Automated Construction
I stumbled across this through one of our clients and thought it was worth a comment. I’ll keep it brief and let the video do most of the explanation using nice clips the E&Ms should be able to follow.
The video shows an interesting idea for economising on the construction of simple steel frame/concrete slab type buildings. Using segmented off-site manufacturing and simple floor plate design, this method enables considerable increase in the automation of steel frame construction alongside simplifications in temporary works.
LandSec are a huge developer in the UK (developers of my site at 21 Moorfields) so they will be seeking to make use of this sort of technology as soon as they can on their major projects. For now at least it is feasible for (comparatively) smaller projects, based on the constraints of floor plate design and maximum spans.
This approach shares many of the benefits of off-site manufacturing while retaining the use of in-situ composite slabs. The automation, simplification and pre-fabrication decrease construction time while reducing labour resource – both of which are huge benefits in military operations. Even without the robots, the simplifications shown here do seem to bring the art of multi-storey steel frame construction close to the possible for an RE Troop.
I wonder how many ISO containers would be needed to shift the trial building shown in the video and whether there is a demand for similar lightweight structures on ops or on the overseas estate.
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
🙂
Interesting video and concept Tom. My experience is a bit dated but I can think of several cases where this type of construction could have been used on ops or in the overseas estate if they can increase the column length it might be ideal for semi-permanent workshops or hangers and associated offices.
Interesting to note that the video only covers the vertical construction and not the foundations.
My guess at the number of ISOs is 20 (including 20kg cement bags but excluding sand).
Thanks for keeping it brief Tom, I got to the end of this one, managed to watch the video and still had time for lunch!!
It’s interesting to see that, over the years, the terminology is at last aligning with “traditional” manufacturing eg production lines. DfMA has been around for years, superseded and improved. It ill be interesting to see how some of the other concepts of manufacturing are incorporated – who knows maybe one day PEW will be training people to be construction site Black Belts as part of a lean building system!!
I wander if the unusual connections used for the beams will pose a challenge or present an opportunity when it comes to demolish the building?