Integrated Teams and Product Thinking

Let’s apply Integrated Teams and Product Thinking to the 2 inch story above. An Integrated Team formed at the outset of the project, coupled with Product Thinking, would have almost certainly avoided the 2 inch problem (and a lot of other problems that slow production). If a series of standard dwelling units had initially been designed with an Integrated Team, that considered accessibility, energy, systems efficiency, code compliance, optimal layout for the market and other modular and site work considerations - production time could have been significantly reduced. In addition, full scale prototyping would have had even more cost benefit. Yes, that 2 inches might have impacted unit count and project proforma, but it would have been known at the early stages of the project. Employing Integrated Teams and Product Thinking would have helped reduce unit cost and helped grow modular housing.

The Kitchen

On one recent large scale modular project for homeless I was on the team for, the project team discussed kitchen design, gobbling up hours of meeting time that could have been eliminated by Product Thinking – having an already vetted, pre-designed, beautifully designed kitchen available for the project. Imagine one short meeting that would have just focused on cabinet colors and equipment. Instead, one of the senior development team members in the meeting wanted more upper cabinets, and with no push back, it was just agreed to. And that quick decision snowballed. More upper cabinets forced more lower cabinets (due to accessibility code requiring 50% of shelves to be in reach range), contributing to a doubling of the cost of the kitchen, and increasing unit cost. And now, the single homeless resident, with minimal cookware and tableware, will have an unnecessarily oversized kitchen. An Integrated Team and Product Thinking at the outset of the project could have assessed the kitchen from code, cost, functionality for the intended user, accessibility, rapid installation, and efficiency factors, and easily reduced the cost of the final kitchen design.

Integrated Teams. The cast of team members can be large, but if there is great communication and mutual trust, the benefits are large. Site-built projects bring together a large group of individuals who come from completely different backgrounds. In a modular project, usually even more team members are added, and making a team gel requires dedicated effort. Job descriptions need to be constantly reassessed for the needs of the company and realities of available people, and take advantage of many people’s wide levels of expertise. The Integrated Teams approach in modular multi-family housing projects focuses on early input from all team members (utilizing their experiences and lessons learned on past projects), ideally followed by prototyping, team assessment and design refinement. If an Integrated Teams approach is used well, conflicts and challenges are caught early on, and streamline the modular production process and assembly on-site. To increase modular’s success, the whole Integrated Team should continually focus on lowering unit cost through design and production efficiencies, while still maintaining a high level of quality and design. Integrated Teams will reduce unit cost.

The Lunchroom

Two modular companies I’ve visited stand out for me, where the CEO can be seen having lunch with, say, a plumber on the floor, and they talk about what can make a project better. A flat culture, not too hierarchical. Everyone’s talking to everyone to help make better solutions. Minimal divisions between office and floor. An Integrated Team. Sometimes our best Product Thinking involves listening to the front-line worker. This is well known in Japan in companies like Toyota. The Kaizen philosophy adopts a continuous improvement mindset in business culture, and front-line workers are very much part of the culture.

Product Thinking. Think repetition, think universal, think plant efficiencies. And, think jigs and setting up for automation. There is a lot of room for growth in product work (the designing and making of standardized dwelling units) in the modular space, much like the auto industry. Product Thinking is pursuing designs that work in almost all applications. Imagine a dwelling unit that complies with structural, energy, accessibility, fire and other codes in any state. Imagine, for instance, a standard kitchen used in every modular dwelling unit that complies with ANSI Accessible, Type A, Type B, Type C; IBC Chapters 11, 12, and other chapters; ADA; Fair Housing. And can be installed in a half hour. And is beautifully designed. Maybe we’ll only get to 95%, but that’s still far better than custom kitchens for modular efficiency. Product Thinking is pursuing optimal wall design, wall construction, and assembly sequencing. Product Thinking is minimizing pipe, duct and conduit runs for systems and streamlining connections. Product Thinking is simplifying or eliminating soffits. Give the client options for colors, material, equipment, exterior skin like the auto industry. Many clients will surely be receptive to a few standardized units that incorporate user needs, codes and market considerations. Standardized, universally designed dwelling units, even though they may result in some more floor area and material than site-built, will ultimately reduce unit cost.

Standardized Units for multi-family housing should be few in number, and have full production documents, cutting lists, specifications, and consider optimal production efficiency and material use.  There should be a client selection platform similar to the auto industry in graphics, accessibility and number of choices. And the units should look great aesthetically, with modelling and model units that excite housing providers. There is no reason why modular interior space can’t be better designed than site-built, because Product Thinking with repetition can allow the time to refine and detail designs at a higher level than site-built designs. A few companies in the US have made great strides in this direction, and that should be expanded.

Reducing Unit Cost is the key to increasing the multi-family housing market share for modular. Unit cost is the entire completed project cost (modular and site) divided by dwelling units. This is how developers and clients will compare modular to site built. For modular projects, that includes soft costs for the entire project, modular construction, transportation, and set, and all costs for site construction. It is in the interest of modular projects to reduce site costs wherever possible and build in the modular plant – especially circulation, exterior skin, and roof as much as possible. Accessory structures and uses can bog down modular production lines, and they might make more sense to be site built. The faster a dwelling unit can be built and installed, the lower the unit cost.

Instituting Integrated Team and Product Thinking. From my earlier career days running and working in contract cabinet companies, I know the challenges in building a product company from the ground up, or transition from a contract shop to a product shop. Product takes investment, more design professionals, a different marketing strategy. However, product can be phased in over time. The modular industry can also build networks across the country to share product R&D and design, to help the industry gain housing market share and get more people housed.

The Diagrams

In the graphic above are three diagrams entitled ‘Modular Project and Team Diagrams: 1. Contract (building projects from submitted plans), 2. Hybrid (both contract and product) and 3. Product (making and marketing a line of standardized housing units). Included in ‘1. Contract’ is a linear design and production process (ie: engineer or build what you’re given, without questioning much, or being involved in earlier stages). Included in ‘3. Product’ is an Integrated Team process – which shows team members being involved at all stages of a modular project. A few caveats about the diagrams:

• There are many modular project and team structures, many more than these 3, but these were selected to compare contract vs. product, and linear vs. integrated team processes.
• Several marketing/project inception models are shown, from modular broker to in-house business development, to a more robust marketing/PR capacity within the modular company.

There’s a lot of work available in both the public and private multi-family housing markets. It’s important for the whole modular industry to have successful modular companies and successful modular projects. Integrated Teams and Product Thinking will ultimately help reduce unit cost. And reduced unit cost, coupled with successful, completed modular projects, will help grow the modular industry’s share of the US housing market and, get more people housed.