{"id":63744,"date":"2019-09-24T12:12:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T11:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=63744"},"modified":"2019-10-01T07:54:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T06:54:00","slug":"offsite-manufacture-behavioural-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/mmc-news\/offsite-manufacture-behavioural-science\/63744\/","title":{"rendered":"Offsite manufacture and behavioural science"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the built environment<\/a>, uptake of offsite solutions has been intermittent. This is despite over 1,300 academic papers citing the benefits of modern methods of construction (MMC) and five central government departments now adopting a presumption in favour of offsite manufacture (OSM)<\/h2>\n

Here, Jamie Hillier preconstruction director at Kier, examines why and discusses the second part of Kier\u2019s new publication<\/a>; The Choice Factory.<\/p>\n

The Chartered Institute of Building<\/a> (CIOB), amongst many peers and a breadth of academic research, has identified the effectiveness of OSM<\/a> in terms of function, quality, time, cost, safety and productive use of labour and other resources. Despite these clear benefits, adoption of offsite has been varied at best. Barriers that have been widely reviewed include a lack of industry self-awareness, skills and knowledge gaps.<\/p>\n

It is our view, however, and the view of many others in the industry, that habit and embedded behaviours present the greatest opportunity for change. Last year, Kier and other industry leaders fed into a House of Lords Select Committee<\/a> inquiry into OSM. Within our evidence submitted to the enquiry, we advocated a review of psychological, behavioural and cultural factors to achieve sustainable change in the adoption and delivery of offsite.<\/p>\n

Within her evidence <\/a>submitted to the enquiry, Dr Sarah Williamson, technical director at Laing O\u2019Rourke, stated: \u201cThe barriers are more about perception\u2026 People have in their minds the prefabrication of the 1960s and 1970s post the Second World War, which is not at all like the componentised offering of off-site construction that we see today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behavioural change within the construction industry<\/h3>\n

Behavioural change programmes have been successfully applied by organisations within the construction industry for over a decade to achieve improvements in health and safety. However, the industry\u2019s focus around the adoption of OSM has been dedicated, almost exclusively, towards the challenges of technology and economics.<\/p>\n

Business strategies are typically designed around the presumption that people act logically. Conversely, behavioural science demonstrates that people are in fact predictably irrational, with their actions influenced by what is convenient or socially acceptable rather than a logical assessment of the technical attributes or benefits of a particular approach. Volume 2 of our new publication<\/a> The Choice Factory, explores these predispositions further and suggests how the industry can implement a series of small practical steps in order to create a big impact.<\/p>\n

So how do we address the irrationality of human behaviour?<\/h3>\n
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Cue Habit Reward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Choice Factory promotes adopting offsite manufacture both within an organisation and across the wider industry. Reinforced by a reward structure, The Choice Factory has refined its approach to six key levers that can be pulled to instigate change:<\/p>\n

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  1. Make it easy<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n