Modular Conversations by DeLuxe Building Systems

Cutting Shipping Costs by One-Third with EX Construction System

2009-02-04T14:56:00.001-05:00

Every problem has at least two sides, people say. In system-built construction, there’s a longstanding issue that involves several additional sides, and a lot more expense. Now Deluxe has solved this problem with the innovative new EX Construction System.

EX Construction delivers major time savings and cost containment compared to other system-built structures. These savings are especially strong on the transportation side. Compared to a conventional modular system, EX Construction technology cuts the cost of overseas shipping by almost one-third.

As result, this product is highly competitive for international installations. That’s good news anytime, but especially positive in the current recessionary climate.

A simple structural design insight supplies the thinking behind the EX Construction System. And like so many great ideas, when you understand this one you wonder why no one came up with it before. Here’s how it works.

A conventional modular building is assembled from components we call ”modules”, each with a floor, a ceiling and four sides. Where a component box abuts the one beside it, you have two facing walls – one more than you need in almost all situations.

The secret to EX Construction: eliminate the extra wall. When a row of modules is assembled to form a building, this technology inserts alternating units based on floor panels. These units are fabricated with walls to the front and back, but without the additional side walls.

Of course, some of the savings associated with this method appear as soon as the floor-based units are constructed. In an EX structure, every other component unit has two walls instead of four; overall, this reduces materials used in the structural components by 25 percent.

The difference in shipping costs is even more substantial. Because of the way EX structures are put together in the factory, they cut costs in the cargo hold and to a lesser extent when they have to move overland.

During shipping, front and back walls of the panel units are dropped inward to lie flat on the floor. For goods like these, volume counts in transit more than weight. Our prep methods dramatically reduce the amount of space needed for these intermediate components.

Squeezing the air out of these alternating components achieves a 30 percent reduction in the cost of shipping. With a weak U.S. dollar, a cost differential like this gives us real competitive clout.

We can put EX structures in shipping containers if that’s best for a particular job, but we don’t have to. This is a versatile package that can be sent via almost any cargo ship or ground transport modality. In general, a full shipload – about 100,000 square feet of floor space – maximizes the shipping savings.

Like any Deluxe product, the EX Construction System provides exceptional speed in construction and outstanding quality in the finished building. It can be used to build up to 12 stories high, in full International Building Code compliance. Steel construction in the EX Construction System is non-combustible, with excellent seismic and wind resistance. These system-built structures demand far less skilled labor than is needed to build multi-unit dwellings from scratch, with minimal requirements for welding or other specialized equipment.

Whenever you go with system-built construction, in the U.S. or abroad, you do most of the work in the factory. The time and cost savings associated with that approach speak for themselves. With the EX Construction System, our designs now deliver the additional, crucial advantage of easier and more economical shipping, and the savings are compounded. We’ve covered all sides of this issue.

How Systems-Built Construction Protects Grant Financing

2008-11-21T08:12:00.006-05:00

One of the most basic advantages of systems-built construction versus stick built, of course, is the way it cuts time on the jobsite. It almost goes without saying that this has tremendous impact on virtually any project; if you can reduce the costs incurred by extra days on the site, the likelihood that a project will be profitable goes way up. It’s an essential element in the value of modular construction.

But there are jobs for which the advantages of systems-built construction are even more pronounced. Sometimes performance-based standards require that rigorous timely milestones be met. And systems-built construction – especially as delivered by Deluxe – can have a direct, positive effect on the funding of any such project.

Here’s an example. At the North End Gateway housing project in Hartford, Conn., a venture in which Deluxe took part, fast and predictable construction was central to the project’s success. Our bonded performance on timeliness was required to maintain the $12.5 million project’s funding at full levels.

The developer, Carabetta Brothers of Meriden, Conn., contracted for North End Gateway (NEG) as a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) development of 57 units, of which 45 offer reduced rents subsidy and 12 are market-rate rentals.

