Need for greater education on project cost breakdowns

Scott Tacchi, Head of MMC at Sir Robert McAlpine, argues that for the true benefits of MMC approaches to be fully understood, a comprehensive breakdown of the cost-benefits, to provide the data and information necessary to effectively implement MMC practices from a cost reduction perspective, is required. He says this is a practice that has been ‘hugely beneficial to projects’ such as the government’s New Hospital Programme

Much has been published exploring the benefits of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the healthcare and wider construction environment – it makes processes faster, improves quality, reduces defects, and is cheaper. However, having been an advocate for the use of MMC in the sector over the last five years, and passionate about the benefits I have seen (and commissioned) that can be brought by greater offsite manufacture, I am still left unable to demonstrate on a spreadsheet the actual pound and pence benefits to the bottom line at tender stage.  

This stems from an industry-wide fear of commercial intelligence, or commercial sensitivity, that has spread to client bases across the sector – ultimately leading to the refusal to publish any realistic data or comparisons that can be used as a benchmark when comparing offsite with on-site. Articles on new-build hospitals, office blocks, or schools, rarely ever include a true breakdown of actual costs in building, running, and maintaining the site.