To that end, Berkeley Modular has announced that it is working with leading 3D design and engineering company Autodesk to deliver a platform of smart design capability, which will power its automated manufacturing and site-based operations.
The company will utilise the data it harnesses from Autodesk's platform to inform and power an intelligent workflow across the business, an approach which is deemed to be key to creating an highly efficient, highly productive enterprise.
Berkeley Modular has been conceived as a brand new operating company that will deliver volumetric modular housing capability to the Berkeley Group, with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility set to eventually deliver 20 per cent of the Berkeley Group's annual output once fully operational.
Against a backdrop of rising labour costs and deteriorating skills availability, Berkeley Modular is aiming to improve the correlation between design intent and actual building performance, leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction. The new factory represents an investment that will allow Berkeley Group to create build capacity with ability to readily scale and potential to replicate to yield further capacity in due course.
Commenting on the partnership, Autodesk senior director AEC sales EMEA, Tom Edmonds, said: "I'm very happy that Berkeley Modular has selected Autodesk as a key partner to bring their vision for an offsite revolution to market.
"Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you've ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, then the chances are you've experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing everyday with our software. We're excited to be bringing our expertise to the forefront of the digital construction sector."
The Berkeley Modular and Autodesk teams have been working together at Autodesk's advanced manufacturing facility in Birmingham to understand what the desired design automation workflows need to look like to enable an innovative solution which will support a target of production commencing in 2020.