With a target of more than 300,000 homes to be built by 2030, the Irish construction industry is being challenged to adapt to new ways of thinking – and the industry is rising to this challenge, according to the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
Housing for All, the government’s national housing plan, aims to deliver over 300,000 new homes between now and the end of 2030. To meet this challenge, the construction industry is quickly evolving with advancements in technology, new construction products, techniques and methodologies. A good example of this is around Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) or off-site construction.
Modern versus traditional
MMC has the potential to offer many advantages over more traditional building techniques, such as:
- Increased efficiency, especially where prefabricated components are used;
- Improved quality, where advanced manufacturing techniques are employed;
- Enhanced sustainability, as materials and techniques tend to be more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient;
- Cost savings based on reduced time and labour requirements;
- Greater design flexibility which allows customisation.
Certification of new construction products and techniques used in MMC is an essential part of the process, to ensure that they are safe, reliable, and meet industry standards. That’s where NSAI comes in, as Ireland’s standards body.
Under Housing for All, NSAI is supporting the move towards MMC by carrying out certification of new and innovative products and techniques being used in the construction process. To meet the growing needs of the construction industry, NSAI is expanding its Certification team by recruiting for a number of new permanent roles.
How does the certification process work and what are the benefits?
The NSAI certification process includes various tests and assessments, such as durability tests, environmental impact assessments, and safety evaluations. This helps to ensure that both existing and new construction products and techniques are of high quality and meet the required standards.
To summarise the benefits in a nutshell, certification enhances the safety of construction projects, improves longevity, increases efficiency, reduces the carbon footprint of buildings and provides peace of mind to all stakeholders.
What are the career opportunities around MMC?
As a fast-growing sector, job prospects are currently strong within MMC. At NSAI for example, the expansion of its Certification team will provide key supports to Housing for All and to the broader construction industry through the current recruitment drive for a Head of Modern Methods of Construction, along with Certification and Inspection Officers.
These are all permanent posts within the public sector and would appeal to those in engineering, building or construction.
As the construction industry evolves and adapts to new ways of thinking and building, it is important to ensure that new products and techniques are certified and meet industry standards, and these roles provide a great opportunity to bring your experience to bear on a really important time for Ireland’s development.
If you would like to join NSAI and play a bigger role in shaping the future of MMC and the built environment, visit its careers page at https://www.nsai.ie/about/work-with-us/
Innovating to shape a safer, better, and sustainable future, the National Standards Authority of Ireland is Ireland’s standards body. We have responsibility for providing services for standardisation, conformity assessment, and measurement. Follow us on LinkedIn for updates.
