One important fact that’s often overlooked by industry professionals is that on a modular project, the role of the builder or general contractor is much different than on a conventional build. On a modular project, the builder has to be a Super Project Manager/Coordinator.
Or, to put it another way, a Logistician. A Logistician is a professional who manages and optimizes the entire process of moving goods and resources within a supply chain, from origin to consumption, thus ensuring an efficient and cost-effective flow of products. The job includes coordinating various aspects of the process from purchasing, to inventory management, to transportation.
Some will object that the above also describes what a site builder does. The key difference lies in the areas of emphasis, and in the risks that need to be managed.
For instance, modular builders need to become experts in the movement of oversized loads. Rather than managing boom trucks to set trusses, they may have to manage and coordinate crawler cranes or all-terrain cranes to set modules. They also aren’t managing framing crews, but instead are coordinating set crews on set days. Everything must come together at the project location with three high-value participants —transport company, crane and set crew — at the exact same time.
Now enter the big variable — weather. The only time that weather really impacts modular construction is on set day(s), when modules will be open and exposed during that brief period. But such exposure means that rain or snow can bring work to a halt.
Now, what happens if the Offsite Builder/Logistician has to cancel a set because of weather? It’s not like site framing. If the framers on a conventional build can’t frame today, they can bump their next project back until it stops raining and they can finish up.
It’s not so simple with modular. If you miss your “slot” for the above three players by a day, you could miss it by a month. All of them will likely be booked somewhere else the next day, or week.
Why can’t everyone just push back their schedule a few days or a week? The answer is that the ripple effects across the modular ecosystem would be devastating. Every Offside Builder/Logistician on every subsequent project would have to reschedule all three players for their specific project. The stakes are higher than on a conventional build.
When done correctly, the wins offered by modular are huge, with projects often finishing in half the time, or less. On a big multifamily project with today’s interest rates, reducing an 18-month project to eight months will have a tremendous impact on the project pro formas, with a reduced cost of funds and an increase in operating revenue.
To achieve those results, however, the modular builder must mitigate the following: scheduling and sequencing risks, transportation and crane logistics risks, contractual and coordination risks, and inspection and approval risks. While these can all be managed and handled, they are completely different from what the typical site builder is used to doing.
The modular builder who wants a successful business needs to shift the mindset from “building with tools” to “building with timelines, contracts and coordination.” To prepare for the realities of this type of work, the modular builder needs structured, practical and experience-driven learning.
With the modular construction industry rapidly expanding, the most effective way to succeed is by aligning with experienced teams who live and breathe this process daily. Mastery comes not from manuals, but from doing and from learning alongside those who’ve done it before.
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