The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
FINAL CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY-25 JOIN MORE THAN 550 ALREADY ATTENDING
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY 550+ ALREADY ATTENDING
REGISTER NOWDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
print
Print
OtherStaff WriterThu 01 Jun 17

Manufacturing Has Some Lessons To Teach Construction Sector

f

The search is on for more efficient, better-value building methods, and eyes have cast for an answer that may reach further than the construction industry.

Australian contractor Woollam Constructions, for example, has turned to the manufacturing sector for inspiration.

Woollam Aged Care Development Manager Danny Hammon is a part of a team on the hunt for greater efficiency across the company's projects, under the belief that construction, as a sector, is a long way behind other industries.

“Inefficiency comes in many forms – wasted materials, wasted time, unnecessary costs — and all of it can be addressed with better processes," he said.

“The best manufacturers have their processes honed with laser precision – it’s a level of rigour that we have started bringing to all our recent projects.

“For example, instead of building dozens and dozens of identical bathrooms onsite, we have started mass producing them as modules and then installing when they are complete.

“We’ve found that this alone can save up to seven weeks off the program for a large build," he said.

Mr Hammon said as a result of thinking outside the box, Woollam has been championing a new concept contracting arrangement — early contractor involvement (ECI).

“With a traditional hard-dollar contract the client engages architects, designers, quantity surveyors and other consultants to define their project,” he said.

“Once all that work is complete it’s handed over to a contractor to build it.

“The problem with this approach is that inefficiencies are frequently unintentionally designed and it can be difficult to correct them once construction has begun," he said.

Under an ECI contract, Mr Hammon said a constructor works collaboratively with the designers from the beginning, allowing for issues to be identified at the design stage, saving money and time.

Mr Hammon said that more and more clients were embracing the ECI model.

“All the experts are working together as a team bringing their skills and experience together collaboratively to come up with the best possible outcome.

“It’s always cheaper to fix a problem when it’s just lines on a piece of paper, but ECI also provides amazing scope to identify opportunities."

OtherAustraliaConstructionConstructionOther
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
"TheUrbanDeveloper.com is committed to delivering the latest news, reviews, opinions and insights into the best of urban development from Australia and around the world. "
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Exclusive

Inside the $10m Heritage Refit of Sydney’s $25,000-a-Year Members’ Club

Taryn Paris
4 Min
Kurraba Point 93 Kurraba Road TUD PLUS
Residential

Council Over Court: How HFO Won Rare North Sydney Approval

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Why Sentinel is Betting Big on Olympic City Office Sector

Phil Bartsch
5 Min
The Port of Brisbane has released its Vision 2060 which details the need for inland rail connectivity
Infrastructure

Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

Renee McKeown
5 Min
View All >
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
Development

Zen Group’s West End Towers Greenlit

Taryn Paris
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
Warren and Mahoney’s Western Bulldogs Women’s Health and Leadership Hub proves that even modest budgets can yield consid…
LATEST
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
5 Min
Development

Zen Group’s West End Towers Greenlit

Taryn Paris
2 Min
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Goldfields Kyneton Central Edgecombe Road precinct rendering
Development

Goldfields Forges Ahead on $150m Kyneton Central Hub

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/manufacturing-lessons-teach-construction-sector