two for our customers. Get in touch at with Abi at enquiries@rollalong.co.uk for a price and solution that suits you.”
Watch our video explainer below, and scroll down to download the full Proof of Concept Report.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
7th December 2020
We were delighted to win not one but two awards at the Constructing Excellence South West Awards 2020 on Friday.
Our innovative collaboration to demonstrate the effectiveness of using offsite manufacture to provide social housing won the Offsite Award and the Winner of Winners prize at the online awards ceremony.
We submitted our bid with our partners Magna Housing, the South West Procurement Alliance and Complex Asset Management Solutions (CAMS).
Our entry focused on making the business case for adopting modern methods of construction (MMC) via a strategic asset management approach, modelling comparative whole life costs and producing the modular units.
Magna Housing explored the business case for MMC as a tool for increasing the supply of new homes and developed a strategic Asset Management Plan.
A delivery partner was found by a collaborative process with the South West Procurement Alliance (part of procurement organisation LHC) and a formal tender was carried out to assess the ability and willingness of the potential supplier to collaborate.
LHC and Magna also commissioned CAMS to assess the business case for change from traditional construction to MMC. The results showed that MMC delivers consistency of quality and the best whole-life profile and allows for asset management and maintenance innovation in the future.
After a thorough selection process we were selected as the preferred provider, and we are now working with Magna to manufacture and install high-quality, precision-engineered, attractive, affordable and environmentally sustainable homes throughout Dorset and Somerset.
Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong, said: ‘Winning these two awards from Constructing Excellence South West is testament to the culture that exists within the partnership. Rollalong set out to innovate, and to achieve that common goal you must collaborate, drawing from the strengths of every alliance member – truly great collaborations push the boundaries of all partners.
“Aggregating demand through the engagement of new clients with our latest range of environmental upgrades and designs for 2021 will further strengthen the partnership, creating endless opportunities for superb collaboration and growth.”
Pictured below are Iain Steele, Rollalong MD Steve Chivers and Darren Moore celebrating Friday evening’s double award win!