Whole-System Delivery, Materials and Sustainability

The biggest challenge of the Supply Chain in industrialized construction is that there is currently an attempt to regulate an industrial process with regulations designed for artisanal processes (in situ). The search for a Validated Certification Method is the “Holy Grail” to provide financial and technical scalability to modular construction. The “Bottleneck” of Certification is the challenge, not only technical, but also traceability and cash flow. In a traditional work, the bank releases funds after the certification of the architect on site. In modular construction, the Factory Risk is that 60-80% of the value is generated in a private plant, outside the control of the construction manager and the bank appraiser. The Invisibility of the materials (steel, installations, insulation) are hidden behind the panels before reaching the site, making traditional visual inspection difficult and to solve this, the supply chain is evolving towards Ex-Ante Quality Assurance models such as Process Certification (DAU/DIT) that instead of certifying “the building”, the Construction System is certified. Entities such as the Eduardo Torroja Institute of Construction Sciences (IETcc) issue Technical Suitability Documents (DIT) that validate the industrial process, allowing the Supply Chain to be predictable for insurers. Likewise, Digital Traceability (Blockchain + BIM) is being implemented to generate the “Digital Passports of Materials”. Each steel component or ceramic panel is recorded in a BIM model. When it leaves the factory, an IoT sensor or QR code validates the unit, automatically triggering the financial certification without the need for a physical visit. And Third-Party Inspection must be incorporated into the Plant: quality control companies (such as Bureau Veritas or SGS) act as “notaries” within the factory, certifying the milestones of the supply chain so that the payment for milestones (Milestone Payments) flows from the promoter to the manufacturer. The Role of the New CTE is fundamental. The new HSA-Sustainability CTE will require this certification method to not only validate safety, but also the embedded Carbon Footprint. If the supply chain is not digitally certified, it will be impossible to accurately calculate the environmental impact required by law. To advance this objective, what aspects would be most useful to explore? Specific appraisal protocols for modular homes (movable property vs. real estate mortgage) or How to integrate the traceability of materials into an execution BIM model or have examples of Material Passports that already comply with European regulations?