Offsite manufacturing is not a new concept. In 1624, Massachusetts settlers built their homes out of prefabricated materials shipped from England. Today, advances in technology mean offsite manufacturing is increasingly used in construction projects. In 2015, a 57-storey tower was erected in China in just 19 days using 2,736 modules made offsite. 

The House of Lords science and technology select committee defined it in a report published in July 2018 as: 

“Components of the building manufactured off site then brought together on site, including:

• Elements of buildings sub-assembled offsite, where essentials, such as plant-rooms or bathroom pods, are manufactured in a factory; and
• Modules manufacturing, where whole segments of the buildings are manufactured three-dimensionally and assembled offsite, then the completed modules are fitted together on site.”

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