Tata Steel develops kit of parts for schools

Tata Steel has teamed up with two offsite manufacturers, Elliott Group and the McAvoy Group, to develop a kit of parts to allow energy efficient schools to be built offsite before being shipped to their final location.

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded project aims to
show how standardised components can be mass-produced to deliver better
quality, performance and value for sectors including education and healthcare,
using a process similar to the car industry.

Other firms in the consortium include offsite building
expert Blacc; the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC); the Active Building
Centre (ABC); and the National Composite Centre (NCC).

The news comes just weeks after the government announced a
scheme to modernise the nation’s schools. The rebuilding programme will start
in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects supported by more than £1bn in funding.

The government aims to reduce the construction costs and
whole life costs of buildings by a third, while seeing those same buildings
delivered in half the time and with a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from
the construction sector.

Phil Clements, Tata Steel UK technical director, said: “Traditional building techniques using bricks, mortar and wood can be slow, wasteful and have a significant impact on the environment.

“This project will allow thousands of children to have
access to education in buildings which have been designed using the latest
technology, constructed off-site to lower emissions and can be repurposed and
recycled.”