Platforms solution.
However, it’s worth stating that this is a huge simplification; that the true meaning of ‘circular economy’ is phenomenally complex (especially when we’re considering a 60-year plus period – how well do we believe someone in 1960 would have predicted the market in 2020?)This is a topic in its own right that we’ll explore another time – but what we can say for now is that construction Platforms seem like a sensible way of facilitating this approach.. What are the challenges to widespread adoption of construction Platform design?.
None of the challenges present in getting the industry to adopt a construction Platforms approach are technical.The majority of objections are linked to cultural mindset factors.These include issues like insurance warranties, intellectual property, and risk allocation in construction.
We’re not suggesting traditional construction isn’t risky.We know from government data that almost 10% of their spending on construction is allocated to risk.
This hasn’t changed despite many years of operating in this way.
However, it’s a risk that is, to some extent, understood.Still, the reality is that the construction industry has been in a state of poor productivity and other difficulties for decades, so why is it that we finally appear to be standing on the cusp of an industrialised construction transformation?.
We’re ready now, Marks says, and we don’t really have a choice.. “Technology has changed, the environment has changed, the workforce has changed, the designs are more complex.There’s a lot of things closing in on the space that's creating a lot of dissatisfaction, and the people who have the money are the most dissatisfied - the big end-users, the big governments…”.
Around the world, she says, business restarts want three things: digitisation, industrialised construction, and sustainability (mostly in the form of understanding carbon).Ultimately, these things are all related to the issue of productisation in construction.. Construction waste makes up 40% of our landfills, Marks says, adding that this happens because we’re changing things and cutting them after the fact.. A switch to industrialised construction, with an industry deploying manufacturing processes, would be highly beneficial to the issue of sustainability in construction.. Marks also invites us to consider the ancillary benefits of creating a factory: a workforce composed of diverse ages and populations, economic sustainability for that factory around the world, social sustainability, industry sustainability (because the construction workforce is an aging population) and, of course, environmental sustainability.. She highlights the level of current dissatisfaction and the focus on our planet - our dwindling supply of resources: people, things, and materials.. “We can’t all live on this planet unless we get better at this,” Marks says.
(Editor: Space-Saving Earbuds)