Modern Manufacturing Methods for construction in Infrastructure Deployment

This event explores how modern manufacturing methods are transforming the delivery of infrastructure and construction projects. Increasing pressure on cost, speed, quality, sustainability, and skills is driving a shift away from purely traditional construction approaches toward manufacturing-led models based on standardisation, modularity, and integrated supply chains.

Speakers:

Dale Sinclair, Global MMC Lead, Property & Buildings at WSP 

Projects, Programs and Product
Demand for construction is predicted to double globally by 2040. Regardless of whether projects are adaptions of existing buildings or new build; current workflow cannot meet the scale of demand nor the need for faster delivery. Simply, single constructed projects cannot deliver the future. WSP has been pioneering its kit-of-parts (KoP) approach for five years and now has more than twenty case studies. Unlike KoP geared to construction, WSP’s approach looks at shifting towards program approaches that go well beyond current norms moving towards program-ready product that is procured on project one and made ready and reusable for project two onwards. This talk unpacks the learning from recent case studies and sets out a compelling vision for the future.

Simon Wakefield, MDP Delivery Manager, Rolls-Royce SMR 

This session will focus on the role of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in the UK’s future energy strategy and how Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), combined with Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), enables SMR sites to be manufactured and delivered at scale. It will reference recent UK developments, including the selection of Rolls-Royce SMR as the preferred technology and significant UK government £2.5B investment to support deployment, skills, and supply-chain capability. The discussion will explore how factory-based manufacturing, standardisation, and modular construction reduce risk, improve quality, shorten delivery times, and apply Lean principles across complex supply chains highlighting the growing convergence of manufacturing and construction in major infrastructure delivery.