16 May 2011
Foremans Publishes New Guide to Expanding Teaching Accommodation
Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, the UK's largest supplier of recycled and refurbished modular buildings, has published a new report - 'A Guide to Expanding Teaching Accommodation'.
This latest in a series of reports and technical papers from Foremans provides education professionals with a comprehensive guide to procuring a modular building and can be downloaded from the Foremans website www.foremansbuildings.info/industryreports. It gives 23 practical tips to help schools avoid some of the most common pitfalls, and to help ensure modular building projects are completed on time, on budget and to the required quality standards.
The new paper provides clear guidance about how to expand teaching accommodation using off-site construction, quickly and efficiently, for the smooth running of each building project. Areas to consider include:
- Key decisions to take in the planning stages to ensure clarity and focus for the project team
- Advice on obtaining planning permissions
- The complexities of project management
- How to ensure the modular building meets the relevant guidelines and legislation
- How to set the design criteria
- What to look for when selecting a modular building supplier.
Commenting on the publication of the new guide, Kevin Jones, Managing Director of Foremans, said, "Modular teaching accommodation offers a host of benefits for schools and LEA's, whether the building is for interim or permanent use, to meet place planning requirements, or to update or expand school or college facilities."
"The speed of delivery is important, as is the need to minimise disruption to teaching. However, it is also vital that every school building project is completed on time, on budget and to specification."
"This report shares our team's experience and expertise to help education professionals avoid some of the most common mistakes and to choose the right modular building partner for their project. Building users need to be aware that not all suppliers are the same - whether they specialise in new manufacture or recycled modular buildings - and not all will be able to provide the services required for a particular project."
The use of recycled and refurbished modular buildings continues to increase as more schools, colleges and LEAs recognise the advantages of this highly innovative solution to providing new and purpose-designed teaching accommodation.
Pre-owned modular buildings can reduce programme times by up to 70 per cent and are a highly cost-effective alternative to new build and new manufacture - an important benefit in the current economic climate where budgets are severely restricted.
This is also one of the most sustainable methods of construction - helping to reduce carbon emissions, waste sent to landfill, and improve a building's carbon footprint.
To download a copy of the new technical paper, see www.foremansbuildings.info/industryreports.
Editor's Notes
1. Other advantages of refurbished and recycled modular buildings include:
- Less disruption to staff and pupils during construction
- The buildings can easily be expanded, reconfigured or removed to meet changing local needs and place planning requirements
- High quality steel-framed modular buildings are built to last and require fewer groundworks than traditional site-based construction - further reducing cost, disruption and programme times
- The approach generates less than 10 per cent of the carbon emissions and uses less than 3 per cent of the energy during construction, compared to a newly manufactured building of equivalent size (source: MPBA/Arup).
- This is a highly thermally efficient solution. All recycled and refurbished modular buildings supplied by Foremans meet the requirements of the revised Building Regulations Part L2A 2010 (England and Wales) and Section 6 2010 (Scotland).
2. Foremans offers the UK's largest selection of refurbished Portakabin buildings available from stock. It provides a nationwide service from its 30,000sqm production centre in East Yorkshire, and its southern regional centre in Hemel Hempstead.
Foremans has a full range of construction services, including planning advice and submissions, Building Regulations approvals, funding options, and all aspects of the building design, space planning, project management, groundworks, fitting out, delivery, site installation, testing and commissioning.
