On the second day of NECA Live, Lonnie Cumpton, NECA’s director of construction manufacturing, presented a virtual session on myths surrounding offsite construction and how organizations of any size – small, medium, or large – can take advantage of offsite or prefabricated construction to make electrical work more efficient, safe, and cost-effective. “I almost wanted to call it Mythbusters,” he jokes.
Cumpton says one of the biggest myths surrounding offsite construction is that it is best suited for large contractors, when in reality, small- or medium-sized contractors may actually be better positioned to take advantage of this construction trend. But before anyone can jump immediately onto this bandwagon, Cumpton adds that it’s best for organizations to incorporate offsite construction into their company’s overall culture.
“Small continuous improvements to that over time really lead up to significant change and significant value to the organization and to the industry,” Cumpton says.
First, changing company culture requires three specific factors: people, process, and technology. These three factors surround arguably the most important factor, which is data. “Using data to help make decisions is so important in these conversations,” he says. “Because many times, your gut feeling or gut reaction may be telling you one thing, but in reality, you really need to do something very different.”
Cumpton suggests asking teams in the field to provide ideas for assemblies that can be moved into the shop. Once identified and several prototypes are created, have your teams take them to the job site and install them. Finally, use surveys with both qualitative and quantitative questions to capture feedback. Qualitative questions may include asking: “What project are you on?” or “Did offsite construction make the process faster?” On the other hand, quantitative questions provide data-driven responses. For example, he recommends using a tool like GoCanvas to gather feedback questions that provide answers on a scale of one to five. Questions may include rating how offsite construction made the job site safer or if it improved logistics. After feedback is gathered, upper management can assess how these numeric scores equate to the success of a particular offsite assembly.
“By using this concept, you will have engaged your people and gained feedback about their process,” Cumpton emphasized on one of the slides. “You will have quantitative data to not only support what assemblies you should move to offsite but data to help identify some standards that will drive the technology needs.”
Lastly, Cumpton finished his presentation by describing a few of the most common types of assemblies that any size contractor could begin implementing within their own organizations. The three most common types he recommends are: pre-cut, plug-in-play MC cable; rough-in box assembly; and kitted lighting. The only major item he recommends for each type is an adjustable work table, but any other necessary items can be customized to each organization or job site. Cumpton also recommends having enough tools for each work station so your workers don't get frustrated or lose time looking for tools — the more seamless the offsite construction process, the better.
Other types to consider for offsite assembly may include trapeze hangers, strut supports, pre-bent conduit, conduit racks, cable trays, panelboards, multi-wire single reels, underground ductbank, pre-wired disconnects and transformers, kitted electrical rough-ins and finishes, and electrical skids.
