Steel framing supports offsite construction by allowing more work to move from the jobsite into a manufacturing environment. Combining detailed design and engineering with prefabrication can reduce onsite labor requirements, improve installation efficiency and help project teams address complex construction challenges earlier.
Rising labor costs, skills shortages and pressure on construction margins are changing how projects are delivered.
For Andrew Fowler from Austruss, these pressures are contributing to a tipping point for offsite construction.
In episode 10 of Steel Framing Connections, Andrew discusses how Austruss has evolved from residential steel framing into complex commercial projects and why design, engineering, manufacturing and installation increasingly need to work together.
Labor is one of the biggest drivers.
Skilled onsite labor can be difficult to find and increasingly expensive. Moving more work into a manufacturing environment creates opportunities to prefabricate components before they reach the jobsite.
Austruss has adapted its approach in response. Andrew explains that the business is now installing buildings with fewer people per 1,000 square meters and in less time.
For builders, developers and contractors facing labor constraints, this shift provides another way to think about how projects are designed and delivered.
Cold-formed steel framing can be digitally designed, engineered and manufactured before components arrive onsite.
Andrew's experience shows that successful offsite construction involves more than manufacturing frames in a factory.
Austruss takes an integrated approach that covers design, certification, manufacturing, delivery and installation. The company also 3D models its buildings to support the level of coordination required for complex commercial projects.
Bringing these stages together means design and engineering decisions can consider how framing will ultimately be manufactured and installed.
Solving construction challenges earlier
Detailed planning can also help resolve challenges before they reach the jobsite.
For one school project in Sydney, Austruss built a prototype section to demonstrate its proposed solution. The builder inspected it and the system was load tested to show the engineer how it would perform.
This reflects a broader shift in thinking. Rather than treating design, engineering and construction as separate activities, offsite manufacturing encourages project teams to consider the complete delivery process earlier.
Andrew believes the steel framing industry has now reached a tipping point but also emphasizes the importance of sustainable growth. As adoption increases, manufacturers need the technical expertise, people and processes required to successfully deliver increasingly complex projects.
For builders, developers and contractors, this means looking beyond the framing itself. Design, engineering, manufacturing, logistics and installation all need to work together.
Hear more from Andrew Fowler in the latest episode of Steel Framing Connections.
In some applications, cold-formed steel can be used in place of structural steel. This requires careful consideration of structural requirements, including loading and deflection criteria, as well as the specific design and performance requirements of the project.
Complex commercial steel framing can require detailed coordination across design, structural requirements, detailing, manufacturing and installation. As project complexity increases, strong coordination between these stages becomes increasingly important to successful project delivery.