If you are interested in getting involved in one of the following initiatives or another research and development project, contact offsiteconstruction@unb.ca.
Arctic Modular Homes, a leader in prefabricated modular construction tailored for Arctic environments, has collaborated with the University of New Brunswick Off-site Construction Research Centre (UNB OCRC) to establish an efficient manufacturing workflow.
This collaboration aims to address the unique challenges posed by extreme weather conditions and remote locations, ensuring that their modular homes meet the stringent demands of Arctic climates.
The primary objectives of this project were to design an optimized factory layout, develop streamlined production processes, manage complex logistics for transporting modules to remote sites, and implement effective management systems.
Key activities included developing a comprehensive Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for modular homes, designing a factory layout based on the WBS, and creating a detailed Gantt chart to outline the total manufacturing time for each unit.
Ironwood Manufactured Homes, a company specializing in modular home construction, is at the planning and development stage of a significant milestone with the construction of their new manufacturing facility.
This facility represents a strategic investment aimed at scaling up production and meeting growing market demands for modular homes and structures. Ironwood's vision encompasses not just increased capacity but also a streamlined and efficient manufacturing process that optimizes every aspect of production.
The construction industry is shifting towards more efficient energy storage system construction methods.
This research, in collaboration with Malta Inc. and the University of New Brunswick's Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC), aimed to enhance off-site construction methods for energy storage systems using a site simulation methodology and the "Plant Configurator" planning platform.
Nova Valley Construction is a Halifax-based construction company specializing in innovative housing solutions that push the boundaries of traditional building methods.
They are committed to exploring modern construction techniques that enhance efficiency, reduce on-site labor and support sustainable building practices.
Their focus on leveraging prefabrication and modular construction methods aligns with their vision of delivering high-quality, cost-effective homes while minimizing environmental impact.
Nova Valley Construction is undertaking an innovative project to develop homes from repurposed shipping containers (sea cans). The project seeks to address key challenges in housing construction by designing efficient workflows, repeatable connection systems, and optimized assembly processes.
Utilizing four 20-foot containers, the homes will feature prefabricated interior walls and floors to reduce on-site labor and enhance constructability. This project represents the first step in a larger vision of integrating sea can construction into their portfolio, pioneering a scalable and efficient approach to modular housing in Atlantic Canada.
The UNB Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) has collaborated with SustainaBuild, a division of Roberts Group, to design the layout of a new panelized factory in an airplane hangar located in Slemon Park, Summerside, PEI.
The hangar measures approximately 182 by 146 feet. The primary objectives of this project include identifying an optimal floor layout for panelized construction, recommending equipment purchases, and outlining the steps necessary to bring the facility online.
Cross Roads Cycle Sales, based in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, has expanded into modular home production from its recreational equipment and prefabricated shed business.
The company targets bulk buyers and aims to enhance its manufacturing layout for efficiency and productivity. Their manufacturing space was originally organized and optimized to produce their prefabricated sheds.
With the growing demand for their modular houses, they have had to re-configure the space and have been trying different layouts to determine what will work best for their plant. The goal of this project was to develop an optimized layout for Cross Roads Cycle Sales to produce prefabricated sheds and modular homes in an efficient and productive way.
Dynamic Truck Bodies, recognizing the imperative to modernize its truck wall sub-assembly process, collaborated with the University of New Brunswick's (UNB) OCRC research team. This project aimed to improve the existing manual labor-intensive process, optimizing efficiency, reducing production time, and contributing to the overall competitiveness of Dynamic Truck Bodies.
The Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) planned activities to evaluate the truck wall sub-assembly process. Activities included on-site observations, video captioning, cycle time analysis, and process simulation. The desired outcome was a well-defined, optimized process that improved efficiency and maintained or enhanced product quality.
The Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) recently concluded a collaborative project with Malta Inc. to study and optimize their Pumped Heat Energy Store (PHES) system designs.
The project highlighted the need for a digitized planning platform for construction sequencing and site layout planning. The next phase aims to refine construction processes for compact heat exchanger trains integrated into the PHES system and develop the Plant Configurator platform.
Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Malta Inc. is the leader in energy go-to-market strategies and has robust engineering talent in industrial-scale power generation systems. The Malta concept is built upon principles in thermodynamics for a system that stores energy as heat and as cold.
Malta Inc. has identified opportunities in the off-site construction space to modularize portions of its energy storage solutions. The first Malta Inc. PHES system design had large commercial off-the-shelf heat exchangers (HX) that required substantial on-site work.
The subsequent Malta PHES system design uses much more compact HXs that are currently being jointly developed with Alfa Laval. It is envisioned that each HX train could be pre-assembled in a factory setting and then shipped to the site, ready to be installed.
The organization has engaged the UNB OCRC to investigate, assess and simulate the opportunities of transitioning portions of the process to an off-site solution. This will help to further develop the potential of shortening Malta Inc.’s implementation timeline and increase market opportunities for the organization.
Alantra Leasing (Alantra) is based out of Sussex, New Brunswick. Alantra has distribution and maintenance centres in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Ontario. The company was established in 1981, producing mobile trailers and modular buildings. Alantra has a diverse range of products, fulfilling industrial, commercial, and residential needs.
Alantra became connected with the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) with the initial goal of identifying and mitigating bottlenecks within the production process. This goal has since expanded to include more high-level process improvement initiatives, and the development of a design for a facility expansion and an analysis of how units will flow through this new design.
The project is on-going, but thus far has involved time studies, process map development and investigation into possible future layouts and the incorporation of automation.
Iron Maple Constructors (Iron Maple) is a general contractor that was founded by four leaders in the construction industry who have over 100 years of combined experience. They have offices in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and operate with a mandate and objective to keep construction simple for their clients.
In September 2020, Iron Maple began on-site works for the construction of a new hotel in Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick. The project was of interest to the OCRC due to the fact that the first floor of the hotel was designed to be constructed on-site, while the second, third and fourth floors of the hotel utilized off-site manufactured room modules from Sussex, New Brunswick.
These room modules were to be transported and assembled at the project location. This construction project served as a case study analysis for modular hotel construction. The finalized scope of work undertaken for this project included i) reviewing the project design and construction documentation, ii) creation of a digital representation of the design (3D model) and construction processes (4D model), iii) capturing and documenting module related construction activities on-site through video and stills and iv) completing an analysis of module related construction activities.
Ocean Steel & Construction Ltd (OSCO) is the leading steel fabrication company in Atlantic Canada. OSCO fabricates and erects structural steel for all industrial, commercial educational, institutional and residential construction sectors. Projects up to 18,000 tons in size have been successfully completed. The company also fabricates and erects highway and railway bridges on land or over water in accordance with rigid standards used by various highway and railway administrations. The company has two plants in New Brunswick, one in Saint John and one in Fredericton.
In a collaboration between the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) and OSCO, a project was initiated at the Saint John plant to identify inefficiencies in the steel fabrication process and recommend work improvements by using dynamic value stream mapping (DVSM).
The project objectives include integrating a productivity data collection system (PDCS) using scanners and barcodes, developing new productivity and work amount measures via regression analysis, simulating fabrication processes via dynamic discrete models and concluding with lean-based recommendations, according to the DVSM.
A Novel Productivity Measure for Steel Fabrication Fitting Process
Data-driven cycle time prediction of fitting and welding stations in steel fabrication
Simulation-based value stream map for manual steel fabrication workstations
Technology-oriented innovation in construction: A conceptual mapping framework
ASETS-CA Inc., headquartered in Fredericton, NB, is at the forefront of web-based design platforms, specifically targeting early-stage engineering in heavy industrial construction through its proprietary Integrated Design Suite (IDS).
The company envisions expanding its market share by exploring the adoption of IDS among Canadian engineering firms. ASETS-CA Inc. also contemplates enhancing its platform by incorporating a construction management module.
To achieve these objectives, the company has partnered with UNB OCRC, and Dr. Zhen Lei and his team spearheaded a detailed technology and market assessment of IDS.
