Ultimately, the construction industry needs to find a balance between prescription and innovation.
Fan and pipe modules are fabricated off-site, designed for simple connection on site.. We pre-cast a pattern of fixing points into the soffit, so that there would be no drilling into the soffit onsite – avoiding working at height, dirt, noise and the risk of drilling into the steel rebar within the concrete.The pattern of the fixing points caters to full range of M&E service elements, according to size and purpose: some are attached to unistrut, some are on frames or drop rods, and some are fixed directly to the soffit.
But in order to keep fixings and supports to a minimum, fixing requirements for all M&E services are considered in coordination and designed to be shared between modules / equipment.They are also pre-attached offsite wherever possible, ready to fix to the pre-cast points.. Pre-assembled pipe modules massively reduce the amount of working at height required.Pipework is assembled in its frame off-site.
The frame then serves as its support for transport purposes, and allows for stacking of multiple units.The small number of extra supports required during transportation to avoid damaging of services, are returned to the factory and re-used for subsequent deliveries..
The modules are installed to their pre-cast fixing points and the pipes joined together using crimped connections – a quick and simple process that requires no welding.
To make things simpler still, the exact number and size of couplings needed for each module are provided in a box taped to the side.. Further benefits to logistics and on-site processes with innovative M&E design.- MEP co-ordination.
Conclusions for the industry.Timber is a renewable material that has the potential to help decarbonise new buildings.
However, should the industry move towards using more timber construction, local supply may not be able to meet demand leading to a less sustainable product..The technical difficulties don’t eliminate the use of engineered timber but it’s clear there are many challenges that require more complex integration and technical knowledge than conventional construction systems..