by David Chandler on 14.08.13, prefabAUS member.

The 2013 Modular Construction & Prefabrication Summit in Brisbane on the 23/24 July was an ideal occasion for Cameron Marsh of Force10 to outline the purpose and aspirations of prefabAUS.

Clearly the benefit of Summits such as these is that each of us can recalibrate or prior conceptions and place these in a new context. Juliet Jaing’s presentation on Broad Group’s T30 storey hotel project assembled in just 15 days attracted considerable interest.  It is clear that new off-site innovations will drive productivity on the project site in the future. The degree to which these innovations will be harnessed on-shore or off will depend on how Australia’s construction industry responds in the short term.

The rapid growth in modular and prefabrication in Australia over the last 10 years has been fuelled by Australia’s high labour and energy costs, and the remoteness of the resource locations where many of these installations have been needed. This relatively new sector for construction has now spawned many innovative new businesses that will now go on to accelerate Australian construction towards industrialised building innovation, increased productivity and value for money.

The diverse content and insights into modular construction & prefabrication by Summit speakers showed the inter-portability of experiences gained on major resource projects with the general construction industry. Most striking is the degree to which Australia’s construction and engineering business is now part of a highly competitive global market place

How prefabrication and modular will become a successful contributor to Australia’s built landscape will depend on its future design, quality and functional acceptance in the market. Cameron encouraged the Summit’s 75 attendees to join prefabAUS which aims to create a hub that showcases Australia’s modular and pre-fabrication industry and share member best practices.

The Summit was chaired by recent prefabAUS member by David Chandler OAM.  His detailed write up of the papers presented and the conversations amongst attendees can be seen on his website at;www.constructionedge.com.au