Atlantic Roll Forming, a Moncton-based company, recently acquired a cutting-edge roll forming machine, signaling its entry into the prefabrication market for light-gauge steel (LGS) components.
In collaboration with the University of New Brunswick's Off-site Construction Research Centre (UNB OCRC), Atlantic Roll Forming embarked on a project to design a comprehensive workflow for LGS prefabrication. The project aimed to explore software options, evaluate their suitability, and establish an efficient workflow from design to production.
Modular construction faces challenges such as production bottlenecks and inefficiencies in translating design to manufacturing.
This project developed a tailored DfMA framework to address these challenges at Prestige Homes, focusing on bottleneck analysis and the enhancement of design processes using a hybrid of 2D CAD and 3D BIM technology.
The project aimed to generate 3D models of structures using only the scanned images of their floor plans. The novelty of this concept resided in the seamless fusion of a wide variety of Deep Learning, Computer Vision, and 3D Modelling techniques. The project was funded by New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, and Bird Construction graciously provided the industry expertise to our academic team led by Dr. Zhen Lei.
This research focused on mapping the use-cases of Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors in the domain of smart building management (SBM). The research aims to develop a structured framework for mapping the potential uses of IoT sensors in the context of academic smart building management in university campuses. It is in support of the Smart Campus Integration and Testing Lab collaboration (SCITLab) at Toronto Metropolitan University, with leadership at UNB by Hung Cao, Trevor Hanson and Monica Wachowicz (RMIT, UNB Adjunct).
Project background
The overarching goal was to create a macro mapping for all IoT devices used in a smart building and list their overall uses in the management of smart buildings. There is plenty of research others have created on the uses of IoT-based devices for smart buildings, but they solely focus on a singular use-case and there is not any standardization between these papers. Most of these papers list the classifications of these smart buildings in completely different ways, either in use/functionality or for devices accomplishing multiple uses.
Pluspuu Homes is a log home builder based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They own the home building process from design to on-site general contracting services to provide their customers with a white-glove customer-centric experience from initial consultation to project construction and completion. The mission of the organization is to offer a unique alternative building solution in the residential home construction industry, and disrupt through technology, innovation, process, design, and a vertically integrated business model.
Project background
Pluspuu Homes, as it exists today, leverages the expertise of external individuals and companies to meet the needs of the project delivery workflow. The design phase through to the manufacturing phase is completed by third-party companies, with limited use of advanced digital technologies and automated equipment to streamline the process.
Prestige Homes is a modular home manufacturer located in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. They produce custom modular homes within the Atlantic Canadian region, with some projects located in Eastern USA.
Project Background
Prestige Homes partnered with the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) to complete a two-phase project.
Hinton Scaffold Solutions is an organization that provides scaffold erection, dismantling and consulting service with a background deriving from Canada's largest major projects.
Project background
The overarching goal of this project was to streamline data collection within the organization and form a big data set between all their clients. This was achieved through the development of a digital platform for Hinton Scaffold Solutions to improve data collection, analytics, reporting and general management of their scaffold solution projects. The platform includes prototype developments such as a scaffolding management system application, a dashboard, a progress report single page application, Xalt tenant and a mobile restful react-node-express application.
MacGregors Industrial Group (MacGregors) is a business serving several industrial and construction markets throughout North America. The modular building division at MacGregors, which uses a design-build project delivery method, meets market demand for customizable solutions for clients with varying degrees of prefabrication and system integration.
Project background
MacGregors approached the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) with an interest in collaborating on a research project focused on cost estimating and work improvement for their prefabrication projects. The OCRC prepared a report as a review of the preliminary work done with MacGregors on improving the modular divisions workflow and implementing new software into their cost estimating procedure.
PCL Industrial Management (PCL) is one of the leading construction companies that have implemented off-site construction methodology to improve the productivity and efficiency of their projects. These improvements include shorter project timelines, reduced costs, and improved workplace safety. Over the past decade, PCL has developed an integrated system to cope with the challenges of heavy mobile crane planning in industrial constructions, such as selecting the location of the cranes, path planning for mobile cranes, and sequence of lifting the modules that are part of the off-site construction method.
