When I hear the term “time is money,” I’m reminded that saving time is equal to saving money. It is an English-language phrase that glorifies the importance of time. It also reminds us of the truth that once even a minute of time is lost, it can never be regained.
“Time is money” rings especially true in the modular construction industry, but in a good way. Modular can save time in several ways and when those ways are added together, they bring builders’ and developers’ projects to fruition more quickly and, ideally, with more profit.
Traditional construction projects follow a linear process in which each task follows the completion of another task. In contrast, modular construction allows for site work (foundation, utilities, etc.) to be completed simultaneously with the fabrication of modules in a factory. This parallel approach can significantly reduce the overall schedule, yielding a potentially huge time savings.
How does this save money? In several ways. And, while this magazine has talked about all of them at one point or another, they bear repeating.
- The production of modules in a factory means that construction can continue in a controlled environment regardless of weather conditions. This helps to reduce, or eliminate, the weather-related delays that are common in traditional construction.
- The controlled factory environment means the builder or developer has access to a consistent and specialized workforce.
- Workers don’t have to travel from site to site, which, with conventional builders, often leads to schedule delays and less experienced crews.
- The factory’s ability to produce standardized components or modules make efficiencies in design, production and assembly possible, which, of course, reduce construction costs.
- The controlled environment of a factory allows for better quality control and less rework, which, in turn, can lead to time savings.
- As most of the construction work is done offsite, there is less site disruption, which means less time spent on site preparation and clean up.
These factors combine to reduce the overall construction schedule, which means developers can realize cost savings that include reduced interest on construction loans. And of course, the reduced schedule means they can begin generating revenue from the property sooner.
Single-family homebuilders can be working on multiple new homes simultaneously as most of the design work, production and finish work is done by the modular factory. This equates to more houses for the builder and a better bottom line.
There’s another important, but often overlooked, benefit that “time is money” offers to builders and developers when using modular construction. It means they have more time to devote to other priorities, such as their families.