It’s an exceptionally attractive apartment complex, four stories high and including a number of features and amenities that might not be associated with other low-income housing. Tenants can choose from two-, three-, and four-bedroom units. Two elevators and a 16-camera security system with controlled visitor access serve the complex. The larger apartments feature two full baths. All units include washer/dryer hookups; gas and electric service is individually metered. There’s covered parking for about half of the residents. North End Gateway’s design is handsome, and it’s convenient to downtown - less than a mile away. For the available apartments, hundreds of applications have already been received.

Though it’s a private project, NEG relied heavily on grant funding from state and federal tax credits (Carabetta was chosen for the project by the Connecticut Housing Finance Administration and the state Department of Economic and Community Development.)

That heavy reliance on grant money helps explain why timeliness was so important. Among the terms of the grants were requirements to adhere to a rigorous construction schedule. There was a lot at stake here. If these performance standards were not met, part of the grant funding would be lost. As we know, timely construction is vital on any apartment project. For obvious reasons, the grant elements of the job made it even more crucial this time around.

Carabetta’s selection of Deluxe reflected their recognition that we could do what was needed, both in terms of engineering prowess and manufacturing capabilities.

Before anything could move forward, Deluxe had to provide a $5.5 million performance and payment bond. We entered into a contract to build the project last December, and got production cranked up in late April 2008. Placement of the boxes started in mid-July; they were all set by September. “Substantial completion” criteria for the project were satisfied by early October, and occupancy will begin in December, within weeks of this writing.

Deluxe nailed every target under the grants’ timeliness requirements. Completion was achieved on schedule and the project’s grant funding was fully maintained.

To manage this would have been a challenge with even a very basic structure, but the NEG project involved details that were out of the ordinary for a modular installation. For instance, half of the building is on an elevated structural frame that creates the parking space. This imposed extra design and engineering demands that could not have been met on time without Deluxe’s exceptional engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

The essential reality here is that systems-built construction saves jobsite time. On any job, that can mean enhanced profitability. At North End Gateway, this advantage was doubly important. With the full value of supporting grants at stake, rapid construction became absolutely critical – and Deluxe delivered what the client needed right on time.

Building in Quality from the Start

2008-11-11T10:59:00.003-05:00

If there’s one thing quality assurance managers know, it’s that trying to inspect in quality is doing it the hard way, and all too often, the ineffective way. That’s not to say inspections aren’t important; they are. Regular, carefully conducted inspection programs carried out to correct standards are an important part of any QA program.

What doesn’t work is trying to start with inspections – and unfortunately, there was a time when many manufacturers across the industrial spectrum tried to do it that way. It’s much more effective – and also a lot more cost-effective – to plan and execute a quality program that identifies and avoids quality problems before they get built into the product and the process.

One way we manage this at Deluxe is by acquiring real-world installation feedback. We have a standing arrangement with our site-services affiliate, Deluxe Construction Services (DCS). They gather detailed information at the installation site and transmit it to quality assurance, engineering, and manufacturing managers back at the plant. Careful analysis of this data provides important opportunities for continual process and product improvements.

The more essential quality goal, continuous improvement at every level from the beginning of the design process to the end of installation, involves everyone in the company. Supervisors are quality coaches, group leaders are quality captains, and every employee is responsible for quality performance. Of course, a cadre of dedicated quality assurance inspectors is critically important, too.

Part of our quality work on any project is a regular series of intensive quality-focused meetings. Right from the start of any job, high-intensity planning spotlights what is unique about the project and reveals the quality challenges we’re likely to encounter. Many companies are just dusting off a set of standard specs at this point. Not DBS: we produce customized, detailed documentation submittals that show what will happen at every step of the project. Our customers are involved right away, reviewing this work and discussing it with us before we get the production go-ahead. And the results reflect a bottom-up quality strength.