Project background
An application was developed in collaboration between the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) and PCL to automate the crane election process. This application includes two different methods, heuristic and artificial neural network. Both methods can work individually for crane selection, and the heuristic method can be used to generate training dataset for the neural network model.
Nunafab Corp. is a prefabricated home manufacturing company based in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. They specialize in structural components made of Ultra-High-Performance-Concrete (UHPC) that are high in strength and durability.
The high-performance of their concrete allows for an overall reduction in the size of their fabricated components without sacrificing the integrity of their structures. This reduction in size results in lower transportation costs that would typically be associated to the high construction costs of housing in the region.
Their mission is to make housing more affordable through precast construction methods. The goal of this project was for the OCRC to support Nunafab Corp. in the testing and development of an ultra-high-performance cladding technology.
Nunafab Corp. is a prefabricated home manufacturing company based in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. They specialize in structural components made of Ultra-High-Performance-Concrete (UHPC) that are high in strength and durability.
The high-performance of their concrete allows for an overall reduction in the size of their fabricated components without sacrificing the integrity of their structures. This reduction in size results in lower transportation costs that would typically be associated to the high construction costs of housing in the region.
Their mission is to make housing more affordable through precast construction methods. The goal of this project was for the OCRC to support Nunafab Corp. in the testing and development of an ultra-high-performance cladding technology.
AXE Buildings is a prefabricator of timber home components based out of St. Catharines, Ontario. They specialize in the design and construction of panelized structures for single and multi-family residential use. Their unique panel designs allow for flexible floor plan layouts and their manufacturing process facilitates the construction of homes by installing 90 percent of services in the factory.
The timber housing industry in Canada has been highly favoured due to the convenience that comes with obtaining its materials and the simplicity of light wood frame construction. In recent years, a number of higher-rise structures have gained in popularity in hopes to address housing shortages in major cities. With the increase of higher-rise structures, the need for new technology in the timber construction industry has become apparent.
Partnered with AXE Buildings, a panelized wood home builder in Ontario, a desktop review has been done to address some of the limitations surrounding the allowance for them to build to storeys greater than their current two-storey height limit.
An assessment of the company’s current structural design and an in-depth review of literature on mid to high-rise timber buildings were reported. A comparative analysis was done to identify areas of improvement for the company’s current design and construction processes, and recommendations for next steps were provided.
PLAEX Building Systems Inc., a company based in New Brunswick, is working towards producing plug-and-play concrete-like building blocks using recycled aggregate and recycled plastic as the binder. UNB Off-site Construction Research Centre partnered with PLAEX in assessing the mechanical properties and durability of their products.
Normal density concrete is made of aggregates, sand, Portland cement, water and additives which usually results in 20-30 MPa compressive strength. PLAEX products consist of very fine recycled aggregates (sand) and recycled plastic, typically polyethylene, as the binder.
Mechanical tests were conducted to measure and assess the difference in stress-strain behaviour when subjected to tension vs. compression, the modulus of elasticity (E), and the compressive and tensile strengths. To assess the effects of temperature, compressive strength tests were also conducted on samples subjected to varying temperature from +40 to -20 *C.
Project background
Strescon Limited, is a precast concrete product manufacturer in Eastern Canada. One of their products, Hollow core planks (HCP), is extensively used as floor members. A common HCP is 8” deep and 4’ long in cross section with 5 hollow cores. The main purpose of HCP is to have high flexural resistance to carry floor loads while being lightweight. However, in total precast concrete construction, the floor slabs have to be able to carry and transfer their share of axial load from all of the above floors to the load- bearing walls below. The load bearing capacity of the HCP is of concern due to their reduced cross-sectional area. This experimental study was conducted to assess the bearing capacity of unfilled and core-filled planks, and to determine whether additional core filling is required or not.
