Elliott Welcomes Off-Site Lessons Learnt

Elliott Off-Site Building Solutions has welcomed the Government’s endorsement of off-site construction as part of its Education Capital Review.

The company has acted as Principal Contractor and concept designer on a number of successful off-site educational projects recently, all of which were outside the Building Schools for the Future programme, including Hayes, Oake and Bradford and Presdales school.

"We welcome the fact that the Education Capital Review highlighted off-site construction as a way for schools to continue meeting their estate requirements," said David Jupp, Business Development Manager at Elliott Off-Site Building Solutions. "Cancelling Building Schools for the Future doesn’t get away from the fact that schools still need new buildings, and off-site has now been recognised as an effective way of meeting this requirement."


The advantages available with off-site construction include much shorter build times, with schedules reduced by much as 50 per cent in some cases compared to conventional methods. This is possible because whole building elements are manufactured in a dedicated production facility, which avoids many of the delays that occur with site-based work.

There are financial benefits to shorter schedules too, with reduced working-hours on site meaning lower labour costs, a fact not lost on schools that are now looking for a cost effective ways of meeting their estate requirements.

Manufacturing many of the building elements in factory controlled conditions means schools benefit from assured levels of quality, and all Elliott’s off-site systems are manufactured to BS EN ISO9001 quality standards.

The Government review recognised that off-site construction provides greater predictability of programme and costs. With building sites notoriously unpredictable both in terms of disruption from local weather conditions and sourcing of skilled labour, off-site overcomes these issues, giving schools a realistic initial budget that isn’t subject to constant change.

David Jupp added: "We believe that shorter build times and better value for money were two key reasons why the Education Capital Review highlighted off-site construction as a way forward for the school’s sector. Other benefits include reduced number of deliveries to site and less waste - all of which creates a more sustainable building."

(CD/GK)