Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) combines two methodologies that bring Design for Manufacture and Design for Assembly together. This purpose is to focus creation on the ease of manufacturing and assembly efficiency. If the design of a product is simplified, it enables a faster manufacturing and assembly process, thus reducing the time and costs involved in building.
Why the need for collaborative thinking?
In recent years the UK Government have increased spending on the infrastructure within the UK, thus leaving the construction industry with the challenges of delivering major infrastructure for two-thirds of the cost, half the carbon emissions, becoming greener, and doing this in half the time. This, coupled with a growing skills shortage in the construction industry, is driving the need for construction companies to re-evaluate the way they work and concentrate on the process to drive greater efficiency.
DfMA designers such as the experts at The CAD Room, a professional BIM and DfMA outsourcing and external department partner, enable those involved in the design, planning, and construction sectors a cost-effective solution to access the services they need to deliver successful construction projects easing the pressures on successful infrastructure delivery.
MMC for a DfMA designer
Modern construction methods (MMC) encompass all the various construction methods available to the DfMA designer. The MMC toolkit enables the designer to use the most suitable innovation in the kit or develop additional ways to meet the challenges of their product. Digital technologies drive productivity improvements throughout the project lifecycle. The new digital age is a crucial component of the DfMA design process. It helps to capture knowledge about how a building should be constructed from the early stages.
The seven core areas in construction innovation classed as MMC
- Two-dimensional primary structural systems
- Three-dimensional primary structural systems
- Assemblies and sub-assemblies
- Material and product innovations
- Additive Manufacturing
- Site process innovations
- Non-system components
Each of the areas above encourages streamlining and cooperation. To simplify and make the process from architect design to contractor build achieve greater cohesion and awareness of the problems faced by each party. The process brings greater collaboration between all parties in the supply chain to ensure decisions are made to support better and more efficient project delivery.
A greater understanding by all parties to the project is critical. Using DfMa enables early planning and the opportunity to design and overcome many hurdles before they become an issue. For example, architects will become aware of construction limits and preferred construction methods. Plus, contractors will have more significant input into the materials, design choices, and processes that help avoid delays. This includes those caused by supply chain issues and hurdles commonly encountered in delivering projects on time and within budget. An early design change could prevent such problems and better understand the situations faced earlier in the building planning stages.
Understanding construction stages, plants, and processes used during construction and the implications of decisions on cost, time, and quality from the outset is the core of DfMA in practice. The supply chain is somewhat fragmented and specialised, which can present barriers to working with DfMA at heart, so it can be a good idea to enlist the specialist services of a DfMA designer and BIM expert to access the benefits of the significant innovations occurring in the industry.
Many suppliers are choosing to work together as a single entity as the benefits of design, supply, and construction of a building and infrastructure are achieved in the most economical, time, and environmentally friendly way. A focus that needs to be a consideration for all parties, not just to meet the demands placed by government pressures but to thrive in an ever-demanding world and economy.