In recent years, we’ve learned to harness information technology to improve quality on the shop floor. Think about this - our manufacturing line is a quarter-mile-long, and the manufacture of a single building involves thousands upon thousands of individual construction actions. It’s easy to see that good information contributes critically to good quality. Today, the line incorporates 18 “cap” stations, where manufacturing employees can track the quality/inspection history of the project and see what’s next in terms of quality requirements. Drawings are accessible electronically in real time whenever needed. Our engineers, line workers, and inspectors always have immediate access to the most current version of every drawing. The positive consequences of that reliable information speak for themselves.

We also make sure to exchange information that influences quality at regular weekly meetings. These start at the opening of the project and go on to the end. Everyone involved in the project is involved in the meetings - transportation, purchasing, sales, service, manufacturing, and of course, QA. Many problems are nipped in the bud or prevented altogether.

Of course, there’s a lot about systems-built construction that’s inherently better from a quality point of view than stick-built. Here’s a study in contrast that’s worth thinking about. If you choose systems-built construction for a wood-framed job, the framing is out of the weather for the whole construction period. In our factory, it’s kept at 20 percent moisture the whole time, and it’s under roof as soon as it gets to the site. It’s protected.

On the other hand, if it’s lying exposed on a job site, it may fall prey to warping, rot, mildew, and insect infestation. This is just one example of many I could cite. All too often, the quality of stick-built projects is measurably degraded even before they’re completed.

Customers who go with systems-built construction get the benefit of coordinated work across all phases of the job. Quality performance is enhanced accordingly. The stick-built alternative involves a group of subcontractors who operate to their own timetables and standards, too often at cross purposes. No wonder quality can suffer.

From start to finish, it’s clear that building in quality is the preferred method to “inspecting it in” – and our results bear that out. Feedback from our customers proves that costs go down and satisfaction goes up when the work of inspectors is essentially to confirm that quality standards are being met – not to fix problems when they’ve already gummed up the process.

Tempered Optimism: Finding Opportunities in Tough Times

2008-10-29T16:44:00.002-04:00

Periods of economic challenge almost always contain a legitimate component of opportunity. Naturally, it’s easy to be troubled; in times like these, some people are bound to fall prey to gloom and despair. But the truth is that money is available and genuine prospects for real estate development exist even in current circumstances.

Tight credit and investor fears are at the heart of current worldwide economic troubles. Needless to say, these basic problems directly affect development work. Even so certain specific markets in the U.S. and abroad offer legitimate development opportunities. And for many of these niches, high-quality multi-unit systems-built construction remains a perfect fit.

Where can these niche opportunities be found? You’ll see them in a wide range of geographic areas and a number of still-active markets.

Consider the relative strength of the euro versus the dollar. Current exchange rates mean that more Europeans – millions of whom have long been interested in visiting the United States – can travel here very affordably. Hotel occupancy rates in many of our tourism markets are up, driven by a substantial influx of foreign tourists. What’s more, those occupancy rates are projected to remain strong.

This means that opportunities for new hotel construction look good now and in the longer term. Systems-built construction is an excellent option for the hospitality industry because it provides controlled, predictable costs; because it’s suitable for urban environments; and because it offers rapid completion schedules.

Savvy observers of the American market recognize that dormitory construction is also in line for long-term growth. The demographics explain it: in each of the next 12 years, more than 4 million Americans will turn 18. As a result, the requirement for new student housing will stay strong for years to come. For dormitories, as for other types of construction, the controlled costs and fast completion of systems-built construction make it an ideal choice. In previous posts, we’ve shown that colleges and universities have found systems-built dormitories make it easier to provide apartment-style amenities that influence students’ selection of schools. This is one more advantage that makes modular construction highly competitive for such projects.

In other countries, powerful demographic forces define an unmistakable profile of opportunity. In 2005, there were 80 million people more than 80 years old worldwide. During the next quarter-century, their numbers will more than double, rising to 197 million by 2030. One result: steady increases in demand for assisted living housing and nursing homes.

