#mpdularity

[earaercircular]

From customisation to modules: how the world of building installations is changing at lightning speed

This is a module that can be placed 1-on-1 in a building

When you think of modularity, you might think of a Fairphone[1] or IKEA[2] cabinet.  But also in installation technology, modular design and construction has been taking off for years.  Understandable too, because it brings many benefits.  Both in terms of speed and affordability, as well as sustainability and circularity.

ModuleMakers[3] is a venture of technical service provider Croonwolter&dros.[4]  The start-up develops, supplies and installs modules for building installations and now has almost 40 employees.  Wout van den Toorn, commercial manager at ModuleMakers, explains the potential of modular working: “Thanks to modules, you shorten the time on the construction site considerably and you need fewer workers for the same work.  That is not an unnecessary luxury in times of scarcity on the labour market.”

Speed ​​and affordability

 What exactly does ModuleMakers do?  Van den Toorn explains it using an example.  “Imagine the heating and cooling systems of a large office building.  These roughly consist of three parts: the heat source (or the technical room, which can often be found in the basement of the building), the distribution channels (or the piping) and the delivery systems, such as climate ceilings,” he says.  “Traditionally, all those parts are assembled on location, welded together, you name it.  That means many different people on the construction site, who are occupied doing all kinds of different things.”

 ModuleMakers takes a different approach.  In the factory in Amersfoort, a gigantic hall of almost 5,000 square meters, the company is already doing a lot of preliminary work.  There it designs and produces modules that can be linked together on the construction site like Lego blocks.  “Take the pipework: we already assemble it into modules in our factory, that we only have to fix to the ceiling on site,” says Van den Toorn. “And you can simply screw the next module onto it.”

 That saves an enormous amount of time and manpower, he says: “Normally, one spends an average of seven days on piping per floor, where about 375 meters of pipes enter.  We do it in two days, the two of us.”  ModuleMakers is able to design almost all types of building technology in this way.  And the products it supplies can also be connected anywhere.  What the company cannot yet deliver ready-made, it creates the design of it itself, using its own software.

Design smarter

 The ModuleMakers method has several advantages.  The shorter time on the construction site and the fact that fewer employees are needed are two of them.  But it can also lead to cost reductions, for example in the field of purchasing.  Van den Toorn: “After all, we know exactly how much insulation material each module requires.  We can therefore purchase this in one go, and in the future even for several projects at the same time.  That can make a big difference.”

 However, the real gains can be made during the company's design and drawing process.  “This part of us, it is fully geared to standardisation.  Because the less customisation is needed, the lower the costs will be,” explains Van den Toorn.  Every design choice that ModuleMakers makes is therefore stored in a digital library, which it can use again for subsequent projects.  “We now only have to enter the dimensions and wishes of customers in our configuration software and a first sketch is already rolling out.”

 “If the customer wants certain aspects to be different, for example a larger pump, we can easily adjust that in our software.  The other aspects of the design then automatically change along with it,” continues Van den Toorn.  “We no longer have to reinvent the wheel for every project.  That is important, because that includes a large part of the costs.  At the moment, customisation still predominates, but it is our ambition to increasingly replace this with standardized modules.”

Circular installations

This also provides benefits in terms of sustainability, he continues.  “Our modules consist of different parts, which are normally delivered separately and in cardboard and plastic packaging.  So for a number of modules you quickly built up a considerable mountain of packaging waste,” says Van den Toorn.  “But because we always need the same parts, we were able to develop agreements with our suppliers to only deliver products in trolleys from now on, without packaging.”

Modular design also makes building installations more circular.  The different modules are connected to each other with splined coupling.  In other words: no cutting or welding equipment is involved during assembly and disassembly.  “The parts remain intact and are therefore can be easyly reused.  And since we supply standardised systems, we can even reuse entire systems in a subsequent project and easily optimise them.”

ModuleMakers hopes to make more and more impact in that area in the future.  Van den Toorn: “For example, we are also working on a modular technical room for apartment blocks that will have to phase out gas in the coming years.  We turn it into a movable house, that you place on or next to a apartment block.  The installations in that technical room ensure a natural gas reduction of approximately 70 percent.  If the technical room is no longer needed, for example because the apartment block switches to district heating or becomes natural gas-free in some other way, we can take it back in its entirety and use it again in a subsequent project.”

Will modular working become the norm?

Van den Toorn expects modular design and working to become increasingly the norm in the installation sector.  “You see it a lot more often in the construction sector: complete residential modules roll out of the factory these days.  But for technical systems it is still a bit behind.  This is often still done in the traditional way,” he says.  “But that will soon change.  We have to;  the workforce is simply not available anymore to continue doing it in a traditional way.  Modular[5] working will be a must, you won't be able to do anything else in the future.”

What is modularity?

 A modular product or system consists of various components (or modules) that are easy to assemble, disassemble and replace.  Consider, for example, modular construction, where complete homes can sometimes be 'clicked' together almost as easily as an IKEA cabinet.  Or think of the Dutch Fairphone.  The various components of this smartphone are easy to replace if they break, so that the smartphone itself lasts longer.[6]

Source

Hidde Middelweerd, Van maatwerk naar modules: hoe de wereld van gebouwinstallaties razendsnel verandert, in: Change Inc, 22-05-2023; https://www.change.inc/infra/van-maatwerk-naar-modules-hoe-de-wereld-van-gebouwinstallaties-razendsnel-verandert-39968

[1] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/664410703921381376/the-fairphone-4-in-practical-trial?source=share

[2] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/714052249072140288/no-ikea-is-not-an-environmentally-friendly?source=share

[3] ModuleMakers designs and produces healthy, sustainable building technology in manageable modules. This is efficient in terms of time and money, but above all it is cleaner, safer and healthier. Moreover, it makes buildings more manageable and easier to adapt or reuse over time. Contributing to circular, clean buildings and a better world with our ready-made products and custom modules: that is our mission. https://www.modulemakers.nl/

[4] For more than 140 years Croonwolter&dros has been in the vanguard of new developments. Also in this day and age, where electrical and mechanical engineering is increasingly important, we stimulate new technical developments. We have the knowledge, experience and the workmanship to create intelligent systems and integrated sustainable solutions, to develop them further, implement, maintain and manage them. https://www.croonwolterendros.nl/en

[5] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/667203430752894976/swiss-watch-industry-aims-for-circular-watches?source=share

[6] Read also: https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/702085724212756480/american-university-unveils-3d-printed-house-made?source=share

[ayofficesystem]

Over the course of a decade of successful competence, AY Office System has designed, constructed, and delivered hundreds of different types of quality modular office furniture to its clients. Working with specialists who are dedicated to satisfying your needs and boosting the overall position of employees and clients is a great way to start. For more information, go to https://ayofficesystem.com/