Category: News

This year, British Offsite officially became the first-ever UK manufacturer to achieve the prestigious Industrialised Construction Maturity Assessment® (ICMA®) Platinum Medallion. The facility was independently audited by the global Industrialized Construction Group, a specialised advisory and data analytics firm dedicated to transitioning the building sector toward advanced manufacturing, alongside UK-based Cast Consultancy.

In an extraordinary showcase of operational excellence, British Offsite did not just achieve Platinum status; they secured the second-highest score ever recorded in the global ICMA® database, setting a new benchmark for performance across the United States, Canada and Europe.

This global ranking places British Offsite firmly within the top five percent of advanced manufacturing companies worldwide. The rigorous evaluation highlighted particularly exceptional performance in materials planning and logistics, standardised work methods and production reliability. By establishing this level of certified performance at the start of the year, British Offsite has brought unprecedented clarity, confidence and comparability to the Modern Methods of Construction sector.

UNisystem is an advanced light gauge steel panel system suitable for a wide range of developments, from residential housing to mid- and high-rise buildings. The system is manufactured at one of the largest automated assembly lines in Europe, where the company has the capacity to produce panels for 6000 homes per year. Alongside UNisystem, the company also manufactures complementary British Offsite Fitout interior modules for kitchenettes, bathroom and bedroom solutions, offering the complete offsite solution for the living sector.

By using a precision manufacturing mindset with a deep understanding of traditional developer needs, British Offsite is effectively reducing construction times and improving site viability. This Platinum Medallion provides investors, registered providers and developers with the certainty of cost, time, and quality.

Shaun Weston, Managing Director of British Offsite said “This recognition is a testament to the quality and innovation of UNisystem. Achieving the ICMA® Platinum Medallion brings greater clarity, confidence and comparability to industrialised construction and will help to address the UK’s housing shortage through the increasing adoption of modern methods of construction.”

Almost two years since the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established in April 2023 – in direct response to the Grenfell tragedy – the high rise construction sector is still grappling with the realities of Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 approvals and the impact they’re having on delivery times and project viability.

Under the terms of the Building Safety Act 2022, developers need approval for projects involving high-rise buildings over 18 metres. Approvals are needed at Gateway 1, the initial planning stage, at Gateway 2, for building work to commence, and finally at Gateway 3, to confirm a building is ready to be certified and occupied.

When it was first established, the BSR committed to a service level at Gateway 2 that is far from being met. For remediation projects the approval timescale was due to be 8 weeks and for new build projects 12 weeks. Delays are currently extending up to 22 weeks, with major consequences for project schedules and financing.

Long delays are being experienced at every stage. They are caused, according to the regulator, by an outsourced model, with the BSR employing 3rd party multi-disciplinary teams that take time to procure and on-board. These are teams drawn from the same pool of consultants who produce design information in the first instance, who had limited capacity to meet industry needs, even before the additional load from the BSR.

Developers are increasingly having to extend project timelines, and the financial impact can be significant. For example, on a £60 million project, a six-month delay could increase financing costs from £2 million to £3.5 million. This additional financing cost seriously brings into question the viability of projects, while funders and investors also have to wait much longer for their repayment or returns.

One way developers can regain lost time, money and project momentum is using UNisystem by British Offsite. We work with your team to have complete technical drawings in place in advance of Gateway 2 approval, ensuring you can progress to manufacture and installation promptly once approval is achieved.

Using UNisystem will also speed-up your build-time significantly. Dry envelopes are created earlier allowing you to bring internal fitout work substantially forward and progress to handovers faster.

Overall, construction of your high rise building using UNisystem can be 30% faster than traditional build. Helping you to catch-up on your project schedule and offset some of the extra financing you needed because of BSR delays.

Let’s put high rise construction back on the table. Contact one of our sales team to understand more about the time and cost comparisons of UNisystem vs traditional build, and to discover its flexibility for high rise buildings of any height or kind.