Why we aren’t giving up on being MMC-first

Seven years ago, Magna took what many saw as a leap into the unknown, backing MMC at scale to assess its potential for the social housing sector. Several years of rigorous proof-of-concept testing later, we’ve seen the evidence of its impact first-hand. The results have proved to us that adopting an MMC-first approach is the best way to substantially reduce the ongoing unpredictable outcomes in traditional build.

Factories which are focused on quality and have a sound business model offer the optimum conditions to achieve the outcomes we seek. We have found that the resulting homes have significantly fewer defects and that, typically, any defects they do have are minor.

We’ve also noticed a trend among our customers: residents in our MMC homes consistently describe them as looking great, cosy, well-built and robust, and having a great finish. Building off-site in a factory setting enables us to ensure a high-quality build, delivering homes which are quicker to construct, more energy-efficient and cost-effective to maintain.

As well as having a lower carbon footprint in use than traditionally built properties, this approach also generates less waste both on site and in the factory, as well as reducing the amount of traffic and other disruption in and around development sites.

Of course, our MMC-first policy doesn’t mean we exclusively build homes in this way. We continue to have live schemes, whether through Section 106 agreements or land design-and-build deals, built with traditional methods. These traditional schemes can deliver excellent outcomes when the builder and supply chain successfully manage their way through the complexities of on-site delivery.

But such developments are noticeably less predictable, with issues often coming to light only after residents have moved in and the main or sub-contractor has gone into liquidation. Hence, as a frequent construction client, that latent sense of uncertainty always needs to be factored in as a costed risk.

With Magna such an early adopter of MMC, I was recently asked to contribute to research by Loughborough University into how best to learn from the industry’s past mistakes and make the most of the opportunities it offers. The resulting ‘Not Drowning, but Waving’ report references the need to ensure we have a workforce with the necessary skills to deliver MMC projects at scale.

“[Traditional] developments are noticeably less predictable, with issues often coming to light only after residents have moved in and the main or sub-contractor has gone into liquidation”

This is particularly pertinent in light of the UK construction industry’s critical shortage of skilled tradespeople, at a time when our sector’s decarbonisation and sustainability commitments are driving up demand for these skills. As we ratchet up investment into deep retrofit work across the country and tackle the challenges of increasingly ageing stock, where will the tradespeople come from?

Rather than competing for and driving up the cost of such scarce resources, it would seem logical to collectively agree to prioritise the use of factories, which can take advantage of automation and robotics for new buildings. That would enable our tradespeople, with their valuable human and technical capabilities, to work where they are most needed: in people’s homes.

Magna recently welcomed Homes England to visit one of our MMC developments in Portland, Dorset. Not only are we using a Dorset factory and local materials to manufacture these homes, we’ve forged a partnership with Weymouth College to invest in building the skills essential to delivering such schemes.

We’re continuing to build our MMC-first capability and are actively exploring the industry to develop our relationships. At the same time, we’re looking forward to customers moving into their new MMC homes.

Our MMC-first ethos has positioned us as a partner of choice to work with. While the market once needed to be coaxed into considering MMC, we’re now seeing land-led, MMC-ready design-and-build packages brought to us by the private sector.

The tide has turned. This is the golden moment to collectively move to an MMC-first approach to signal to the market that, as long-term landlords, we support the move away from inconsistent outcomes and embrace consistency at scale. Only then can we build the modern, resilient, future-focused supply chain our customers and businesses deserve.

Paul Read, director of sustainability and investment, Magna Housing