Collaborators

Finding out more

Argent Group plc Bovis Lend Lease Britspace rbs Colledge Trundle & Hall Crown House Engineering Donald Smith Seymour & Rooley Hotchkiss Ducktwork John Lewis Partnership Schumann Smith Stanhope

IMMPREST is available for purchase from Loughborough University. The research team also provides corporate packages, with multiple licences, training workshops and consultancy. Further information is provided on the IMMPREST website, where order forms and contact details can be obtained. For further information on the formation of the IMMPREST project database and benchmark club, please contact Christine Pasquire, Alistair Gibb or Nick Blismas via the website.

Measuring the benefits of off-site production

www.immprest.com

Funded by

DTi EPSRC

Turner & Townsend

Turner & Townsend

Developed in close collaboration with industry

IMMPREST (Interactive Method for Measuring PRE-assembly and STandardisation benefit in construction) is the culmination of 3 years research into the various methods of measuring the benefit a project team and client can expect from choosing to pre-assemble elements of a building.

The need for a value-based, coordinated approach

Evaluating to what extent a component or building system should be standardised or pre-assembled (S&P) is inadequate within the industry. The potential benefits of S&P are commonly cited when justifying an S&P approach, yet coordinated and methodical assessments of the applicability and overall benefit of these solutions, to a particular project, are deficient.

The Toolkit and its benefits

IMMPREST comprises of three distinct Tools that introduce increasing levels of detail and specificity to the project and element being evaluated. This hub and spoke design allows users to dictate the level at which they utilise the Toolkit:

Introduction and Information Tool

introduces the subject of S&P at a general level, providing links and references to further important work.

IMMPREST is an interactive, CD-based toolkit that enables you to easily identify:

I

factors that need to be considered in such an assessment data required to assess the effect of these factors where the required data resides within the supply chain

The DTI/EPSRC funded research project was undertaken by Loughborough Universitys Civil and Building Engineering Department in close collaboration with 11 leading industrial partners and their supply-chains, ensuring the tool is both relevant and robust.

Common methods of evaluation simply take material, labour and transportation costs into account when comparing various options, disregarding other cost-related items such as site facilities, crane use and rectification of works. Often these cost factors are buried within the imprecise preliminaries figure, with little reference to the associated building approach. Other sources of value, which do not always lend themselves to evaluation in monetary terms, such as health and safety, effects on management and process benefits, are either implicit or disregarded within these comparison exercises.

Interactive Benefit Indicator Tool

offers a range of potential benefits and potential problems for given project objectives based on indicators provided by industry.

Benefit Measurement Tool

provides a template for users to build-up a comprehensive benefit evaluation profile for a particular building element of a project.

IMMPREST was developed to address this significant deficit within the construction industry, by ensuring that decisions regarding different building approaches are based on structured, value-based assessments. It identifies all the main factors that need to be considered for an assessment, and provides the framework within which this assessment can be made.

IMMPREST delivers benefit to clients and entire project teams by promoting value-based, transparent, methodical and holistic approaches to project decisions. Decisions on various building options can be made with more confidence, supported by an auditable document trail. Use of IMMPREST, in conjunction with an in-house or industrial project database, will provide a powerful knowledge base through which organisations can maintain a competitive edge. Wide adoption of the Toolkit will undoubtedly contribute to the movement for performance improvement in the construction industry.

A very useful tool that will benefit clients and manufacturers alike
Steve Cooper, Plant Energy Systems Ltd

I was very impressed by the toolkit

Bill Colledge, Colledge Trundle and Hall

We will use the tool on our current PFI hospital project in the near future
Howard Jeffrey, Bid Manager