{"id":594394,"date":"2023-01-05T11:49:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T17:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/05\/how-mmc-is-suited-in-law-to-the-construction-of-higher-risk-buildings\/"},"modified":"2023-01-05T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T17:49:13","slug":"how-mmc-is-suited-in-law-to-the-construction-of-higher-risk-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/05\/how-mmc-is-suited-in-law-to-the-construction-of-higher-risk-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"How MMC is suited in law to the construction of higher-risk buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jamie Olsen Ferreira is a knowledge lawyer and Stacey Cassidy is a construction partner at law firm TLT<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The use of \u201cModern Methods of Construction\u201d (MMC), or modular construction, has been encouraged by the UK government in recent years. Homes England\u2019s five-year Affordable Homes Programme made \u00a37.3bn available to developers in April 2021 with the government stating that it expected its strategic partners to adopt at least 25 per cent MMC on schemes. In January 2021, the government also published the Construction Playbook, which set out its procurement strategy, including an encouragement of MMC.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhile fixing the design at the pre-construction phase does have efficiency advantages, there are also associated risks\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In September 2022, when the playbook was updated, a separate MMC Guidance Note was published that set out considerations for assessing the use of MMC solutions and guidance on the different contracting models required. Comparing MMC with \u201ctraditional\u201d methods of contracting, the guidance note commented that while traditional \u201cdesign continues to evolve at relatively late stages of the project, including after construction has commenced [\u2026], MMC and platform approaches require product-led thinking, an increased fixity of design and earlier decision-making associated with manufactured elements\u201d. The point about earlier decision-making with MMC aligns with the playbook\u2019s emphasis on two-stage tendering\/early supply chain involvement \u2013 on the basis that the more work done in planning and pre-construction, the more smoothly the construction phase is delivered.<\/span><\/p>\n

In November 2022, a private sector construction playbook was also published by the Construction Productivity Taskforce, endorsed by the Construction Industry Council and the British Property Federation. This mirrored many of the principles in the government\u2019s playbook. It said that the adoption of MMC should be coupled with an approach to design that allows for greater standardisation \u2013 namely design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) \u2013 and considers materials and process efficiencies at an early stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Building Safety Act 2022<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Building Safety Act (BSA) received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The Act introduced significant reforms to the law and regulation of building safety, including extended limitation periods for bringing claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 where homes are not fit for habitation; strict competency requirements placed on consultants and professionals working on projects; and the establishment of a Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within the Health and Safety Executive to implement a stricter regulatory regime for higher-risk buildings (HRBs), and to oversee the safety and performance of all buildings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much of the specific detail on the BSA 2022, and in particular on the HRB regime, which will be overseen by the BSR, has at time of writing yet to be published \u2013 the details will be set out in a series of secondary legislation which is expected to be enacted at some point between April and October 2023. However, Parts 3 and 4 of the Building Safety Act set out a general framework of how the higher-risk residential building regime will operate, including a gateways system as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n