What else shapes development opportunity tomorrow and the day after? Earthquake and disaster relief demand the ability to provide high-quality, permanent housing with short lead times. Economic growth in Asia and the Middle East brings with it a spectrum of exciting opportunities. Demographic analysts project, for example, that India’s population will outpace China’s by 2030. Vast new workforce housing developments will be an inevitable feature of this future. Here at home, likewise, constant population growth will powerfully support the need for new multi-unit construction.

The meaning of all this is clear. Defying the credit crunch and investor concerns, many significant projects here and elsewhere will go forward. When projects are strong on equity, and when they dovetail with market forces and demographic trends, there’s a good chance that they’ll be built.

Steel Yourself – Choosing the Strongest Building Material

2008-10-10T11:00:00.004-04:00

What makes steel so effective in construction applications can be summed up in one simple sentence: It has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any building material. For many, many projects, there’s no more efficient or cost-effective solution. And for many system-built multi-family residence projects – any that stand more than four stories high – steel is the only real option.

For every steel project, Deluxe insists on post-and-beam tube steel for all of the load-bearing members. We complement that with lighter-gauge steel for studs in the walls. The overall effect is commanding strength and manufacturing flexibility, a combination that enables us to provide system-built multi-family structures up to 12 stories in height.

Our steel framed modules – like any we build – enable rapid jobsite installation. But there’s a whole string of serious additional benefits that go with steel – benefits to both the builder and the building end user.

One fundamental advantage: Steel doesn’t burn or add fuel to a fire. Put it together with fire suppression systems, and it will meet the requirements of building codes nationwide – and those codes are tough. For multi-family, multi-story housing, this demonstrated margin of safety is especially critical.

Steel is also highly stable from a dimensional standpoint. It won’t expand or contract substantially under normal conditions. In addition to maintaining essential structural integrity, this characteristic also helps retain the tight factory fit and finish we build into our buildings.

The inherent strength of steel creates buildings that are exceptionally strong, stable, and durable. In addition, that favorable strength-to-weight ratio I mentioned before makes it possible to carry longer spans than are possible with wood-framed construction.

The problems wood has with mold, fungus, or insect infestation are non-existent with steel. Bugs like termites can create serious maintenance and health issues in wood framed structures – so can mold or fungus. Steel construction is immune to all that, and it won’t rot, warp, crack or split.

Steel is green. A major portion of the structural steel we use is recycled – and that entails no sacrifice in strength or flexibility. On the other end, steel can be fully recycled at the end of its useful life. There’s also a big difference between the amount of scrap that’s generated with steel verses wood: two percent with steel, twenty percent with lumber. That’s an order of magnitude, and its environmental effect is huge.

The difference in overall quality that all this creates is impossible to ignore. Steel in system-built structures develops stronger, welded-frame, monolithic structures. The fact that steel is produced to national standards, without regional variations in quality, also contributes to consistent superior quality in the finished structures.

Comparing the cost of steel per square foot to that of other building materials is complicated. It depends on the project specs, so it’s hard to make a simple apples-to-apples comparison. Project analysis addresses the constraints on a given job, addressing questions such as time and the building’s footprint.

For a wide variety of projects, the benefits of steel are more than commensurate with the cost. When we’re building in urban areas, for instance, the structures must be taller to make the most of expensive real estate square footage. In those situations, being able to use system-built construction for mid-rise buildings – that is, maximizing the occupancy relative to the footprint – can make or break for the whole project.
In many ways, it all comes back to that unique strength-to-weight ratio. When you consider that, plus all the other benefits that steel confers, it’s a terrific option in system-built construction.

Back to the Drawing Board – Drafting and Basic Integration

2008-09-26T13:12:00.003-04:00

For a long time, integration has been the one of the prime buzzwords in manufacturing. Everybody wants systems that seamlessly unite purchasing, design, manufacturing, delivery and site work, methods that share and utilize critical information at every step. If you can eliminate the wasted time, wasted motion, wasted materials caused by the lack of integration, you’ll be much better able to serve your customers. You’ll also be a lot more competitive.

