Exploring the Advantages of Electrical Prefabrication
Exploring the Advantages of Prefabrication With an nVent Expert
The following is a Q&A with Kevin Jacobs. Kevin is the Global Director of Product Management for nVent’s CADDY brand. In his 15 years with nVent, he has held various positions in product management, sales and business development. Today, Kevin is focused on working directly with contractors to determine their challenges and develop new product solutions to meet their needs. This experience—paired with a 20-year history in the construction industry and a passion for problem solving—allows him to help contractors be more efficient both on and off the jobsite.
What is prefabrication?
Prefabrication is a methodology of moving parts of the construction and installation process of a product from an active jobsite to a controlled factory environment. In commercial construction, electrical assemblies are a commonly prefabricated product. These assemblies typically consist of electrical boxes, power devices such as light switches and plugs, and power cables and fasteners to facilitate installation.
How do prefabricated electrical assemblies improve commercial construction?
The use of prefabricated solutions creates improvements in a number of areas for contractors. From reduced installation time, to improved utilization of their workforce, reduced quality and safety issues and enhanced logistical practices.
Moving assembly of electrical components to a controlled factory environment creates consistency of work that is difficult to achieve on a jobsite. A team of a few individuals can work together with all necessary components and tools in a distinct location to create a higher quality output in a more efficient time period, substantially reducing the overall installation time.
Does prefabrication impact quality?
Prefabrication can increase quality of assemblies because the same assembly is being made by the same team, however many times it is needed for a project. At a job site, you may have several people constructing a given type of assembly a different way. Moving that work into a factory allows for greater consistency between assemblies, quality control and attention to detail. This can streamline processes for contractors because inspectors often see consistency between assemblies as a positive.
Constructing assemblies in this way also can reduce rework, which reduces scrap and waste, driving more sustainable operations and reduced environmental impact, which is a growing consideration as environmental management becomes a larger part of the industry.
How does prefabrication improve customer productivity?
Highly skilled workers can be allocated to critical areas of the construction process, where less experience is needed to assemble components prior to final installation.
Does prefabrication impact logistics?
Logistics is routinely a challenge on jobsites. There is rarely enough room on site to maintain a high level of inventory. Prefab assemblies can be produced ahead of needs on the jobsite and shipped using a just-in-time system limiting the space needed to warehouse components.
How does the design process work for prefabrication?
Design should always be customer driven. When an electrical contractor wins a bid for a contract, they provide specifications for what they need. In some situations, these specifications are very unique, like for hospitals. On the other hand, commercial construction sometimes comes with more flexibility and nuance which allows electrical contractors to put together a portfolio for the project. The two things that drive how we work on any given prefabrication project are the customer’s needs and the specification. Our designers can help customers identify the right solution for any kind of building project.
What makes nVent prefab assemblies stand out?
The main things that set nVent apart, in my opinion, are the level of expertise of our people driving our prefabrication process, our dedicated facilities and our innovative product solutions. Our designers are all electricians and have many years of onsite construction experience. This allows us to provide contractors with superior service for each project we service. Additionally, our prefabrication facility is dedicated only to prefab. There are no other parts, processes and priorities in that facility—everything is focused on driving safety and customer value.