Ecoplast Solutions produces structural insulated wall panels. The foam core of the wall panels is made of high-quality polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is 100% sourced from recycled plastic bottles and bonded with specialized laminates. This high- performance building product is used for residential and light commercial construction, prefabricated houses, grain dryers, and garage packages. The packages include pre-cut panelized walls, floor, and roof sections that are delivered to the site in pre-built sections and can be installed in a matter of a few days.
Project background
As a modular housing company, Ecoplast was asked by its clients if their production met the CSA-A277 "Procedure for certification of prefabricated buildings, modules, and panels" standard. Therefore, the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC) reviewed the requirements for A277 certification, contacted certification bodies for more in-depth information about the certification process and prices. In addition to A277, other certification options that focused more on the product rather than the fabrication were explored. The goal of this research was to help Ecoplast decide whether A277 certification was within the scope and scale of their work and financially reasonable. If it was not achievable at the moment, the research would help them take steps towards meeting the requirements as their company grows.
Project background
The METALOQ modular steel structure system employs a light gauge, cold formed steel joist system connected through a proprietary shear tab to a channel section rim-joist. This connection may be subjected to a variety of force demands during shipping, craning, and service live of the module. This project intended to initiate a larger testing and analysis program of the METALOQ system by testing the joist to rim-joist connection under tension loads to failure. In doing so, the tests identified failure modes and identified any potential improvements that may be incorporated in the design.
Nunafab is a corporation based out of Nunavut that provides 3D, precast concrete modules and element fabrication for residential applications.
Project background
The objective of this study was to determine the optimum type of concrete to produce prefabricated volumetric modules for affordable housing in Nunavut and across the Arctic. Specifically, the review is focused on the performance of concrete in very cold climates (down to -65°C) and the application of concrete technology to reduce the weight of the modules (by increasing the strength- to-weight ratio of the concrete) to aid in transportation and construction. Two specific technologies were examined: the use of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC).
The CIB Global Report "Revisiting Offsite: A New Capability- Driven Research Roadmap for Offsite Design, Manufacturing, and Construction" was developed in response to the significant evolution of the offsite manufacturing (OSM) sector over the past decade.
The previous CIB roadmap, published in 2013, was deemed in need of a substantial update to reflect current and future market dynamics. The new roadmap aims to guide the industry through a capability-driven approach, focusing on People, Process, and Technology within Design, Manufacturing, and Construction.
In a bid to decarbonize the construction sector at scale, the University of New Brunswick's Off-site Construction Research Centre, in collaboration with the National Research Council (NRC) Construction Research Centre, recently completed an extensive environmental scan to identify and analyze current research activities within Canadian academic institutions.
This initiative is a crucial component of the National Research Council’s (NRC) platform, serving a dual purpose: enhancing construction digitization and productivity, and fostering a collaborative environment among academic researchers and industry leaders. The scan, carried out through national workshops and surveys, reveals significant insights into the state of construction research and proposes pathways for future innovation.
By transitioning construction activities to a controlled environment with reduced variability in working conditions, it may seem obvious that off-site construction could provide safer work environments and would result in fewer safety incidents. While this is something we may know intuitively, the topic of safety within off-site construction and the opportunities it can provide with respect to safety performance in the execution of construction activities is lacking research and quantifiable data to support these claims.
To determine whether off-site construction can be considered a safer alternative to conventional methods, the research developed a safety evaluation methodology to quantify safety performance and allow for comparisons of construction methods. The methodology is developed in partnership with a jurisdictional health and safety authority, WorkSafe New Brunswick, and leverages historical safety data to provide input into a risk-based activity-level approach for the process analysis of defined construction methods.
The evaluation method was partially validated in collaboration with a local construction project team and applied to a case study of a mid-rise modular hotel construction project that employed a mix of conventional and off-site construction methods to construct the hotel room units. The evaluation methodology took a construction product-focused approach, in this case, a hotel room module, with emphasis on defining a complete material supply chain to capture all potential risks. The intended use of the model is the industry, to better support decision making in the design and planning phases of the construction project.