At Deluxe, we’ve made manufacturing integration a basic goal. Our state-of-the-art parametric drawing program provides significant advantages to customers, based on systems that make all relevant information part of the project at every stage. First, last and always, it’s really about integration.

We’ve built our system around the Vertex BD package. This sophisticated software puts a comprehensive library of parts at our fingertips. It also incorporates significant Building Information Modeling (BIM) capabilities – essential to the system’s strength and versatility. Select any part, and you’ve accessed all of its dimensional and construction attributes, including how it works with any other part in the database. When the draftsman goes to work, every bit of that comprehensive information becomes an integral part of the drawing.

From there, the information is key to total integration with Deluxe’s manufacturing process. Complete database information on any part makes it possible to develop an accurate bill of materials, parts list, and lumber cutting list. We can produce these documents for any completed drawing. We even cut the pieces in sequence relative to how the building will be manufactured and installed.

Another powerful advantage: the system perfectly defines and renders all wall panels, internal supports and other construction details. This speeds work both in the factory and on the jobsite. You set systems parameters and project parameters, and the drawings are exactly right one hundred percent of the time.

What’s more, every building module is clearly defined on the drawings we send to the site. This is one of the things our customers mean when they say that Deluxe engineering makes a big difference to them on the jobsite.

Here’s another element of our work that the drafting program handles really well. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) drawings are often difficult. It’s important to verify alignment of MEP elements between modules, and – within each module – to eliminate interferences with framing members or between MEP parts. With its library of preset objects, our system really makes MEP drafting much simpler and more accurate. Its features enable draftsmen easily to show piping, duct, wiring and many other details, always complete, correct to the specific project, and interference-free. Our engineering department draws much faster now than they did in 2D. And once again, this knowledge tool completely integrates MEP drawing with purchasing, manufacturing and site work.

To sum up, this is a system that produces drawings for any job fast and without errors. It adjusts to changes as quickly as the draftsman enters them. It’s scalable and it spots construction interference and helps the draftsmen get rid of it right away. Drawings are immediately available in plan, elevation, or a choice of three-dimensional views (including solid modeling, cutaways and wire framing) from any interior or exterior angle.

Most of all, it uses the database’s complete part information to make drawings and documents that encompass all the working information of the project, and tie that information directly into every manufacturing and installation phase from start to finish.

At that level of industrial management we’ve gone far beyond buzzwords. When it comes to manufacturing integration, this is the real thing.

Keeping things simple: How getting the system-built method right cuts time and confusion

2008-09-15T15:46:00.006-04:00

If you spend time talking to people who are really knowledgeable about multi-family construction, you’ll hear again and again that stick-built construction is an old way of doing business. Even some people whose business is still mostly conventional construction will tell you this.

But that’s not the same as saying that every modular building manufacturer has what it takes to make the most of system-built technologies and management methods. Unless the business is structured specifically to address system-built multi-family construction, the advantages will not be what the builder and others in the process hope for.

To be direct about it, Deluxe has the multi-family gig down. That’s not our language; that’s the way it was put by a builder for whom we recently finished a major project. This concept – construction simplified – helps define the parameters under which we operate. We bring together high-tech manufacturing methods with refined project management staffing and methods to control time and complexity on the job site.

The key is integrating the manufacturing and the site construction processes. We’re staffed that way, with project managers, engineering project coordinators, and project administrators. These experts get involved from the design and planning stages, gearing up every job for maximum speed and efficiency. Helping make the most of our advanced manufacturing technologies, they eliminate almost any bottleneck before it happens. Their involvement continues through the factory to the jobsite phase to support rapid, trouble-free setting and completion of the project.

By their nature, systems methods are leaner - builders need less staff. They’re also embracing it because it radically cuts the overhead required to manage all the subcontractors. When you get rid of the extra time, extra site work, and extra staffing with what’s accomplished in the factory, you’re way ahead of the game.

