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The recent failures and insolvencies of organisations related to the modern methods of construction (MMC) have gained increased attention and controversy across the UK construction sector. Such failures are linked to their inability to achieve an economy of scale and drive key clients to accept the MMC as an alternative to traditional methods. This paper aims to unravel whether a phenomenon of “innovation negativism” has manifested and is contributing to public clients' indecision towards broader MMC, whether this is only linked to past negative experiences formed after the Second World War or whether additional contributing reasons exist to influence adoption.

This study focusses on exploring the decision-making of the UK public construction sector; therefore, this paper adopts a qualitative approach, utilising interviews with 14 carefully selected MMC experts, government advisors and public clients. The phenomenological stance adopted herewith enables the authors to make better sense of the perceptions of the interviewees, leading to the conceptualisation of the innovation negativism phenomenon.

The paper identifies nine themes that may be argued to promote a profound understanding of the MMC negativism influencing public clients' decision-making. The study has found that more than just the previous negative perceptions formulated post Second World War are driving innovation negativism in the UK public sector. Notably, the emerging themes are incomprehension, lacking evidence, communication, relationship history, bad experiences, uncertainty, inadequate experimentation, the business case and localism.

This study is the first construction management research that acts as a fair departure point to conceptualise the reasoning behind innovation negativism in the construction setting. Through mirroring demand's unipolarity for traditional methods, policy and decision-makers can now rely on the conceptualised reasoning to determine practical solutions to overcome clients' indecisions towards MMC.

The purpose of this paper is to present the current drive for 3 million new homes by 2020. The delivery of this number of homes is a challenge for the house building industry and its associated stakeholders such as local authorities, registered social landlords (RSLs) and others. One mechanism proposed to ensure delivery is the use of modern methods of construction (MMC). There are, however, several problems with this premise including the legacy of non‐traditional housing formats employed in the past, demand side suspicion of MMC, and a lack of capacity on the supply side. The paper concentrates on the implications of MMC in the RSL sector – particularly the potential impacts of MMC on asset management (long‐term maintenance) of RSL housing stock.

A literature review and interviews with key RSL personnel are used to inform the discussion contained in this paper.

Seven overall themes emerged from the research, pointing to the main issues that need to be addressed if MMC housing is to be successfully employed in the RSL sector, while also ensuring that asset management is able to carry out its long term maintenance programmes in an effective and efficient manner.

Little previous research has been located on the subject of MMC and its specific impacts on RSL asset management operations. The research should therefore be of interest to a broad range of people, including asset managers and surveyors, developers, planners, and local, regional and national policy makers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of popular modern methods of construction (MMC) and pre-manufactured construction in the construction industry and propose a framework for future implications for practice and future research.

This technical paper is based on a narrative review of the extant literature on the subject. First, the Scopus search engine was used to retrieve relevant papers on MMC, offsite and pre-manufactured construction. Second, institutional literature such as reports by industry professional and trade bodies, literature from leading technology firms and contractors with experience of MMC were extracted. These two strands of literature were synthesised and a comprehensive discussion on the topic was provided.

Results show that journal publications on MMC and pre-manufactured construction have increased in the past decade. The paper found significant advances in the development of premanufactured and offsite construction approaches with many benefits. Offsite and pre-manufactured construction are viable and sustainable systems currently suitable for wider adoption as the mainstream construction method.

This technical paper based on an integrative review of relevant literature could have benefitted from interviews of professionals with experience of offsite and pre-manufacture techniques and from wider availability of current academic publications on the subject. Validation of the framework has not been undertaken.

Not much-published work has been undertaken on the current state of development globally and the viability of these construction approaches. This paper evaluates evidence from academic and industry sources to address this gap. A framework has been developed which can help the industry’s industrialisation drive.

The UK Housing Corporation announced that it expected a minimum of 25 per cent of registered social landlord (RSL) new build housing to use modern methods of construction (MMC). This resulted in higher numbers of MMC dwellings becoming the responsibility of asset management departments who then have the task of planning and executing maintenance plans for the stock. This paper seeks to determine asset managers' views on the incorporation of MMC into RSL housing portfolios and its implications for long‐term maintenance.

