Mr. Michel D Hanna of SPEED HOUSE GROUP is right when he says that the idea of prefabricated construction is the holy grail not only for the people at the base of the economic pyramid but also for the wealthy because of its versatile applications and design flexibility.
We are witnessing that situation across the world is changing very fast due to social, political and financial upheavals. One of the most burning problems the human race faces today is the problem of shelters.
Hundreds of thousands of people are becoming homeless with each passing day. Women and children are spending days and nights in the open sky. No roof over their heads. It poses a big question mark on our human ethics, doesn’t it?
This article focuses on a new approach to housing in light of these external factors and places emphasis on factory built prefabricated homes. The aim is to enhance the knowledge about the prefab housing because of the sky-rocketing price of the conventional homes.
What is prefabricated house?
An industrial process on the basis of which some or all elements of the house are built inside a specialized facility and shipped to the project site to erect the desired building structure. It is less time consuming as compared to conventional building method because the latter requires all the construction elements transported to the project site for erection.
In prefabricated construction, only foundations are laid out in this way, whereas other parts like floors, walls and roofs are transported to the site after factory fabrication.
Classification of Prefabricated house:
On the basis of dimension, these two kinds of prefabricated units are much popular across the globe.
Skeleton System:
Panel System:
What is the benefit of prefabricated house?
There is a plethora of benefits in off-site prefabrication. While considering other benefits, the first that comes to the fore is the economic advantage it offers to the builders and buyers.
The lesser construction time, the lesser labor cost
Since the concept itself lies on the factory built modules, two or more activities can be performed at the project site which results into speedy project execution. It makes a big difference to the property developer where time is more important than money. Mr. Michel D Hanna, the Group GM of SPEED HOUSE GROUP, AJMAN – UAE based company, opines that a conventional home requires more than 6 months whereas the prefabricated one can be built within a month.
Higher Quality and consistency
Before shipping the construction elements to the project site for final installation, quality check-up is run against each and every component by the industry experts. It boosts up the confidence of buyers as prefabricated homes are constructed in a quality controlled environment adhering to certain quality policy.
Energy Efficiency and sustainability
The innate characteristics of prefabricated building is it is sustainable. As most of the parts of the building are constructed in the factory as per the QHSE rules and regulations, it produces less wasteful materials.
Year-round construction
Prefab construction is independent of weather conditions as most of the parts are built indoors. It results into higher work efficiency and speedy completion.
Conclusion:
Prefabricated buildings are gaining ground in each part of world because of its sustainability, cost-effectiveness and flexibility in design. While on the one hand, it offers solution to the ongoing housing shortage for deprived and low-income classes, it offers solution to the oil & gas, power & energy, civil & infrastructure industries in equal measure. It fits in well with the latter’s requirements of temporary facilities like labor camps, site offices, mess hall, kitchens, toilets, prayer rooms, clinics etc. Mr. Hanna is right when he says that the idea of prefabricated construction is the holy grail not only for the have-nots but also for the haves because of its versatile applicability and dynamic profiling.
Note: The writer represents International Sales & Marketing Department at SPEED HOUSE GROUP, AJMAN – UAE. He can be reached via Direct Number +971 (0) 67482929 or e-mails: [email protected]/ [email protected], Skype Id: mshariqueanwar