What’s more, true integration between factory and site makes the process predictable in ways that are not possible either in the stick-built environment or with other, less evolved modular approaches. Working with the builders, we set rigorous schedules and control the process, maintaining those schedules through to completion. There are no weather delays in the manufacturing process, and no delays resulting from problems with large numbers of subcontractors.
This is where the comparison really stands up against stick-built or less refined modular methods: We don’t sell boxes, we build projects. The system-built approach to multi-family projects is all we do. We’ve been doing it longer than anyone else. We’ve developed the ability to make the transition seamlessly between the factory and the field.

This business model doesn’t eliminate performance problems, but it absolutely minimizes them.

How much simpler can you make it?

A Good Way to Spend a Week

2008-08-22T08:23:00.003-04:00

When you think about the advantages that come from system-built construction, the obvious first thought is speed. Compared to stick-built alternatives, the system-built approach accomplishes the same work in a fraction of the time needed to build from scratch on the site.

Speed’s important, but it’s far from the only advantage with modular construction. That’s illustrated nicely by one of our recent projects, the Dayton Condominiums, a 45-module residential project in Morgantown, W.Va. That 20,600 sq. ft. complex went up in just under one week this summer. And the people we partnered with on this one say that, from their point of view, engineering moxie counted for just as much.

Three years in the planning, the project was prepped with demolition of the previous site structures in the fall of 2007 and excavation/foundation placement in late February and early March of this year. The buildings were ordered in April and factory-built in time for the week-long setting process in June.

Just to share some vital statistics: The project included 21 dwelling units, assembled in three-story configuration above a site-built parking garage and retail stores. Overall, the condominiums feature 39 bedrooms. Employing wood-frame 5A construction, the system-built units are fire-sprinklered and factory-equipped with an EPDM roof.

Specially angled modular units were built to accommodate architects’ design requirements and site conditions. Setting began on Monday, June 9 and wrapped up by Friday, June 13.

It’s impossible to minimize the impact of prompt delivery and quick setting to the developers and owners of the project, The Phoenix Group of Morgantown. As the home of West Virginia University, Morgantown sees a constantly growing demand for multi-unit housing. Quick installation turnaround meant that the project would be available for occupancy by the fall term.

But Phoenix Group President Mike Castle says speed was only one positive aspect of the project. I’ll quote him: “Deluxe had the production capacity for this project. They helped to reduce our risk exposure – crane risk, setting risk, and so on.

“What mattered most from a developer’s perspective was their engineering capability. They really have the multi-family gig down. Our site manager was impressed with the quality of the plans they delivered – you really don’t get that degree of engineering foresight from lot of others. There’s a Deluxe way of doing things, a culture that says, ‘We want to control the process.’ ”

It’s almost enough to make us blush. There’s no question that engineering prowess translates as serious advantages to the developer and owner. It makes a difference in limiting problems and complications on the construction site. It results in a better, more lasting finished structure. And yes, it also contributes in a big way to the essential speed with which the project gets done.

That old college try: enticing students to the school – and keeping them there

2008-08-08T13:31:00.008-04:00

I’ll never forget the dorm room my sister moved into when she was a freshman at Bloomsburg University. To put it kindly, this room wasn’t much. It was better than a prison cell, but nothing like what she was used to at home. I didn’t have the heart to say it, but the thought in my head was something like, “You’re going to live here?”

Back then, on-campus housing for underclassmen was weak at many colleges and universities: often cramped, cheaply built, poorly maintained, hard to keep clean, and totally lacking in privacy. Many students couldn’t wait to move to apartments downtown.

Fortunately, things have changed. Students and families today aren’t satisfied with housing that’s just this side of adequate. The schools themselves understand that better dormitories are now a major selling point. It’s a legitimate marketing advantage that helps them get selected by the outstanding candidates they court.