A questionnaire was developed from both the literature and a previous qualitatively based study. The questionnaire sought to solicit the opinions of asset managers on the use of MMC and long‐term maintenance

From 130 distributed survey forms a response rate of 66 per cent was achieved (n=86). The responses to the questionnaire indicate a generally negative view towards MMC and its future maintenance viability.

The research should be of interest to a broad range of people, including asset managers and surveyors, housing developers, and all those involved in the MMC supply chain.

Little work has been located on the subject of MMC and its specific impacts on RSL asset management operations. This paper fills some of the gaps.

The use of modern methods of construction (MMC) has been advocated as a way of addressing some of the criticisms of the construction industry made in the Latham and Egan reports. This paper seeks to examine the current position of accommodation that has been built using modern methods of construction (MMC) particularly, volumetric/modular construction.

A literature review is followed by a survey of student occupants of such accommodation in Nottingham.

The main finding was that students chose their accommodation because of its locality to the university and factors that relate to the construction type are not high priorities. The main concern of the residents in the student accommodation is intrusive noise, which may come from external unspecified sources that are not related to the residents in neighbouring rooms. A low level of dissatisfaction indicates that the majority of residents were satisfied living in MMC/Modular build accommodation.

Modular build accommodation, if built within the requirements of its residents, is a satisfactory form of construction for multi‐space accommodation that could be used for future multi‐occupational premises. Modern methods of construction could benefit the UK's construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to explore academic papers and reports and present a chronology of the evolution of British low-rise prefabricated housing. The paper provides chronological information for construction and surveying researchers undertaking research in associated areas.

This is a qualitative literature review, providing an exploration and analysis of academic papers and reports on low-rise prefabricated housing.

A substantial literature was discovered. However, there are gaps in the available literature. The history of British construction technology is a rich research area but is under-researched. Prefabricated housing has a long history dating back to the eleventh century. Stigmatised from the failures of housing in the twentieth century, it is being increasingly used again in the twenty-first century when considering mass housing supply.

This paper provides researchers with an overview of the history of low-rise prefabricated housing in Britain. It is not a comprehensive in-depth study; such would require numerous larger individual studies.

From reviewing literature it was evident that there was a broad literature, but there was no single journal publication exploring the evolution of British low-rise prefabricated housing. The research provides an overview, exploration and analysis of the literature while providing a chronology. The evolution of prefabricated housing is chronologically presented. Areas for further research are also recommended.

“Transforming construction” is a wide-ranging strategic term, under which sit numerous initiatives. It is the latest, in a long line of strategies and reports introduced to with the intention of industry improvement. Arguably, many of these fail to achieve their aim. The barriers preventing the adoption of transforming construction initiatives are therefore limiting the potential benefits of the strategy. The aim of this research is to formally identify and understand how these barriers are framed and how these frames can be changed so that the barriers can be overcome, and the wider strategy benefits realised.

A literature review is undertaken to identify “transforming construction” initiatives. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews are then undertaken with construction professionals and analysed via narrative analysis to identify and understand perceived barriers to these initiatives. Framing is utilised as a theoretical lens to categorise these barriers and understand how “shifts” in the frames held can be achieved and the barriers overcome.

Barriers to transforming construction initiatives are identified as wicked problems. This allows a new perspective on such initiatives to be gained. The results also reveal how construction professionals frame such barriers, viewing themselves as bystanders with initiatives and practices “bigger” than themselves and their roles. How these frames can be “shifted” from bystander to active participant is identified. Such a shift can serve as a blueprint for industry professionals so that the initiatives identified can be successfully implemented thereby increasing the success of the transforming construction strategy.

This paper addresses a gap in current research around the perceptions held by construction professionals of the initiatives that sit under the transforming construction strategy. Addressing this gap allows the diagnosis of barriers that have previously served to prevent initiatives gaining traction. The findings contribute to both the existing literature and current industry practice by highlighting how the barriers are framed, and how such frames can be “shifted” to support the realisation of long promised strategy benefits.

Housing completions in the UK have fallen to 125,000 annually, while government targets have risen to 300,000. This dramatic shortfall raises concerns as to whether current traditional construction approaches remain appropriate. This study aims to compare the traditional approach with modular construction, with a view to assessing whether a shift in construction systems offers the potential to alleviate the UK's domestic housing crisis.

