Offsite production in the UK: The construction industry and academia

The UK construction industry has long been criticized for its poor performance, poor image and inability to attract and retain workers. Offsite production (OSP) under the overarching umbrella of modern methods of construction (MMC) was sought by the UK Government to ameliorate the UK construction industry, meet market demands and overcome manual skill shortages. Nevertheless, professional skills shortages are argued to be as acute as manual skills shortfalls. In this respect, industry-academia collaboration is anticipated to provide professional skills needed for OSP and, hence, effect change. This paper reports the findings from the first stage of an ongoing triangulated research project. In this context, a survey was carried out to capture the perceptions of both the UK construction industry and academia with respect to OSP and preferable means for collaboration, in an attempt to explore common grounds for possible collaborations. A quantitative approach was primarily used for data collection and analysis. The findings from 36 large construction organizations (representing a 20% response rate) and 20 construction-related higher-education institutions (representing a 32% response rate) suggested that although the industry considered OSP to be the future of the UK construction industry, there seemed to be uncertainty about what OSP actually entailed. Notwithstanding these issues, academia either did not know or refuted that OSP is the future of the construction industry, hence suggesting a lack of shared understanding between industry and academia with respect to skills requirements and preferred means for collaboration. Further research is needed to bridge the gap between these apparent polarized views.