Systems-built construction can deliver amenities that the older structures – whether modular or stick-built – seldom had. More requests come our way for bigger and better rooms and we respond to that. Kitchens are included: that’s handy for the students and appealing for their families because it helps keep a rein on meal costs. The bathrooms in almost all of the dormitories we build are integrated with the room suites. And anybody would prefer that to using gang toilets and showers for a whole floor.

We’re versatile, with the capability of going up to 12 stories high and incorporating varied architectural treatments that blend well with existing campus environments. And non-combustible construction means that parents must no longer be concerned about their students living in substandard off-campus quarters.

The system-built method slashes waste and labor hours on-site. Projects using DeLuxe apartment-style dormitories are finished in far less time than comparable conventional jobs. When we build dormitories in the factory, we control labor, materials acquisition, and security in ways that are not possible in stick-built construction. With a construction cycle that’s much, much shorter – weeks as opposed to years, often – the noise and disruption on campus are held to a minimum, and contractor teams are present for only a short time.

Having dormitories that students want to live in helps motivate the initial college decision – and also helps keep upperclassmen in the dorms. Colleges and universities want to capture revenue that they’d otherwise be losing when students rent apartments off campus. When they provide a true apartment-style dormitory setting, the institutions persuade many of their upperclassmen not to move away.

All in all, many colleges and universities are recognizing that it’s not just what they wind up with, but also how they get there. As DeLuxe builds them, apartment-style dorms are excellent structures that fit perfectly into the campus environment. If you can save both time and money getting them there, it’s a pretty easy choice for the school to make. If my sister could see the luxurious apartments students are living in now, I'm sure she'd be jealous.

Putting It All on the Line: Automating for Speed and Agility

2008-07-25T09:51:00.010-04:00

Most manufacturers these days understand that their shop capabilities will go as far as technology takes them. When you consider the versatility and sheer productive power that come with constant technical advances, it just makes sense.

At Deluxe, we get this – big time. After all, we’ve experienced it firsthand. Finding that technological edge has turbocharged our manufacturing performance.

At the heart of all this is the automation we’ve applied to our wall and floor manufacturing lines. It pays off in a revolutionary new ability to respond to production demands. Automation means that we’re very responsive and accurate.

Our million-dollar production equipment from Triad/Ruvo has been key. To be specific, the 32 automated screw guns in the new screw bed do their work in the time it took to put in one screw manually. They’re faster than old manual welding methods they replaced for some operations, too. And we waste zero time in picking things up manually and lugging them around. Every product on the line is picked up by hoist and moved by conveyor now.

Quality has also ramped up. Automation means every operation is performed the same way every time, for superior process continuity and product consistency.

So overall our manufacturing lines are faster, more accurate, and at least 25 percent more productive. We’ve tallied savings in overhead, and our customers’ investment is tied up for a shorter length of time. Just as important, we can now handle a wider variety of projects. It’s a better way of doing things – faster off the line and more agile at every stage of production.

Automated methods have improved our performance on every product line we make. Factory construction for apartments, hotels, condos, senior living facilities, student housing, townhouses, and housing developments is now finished with unprecedented speed.

Deluxe is capable of outputting millions of square feet of modular walls and floors each year through our two highly efficient quarter-mile-long assembly lines.

It boils down to engineering our process specifically to accomplish the twin goals of greater agility and responsiveness. The Triad equipment pays off in greater productivity on the line, not to mention new speed and versatility. What we send to the site is better and easier to assemble than ever.

As far as technology is concerned, what we’ve seen would make a believer out of anybody.

Floored: The benefits of cement panels over poured concrete floors

2008-07-16T16:06:00.001-04:00

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. At Deluxe, we found out how true that is when we had to make our modular construction system work in a 12 story dormitory project.

Old-style poured concrete floors just weren’t going to work on this project. We knew we couldn’t go that high because the dead weight was just too much. After some research and consultation with our vendors, we found a new product that provided an innovative solution. It’s a lightweight, noncombustible, structural cement panel.