A comprehensive interpretivist review of the available relevant literature is undertaken on construction methods within the UK; advantages and disadvantages. A bibliometric analysis is conducted to extract trends and findings relevant to the comparison at hand. The database is Web of Science; the analysis software is the VOS viewer.

The research illustrates that the UK housing market is in a state of crisis. A toxic combination of a rising UK population combined falling rates of housing delivery has resulted in an ever-widening housing supply gap. The construction industry’s capacity to meet this observed dearth in supply is further exacerbated by a number of chronic factors such as: falling participation in the construction sector workforce; lowering skill levels; reducing profitability; time to delivery pressures; and cost blow-outs.

While much information on the various construction methods are available, including comparative material, this study is the first to assemble the various comparative parameters regarding traditional and modular UK residential construction in one place. Thus, this study provides a definitive assessment of the relative advantages and disadvantages of these forms of construction.

This paper aims to provide insights into how supply chain integration may occur for small housebuilders adopting modern methods of construction (MMCs). The process of creating an empirically informed road map is described, whereby the practical day-to-day challenges of adopting a timber-frame solution on a small housing development in Southeast England were fed into a road map of future supply chain integration scenarios. The intention is to better position small housebuilders to contribute in addressing the shortfall in housing that continues to face the UK.

Interviews with supply chain members along with on-site observations captured key aspects of integration. Findings were used within two collaborative forums to guide discussion in a dual approach; discussing the challenges of timber-frame on the project and what would be needed on future projects for the firms analysed.

Empirically informed malleable roadmaps, of the kind developed within this study, provide feasible options for small housebuilders and suppliers of MMCs to collectively collaborate when transitioning towards fully integrated supply chains. Practically, the roadmapping approach, and the roadmap itself, would help small housebuilders and suppliers of MMCs transition towards full integration. Opening up avenues of integration that are spread across yet connected through numerous phases, firms and technologies helps construction professionals use more sophisticated modular and volumetric off-site solutions.

Data collection took place over the course of a year. Future research could expand this relatively short duration to analyse the potential for construction professionals within the supply chain to integrate further over a longer period of time.

The novelty and contribution of this paper lie in the development and application of an alternative approach to roadmapping that departs from the normative linear examples of roadmaps found within the technology-roadmapping literature. The authors present a structured yet flexible approach to roadmapping that is both representative of the strategic planning and innovation activities that occur within small housebuilding firms and open to adaption to account for firm-level characteristics and contingencies. Positioned alongside firm-level dynamics (e.g. business cases and approaches to design), the roadmapping approach also reinforces the potential of incremental rather than whole-scale transitions.

The purpose of this paper is to report on findings from the first stage of an ongoing research with regard to the UK construction industry's perception of offsite production (OSP) adoption/uptake, in an attempt to inform the second stage of the research (not reported in this paper) to infer the skills/knowledge areas needed for the wider uptake of OSP.

The objective of this paper was to capture the UK construction industry's perception vis‐à‐vis OSP characteristics using a quantitative approach. Postal surveys were employed to collect industry perception which was then analysed statistically for inference and conclusion.

Findings from 36 large construction organisations suggest that irrespective of respondents' organisations prime activity or professions, the majority of respondents perceive OSP to be the future of the UK construction industry; with a considerable belief that the industry is ready to embrace OSP. Nevertheless, the industry do not seem to fully appreciate OSP, which is implied by the uncertainty recorded in most of the responses.

Whilst the data validity and sample set coherence can be considered robust and defendable, it should be acknowledged that care needs to be taken when interpreting results, especially as the data collected depended heavily on the survey approach. Furthermore, these findings are limited to the UK context only, as such, the level of generalisability/repeatability outside this context may not be representative of the findings presented here.

OSP falls under the overarching umbrella of modern methods of construction, which is high on the UK Government Agenda. OSP has attracted numerous research over the last decades; however, there is limited literature to quantify industry perception in this regard, especially to enable the inference and prioritisation of skills and knowledge areas needed to support the wider uptake of OSP (not reported in this paper).