Boosting construction efficiency with product platforms

In recent years, there has been no shortage of ideas for how to resolve some of the construction industry’s key challenges. Modern methods of construction (MMC) are often seen as a key solution. Design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) are also frequently mentioned when discussing improvements to efficiency.

One innovation that has the potential to address declining productivity and skills shortages, as well as improving value for money and the construction industry’s environmental impact is the widespread adoption of product platforms. Taking an integrated and repeatable approach to major projects could save time and money, analysis shows.

The promise of product platforms

A 2023 report showed that the use of project platforms could save the government £1.8bn a year across social infrastructure.

To understand the huge potential of product platforms, it is important to consider how they could integrate with other innovative technologies and best practices. Take the example of MMC. Last year, a House of Lords inquiry – titled ‘Modern methods of construction – what’s gone wrong?’ – warned that the application of these methods for delivering projects more productively concluded that “the Government’s approach to MMC is in disarray.” Over-reliance on circumstance means that the industry is missing the chance to get maximum benefit out of MMC.

Similarly, DfMA has huge potential in removing unpredictability in the making and assembly stage of projects. However, the system requires a holistic implementation.

Product platforms provide a deliberate and strategic means of removing unwanted variability. That way, they can enable the benefits of MMC and DfMA to be realised and continuously improved.

Why product platforms improve efficiency

Product platforms help integrate design, manufacture and construction with platform approaches. This improves the commonality of standardised and manufacturable components. The potential savings are enormous: estimates suggest the cost of a hospital could be brought down by around £147 million.

Other advantages of core repeatable assets include more stable relationships, repeatable methods and standardised technical systems. By reducing technical complexity, product platforms offer a simpler way to create mass customised buildings through adaptation to the unique features of sites. 

How to adapt a product platform approach

A government roadmap targets mass adoption of product platforms by 2030. To get there will require a coordinated and realistic effort.

Of course, the cyclical and variable nature of the construction industry means that on-the-ground changes will always be volatile. A wider shift away from a project-based delivery model, however, could make the adoption of product platforms more productive.