These new cement panels help solve some major issues in modular noncombustible midrise construction. They’re strong, very light in weight, and fast to install. They literally have replaced our old-style poured concrete floor altogether.

The cement panels provide DeLuxe with some significant benefits. As I mentioned, they’re lightweight, so going up to 12 stories now is no problem for us. In addition, with less weight at every level, structural steel can be reduced as well. Not only did we increase our construction capabilities in a significant way, we saved money and time too. Likewise, no concrete means no curing time, which means the new cement panels are significantly reducing the time it takes to build the modules in our factory.

Our production staff installs the cement panels using conventional tools, so it’s just as easy as installing plywood or OSB decking. We now are able to install the floor finishes – carpet, tile, vinyl – in the shop, which we couldn’t do with green concrete. It all adds up to a building module that gets done sooner, and it’s more complete. Plus, with less to do at the jobsite, additional savings can be realized there as well.

Besides all this, the new cement panel floors are noncombustible. We’ve had an entire noncombustible floor system assembly fully tested by an independent lab; it has a two-hour fire rating and meets all national codes. This makes it the perfect choice in any situation where noncombustible construction is required.

There are plenty of other benefits in using cement panels, and I’ll be looking at some of those in future posts. The panels do a good job acoustically, and they’re dimensionally stable, even if they’re exposed to moisture. They won’t warp, mold or rot, and bugs leave them alone.

But for now, take a minute to think about the advantages these cement panels provide and how they compare to the old-style poured concrete floors. Like me, I think you’ll be floored.

Introducing the DeLuxe Building Systems Blog

2008-07-10T08:18:00.006-04:00

Technology - today it’s the central driver in growth and innovation at every level. If we want a better way of doing something – anything, really – it will involve technology. And as I proudly introduce this new Deluxe Building Systems Blog, I realize that we’re right at the intersection of two potent contemporary technologies.

One of them is the Internet. It’s so familiar now that we forget how incredible it is. With dazzling speed and reach, web communications empower us to share all kinds of critical information – quickly, accurately, and in almost any volume we choose. There’s never been anything like it in human history.

The second big technology I mentioned is even closer to home. It’s the always-evolving systems skills that support our manufacture of multi-family housing.

This is amazing in its own right. The explosive power of technology in our business can make standard methods and accepted understanding obsolete in a short time. When things happen so fast, it’s tough to stay current.

I see this all the time. To squeeze more time out of a hectic day, I often eat lunch in my office and field sales calls, talking to lots of people around our business. These are very smart, well-informed folks. Yet the phrase I hear constantly is, "You can do that?"

They might be learning for the first time that we can build up to 12 stories high with our remarkable cement flooring. Or they might be startled to discover how fast we can respond on their latest job. I swear, sometimes our buildings go up so fast I think of mushrooms popping up on the lawn overnight – only these are solid, multi-family structures that will stand for generations.

Our systems technology makes it possible. And all those exciting new capabilities create an absolute need to keep the most current information at our fingertips. It’s decisive: those who succeed today must have access to the best knowledge tools at all times.

That brings us back to the other tech biggie I mentioned before – the Internet.

Blogs deliver a fast, accessible, two-way means to share essential data. And essential data is what the Deluxe Building Systems blog is all about. From the crossroads of building systems manufacturing and information technology, we’ll be talking to you twice a month. Look for information you can use on methods, capabilities, new installations, ordering, finance, design, the legal scene, and much more.

We also want to exploit the feedback that comes with a blog. What you know, what you see, what you believe, is of great value to everyone who reads this. We solicit your responses. Please follow through whenever the blog sparks a thought.

I guess it isn’t surprising that I’ve decided to apply this technology. I've always been a computer geek. Given my longstanding penchant for the written word, it was probably inevitable that blogging would appeal to me. So I’ll be tapping out all manner of information in the weeks ahead. I know we can all benefit from this contact. And maybe we’ll even have some fun.

-Jeff Myers