When Asante Health System needed a new administrative office at their Grants Pass, OR community hospital, they chose a modular building.

This was our first experience with modular office space and we solicited proposals from many potential vendors,” said Dennis Hayes, construction project manager for Asante Health System. Hayes said that their project objective was to compare both costs and timeline and then balance that against the overriding objective of creating a well-integrated campus addition.

The kinds of things Hayes and his company found to be most appealing included being able to have a high degree of control over the project, ending up with a quality building, and having minimal site disruption.
Many others are seeing modular construction as a viable option for their commercial buildings. According to the Modular Building Institute, modular manufacturers said they had an 11 percent increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2007, produced 9 percent more floors than last year, and were forecasting 7 percent growth in the next year.

There are many good reasons for going modular, like those above, but one that may not stand out revolves around construction waste. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a not-for-profit company that works to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills points out that plasterboard makes up 36 percent of construction waste, timber makes up 25 percent and packaging accounts for 5 percent. They say that up to a 90 percent reduction in construction waste can be achieved by “increasing the use of offsite manufacture and modern methods of construction.”

Some of the offsite initiatives they say work includes producing three-dimensional units in controlled factory conditions, prefabricated kitchens and baths, timber frame systems, light steel frame systems, structural insulated panels, pre-cast concrete systems and tunnel form construction. In the UKcontractors will most likely have to complete Site Waste Management Plans beginning in 2008. The plans will demonstrate the contractor’s commitment to minimizing waste right at the beginning of the project.

It does seem like whenever the drywallers show up you have to add dumpsters. I’ve always been amazed at how much waste is built into that process. What are some of you doing to reduce waste?

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