Modern-day industrial operations face more obstacles than ever.
It isn’t enough to simply move production forward. Instead, it’s about optimizing facilities to achieve maximum output with the support of skilled teams managing multiple tasks simultaneously. In addition to these ever-increasing challenges, leadership finds itself navigating a delicate balance between maintaining project budgets and adhering to critical timelines.
Modular construction has become a true cornerstone in this "work smarter and harder" industrial world, lending versatility to jobsites while protecting people, processes and critical equipment. Let’s examine the impacts this evolving approach has on today’s working environment.
Versatility serves unique operational needs
Safety, savings and simplicity: Modular buildings for industry
Volumetric modular buildings arrive at their destination about 90% complete and can be easily relocated after the initial projects are finished.
Advanced engineering approaches, largely due to imaginative customer requests, have greatly increased the utilization of modular construction in the industrial sector. Applications range from blast and ballistic resistance to protection against catastrophic weather and hazardous environments — to secure housing for critical systems and equipment. Modular construction’s fully customizable nature lends itself to accommodating almost any amenity or functionality, from kitchens, washrooms, emergency management centers and IT rooms to blast containment areas, sensitive compartmented information facilities, equipment enclosures, data centers, battery energy storage system enclosures and chemical storage.
The sheer mobility of modular construction is another key advantage for job sites. Unlike traditional stick-built construction, modular units can be relocated to new areas quickly and cost-effectively to accommodate site or process changes, staffing needs or convenience. Such flexibility ensures operational efficiency without loss of capital investment.
Accelerating industrial projects with modular construction
Safety, savings and simplicity: Modular buildings for industry
A custom modular, remote instrument enclosure housed in Iraq provides tailored protection for an O&G engineering firm’s critical equipment and systems.
In the industrial world, time is money, and modular construction delivers savings on both. Studies have shown these structures come together in about half the time of traditional builds, and at about half the cost. Because modules are constructed in the factory concurrent to the civil work being performed at the site, project timelines are compressed for both construction and installation. Buildings are approximately 90% complete by the time they reach their destination. This efficiency translates to smaller installation crews required onsite, thus reducing the time spent vetting and managing workers while also lowering impacts on the surrounding environment.
For operations that don’t require extensive customization, prefabricated modular buildings provide even greater time savings. Ready-made units are often available for purchase or lease and are ready to deploy for temporary projects or those with tight deadlines. These combined advantages keep projects on track, ensuring they meet both time and budget goals.
Modular construction raises the bar for industrial site safety
Safety, savings and simplicity: Modular buildings for industry
Modular construction, such as for this offshore local equipment room, requires about half the time — and about half the budget — when compared to traditional building methods.
One of the key advantages of modular construction is its safety benefits. Because the work takes place in a more predictable and controlled environment than site construction, there is much less risk of accidents or injuries during the process. One example of this would be a project that will eventually be a multi-story building. During the under-roof construction process, all modules are constructed at ground level, thus alleviating one of the greatest risks, and most common injuries at construction sites — falls from heights.
The construction industry experiences three times as many workplace fatalities as the manufacturing industry.
Stringent standards and extensive independent testing
In addition to stringent internal QA/QC programs and adherence to International Building Codes, modular building manufacturers must be certified by the modular program or industrialized building program in each state in which they seek to do business. The programs require a manufacturer to adhere to a very strict set of standards. As part of this certification, and to eventually obtain the certification of conformance decal, the project is observed, evaluated and inspected at various points during the construction process. For states that do not have such a program, the local authority having jurisdiction will designate a third-party inspection agency to perform reviews and inspections similar to the typical state modular program.
Safety considerations extend to the finished product, with options to include features such as blast, ballistic, seismic and wind ratings, as well as protection from fire and toxic in-leakage. These features allow workers to operate safely in environments where traditional structures would not be permitted. Moreover, the air quality for occupants is improved because the potential for high levels of moisture to be trapped in the finished product is eliminated by underroof construction.
A recent leak test conducted by Hightower Labs, an independent building envelope QA/QC company, evaluated the pressurization and depressurization capabilities of a Hunter fully welded modular building. Findings showed the structure, with its 6,496 square feet of floor space, experienced no toxic infiltration and achieved a combined result of 0.01 unit air changes per hour with 5.5 pascals — exceeding industry standards.
Advancing green standards with custom modular builds
Safety, savings and simplicity: Modular buildings for industry
Constructed in controlled environments, custom modular buildings provide heightened attention to QA/QC considerations while minimizing risks associated with traditional build sites.
For industrial companies interested in attaining green standard goals, or simply taking an eco-friendlier approach to operations, modular construction can bring those ideals within reach. The modular construction process utilizes about 17% less material than traditional construction requires and can reduce waste by up to 75%. Additionally, GHG emissions are approximately 30% lower in the modular construction process, and emissions from tasks such as painting are more readily captured. The benefits extend beyond the construction phase: Completed modular buildings feature high-quality insulation and energy-efficient designs, minimizing energy consumption and reducing the total cost of ownership.
No longer an up-and-coming trend in the industrial world, custom modular construction is setting the standard. This approach offers long-term benefits across the board in terms of safety, cost and efficiency. With new options entering the market all the time, modular construction is ushering industrial work into a new era.
For more information, visit hunterbuildings.com or call (281) 452-9800.
