Modular Advocacy Program
The Modular Advocacy Program (“MAP”) is MBI's multiyear, multi-million dollar campaign to spur investment in, and promote the greater adoption of, the commercial modular construction industry.
In order to meet the growing needs of its members and the greater modular construction industry, MBI's MAP program will drive industry growth in the following areas:
- Influencing government legislation, regulations, procurement, programs, and codes.
- Creating new business opportunities for the industry.
- Expanding outreach efforts to developers, architects, and code officials.
- Attracting new employees to the industry, including non-traditional workers.
MBI, leveraging its growing international membership, plans to fund this program through a variety of initiatives.
SPONSORED BY
Funding the Modular Industry's Most Important Initiative
Your company can support MBI's Modular Advocacy Program in three ways:
MBI Seals
MBI Seals are 4-inch square stickers that are meant to be affixed inside each module that MBI member manufacturers produce. Each MBI Seal costs $20. These costs are intended to passed along to your customers, which means a net-zero cost to you.
Manufacturers - Order and affix an MBI Seal inside each module you manufacture.
Architects, Contractors, & Developers - Spec the MBI Seal on your future projects.
Fleet Owners – Ensure all new and existing units have the MBI Seal.
Sponsoring the MAP
Annual sponsorships for the MAP program are available for $1,000. If you're not buying Seals, this is an ideal way to show your support of MBI and contribute to MAP funding.
With your annual sponsorship, your company will receive:
- sponsor recognition and logo inclusion in every MBI printed piece (magazines, annual reports, event brochures),
- a dedicated eblast thanking each sponsor, AND
- a special thanks at the next World of Modular annual conference, including logo inclusion in the opening presentation.
Voluntary Donations
If Seals and MAP sponsorship don't match your company's current objectives, support the MAP by making a voluntary donation in any amount.
In combination with the revenues from Seals and sponsorships, these donations will be used to grow and protect the commercial modular construction industry through government affairs advocacy, business development, expanding MBI's membership, and industry workforce development.
Advocating for Commercial Modular Construction
Led by the Modular Building Institute's government affairs director Jon Hannah-Spacagna, MBI's team of government affairs professionals is diverse, experienced, and well-connected on both the state and federal levels.
Chaired by Stephen Shang, CEO of Falcon Structures, MBI boasts a working committee of dozens of modular industry professionals that meets and advises MBI on existing legislative barriers, emerging issues, and opportunities to expand the adoption of modular and offsite construction.
Significant Wins for the Industry
In only the past year, MBI has contributed (entirely or in part) to a string of noteworthy victories for the modular building industry, including:
- Colorado is dispersing $40 million in grants to modular manufacturers to support affordable housing construction;
- Oregon passed a $20 million bill to support the use of modular to build affordable housing; I’ve been appointed to their finance committee to disperse the funds
- The International Code Council finalized and published its new MEP-focused building standard, MBI/ICC ANSI 1210;
- The Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation continues to fund its Rapid Housing Initiative with another $1.5 billion in funding, which includes specific support for modular construction;
- The National Nuclear Security Administration is finalizing recommendations to the US Department of Energy to utilize modular for over $10.5 billion in future projects;
- A New York state bill that would have required NYC-licensed workers to oversee work in modular factories was defeated for the fourth consecutive year;
- Washington state fully adopted the use of third-party inspection agencies for plan reviews;
- Virginia became the first state to formally adopt MBI/ICC ANSI 1200/1205; and
- Utah has just voted in favor of creating a state modular program.
Your company's support of the MAP is crucial to MBI's ability to achieve these results.
Modular Building Institute Defeats Davis-Bacon Act Expansion
The Modular Building Institute, with the support of its members, has defeated the US. Dept. of Labor's Davos-Bacon Act expansion, and the stakes for the modular construction industry could not have been higher.
Creating New Business Opportunites
MBI works with governmental and non-governmental organizations around the world to make connections and highlight the abilities of commercial modular construction. In doing so, MBI routinely engages, supports, and advises state, provincial, and municipal agencies to create opportunities for its members to contribute to well-funded and much-needed modular construction projects. These efforts would not be possible without MBI's involvement, and MBI's involvement wouldn't be possible without support from the industry itself.
Recent efforts by MBI to create opportunities for the industry have included:
FEMA Announces Hawaii Housing Plan Using Modular Construction
The plan marks is a major change for FEMA as it begins to incorporate modular housing into its disaster-relief options.
ICC/MBI Standards 1200 & 1205 Provide Foundation for Utah's First-Ever State Modular Program
Utah becomes the second state in the country, following Virginia, to fully adopt ICC/MBI standards 1200 and 1205.
Colorado Announces Modular Housing Loans to Create Up to 4,755 More Housing Units Per Year
Gov. Jared Polis just announced funding to support the growth of eight modular housing manufacturers across Colorado.
Broadening MBI's Membership with Architects and Engineers
As public and private organizations continue to turn toward modular buildings for the many benefits they provide, architects and engineers are being increasingly called upon to design buildings that will be built using prefabricated or modular construction. As the world's largest trade association for the commercial modular construction industry, MBI is reaching out to design professionals to both bolster its membership and provide these design professionals with the promotion, resources, and connections they need to succeed in modular design and construction.
Recent design-focused resources have included:
From a Basement Office to a Team of Modular Experts
“The modular offsite construction project type actually found EVstudio because of our company’s integrated multidisciplinary approach,” Dalvit said, which led the company to develop a focused design studio around that project type.
Modular Architecture: Thinking Outside of the Box with Sara.Ann Logan
It might seem strange to use the term “out of the box thinking” in the modular construction world, but when you’re talking about Sara.Ann Logan, the VP of design at Volumetric Building Companies, the phrase fits like a glove.
Is Modular + Scattered Sites a Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis?
By utilizing modular construction, architect Dean Dovolis and his team were able to design houses that fit into their respective neighborhoods while keeping construction costs to a minimum.
Developing Tomorrow's Workforce
In response to the industry’s critical need for new workforce development, MBI has created a dedicated director-level position to spearhead its workforce and professional development efforts. These efforts include the creating of an online course based on MBI’s industry textbook; expanding partnerships with trade schools, universities, and third-party industry incubators; providing a platform for industry professionals who are active in their own workforce development efforts; and increasing outreach to potential industry professionals.
Recent workforce development efforts and coverage have included:
UNB OCRC Student Off-Site Design Competition Crowns 2023 Winners
This competition—presented again by the Modular Building Institute (MBI)—showcased student design innovation in modular, prefabricated, panelized, and other types of off-site construction.
Welcoming the Industry’s Rising Stars to the World of Modular
In 2023, MBI hosted over two dozen high school students from Las Vegas’ East Career & Technical Academy at its World of Modular event. More students will be attending in 2024.
Is Your Company a “Destination Employer?” These Four Are
Autovol, Momentum Innovation Group, Signature Building Systems, and Modern Building Systems have been working hard to attract workers, particularly young workers, to their companies through a combination of culture and actively reaching out to students to make them aware of opportunities.
MBI Needs You to Support the MAP
Full member support of the Modular Advocacy Program will be critical to MBI's goals in 2024 and beyond. And if your company has not yet joined MBI, now is the perfect time. With more resources than ever, the Modular Building Institute is helping to build the future of modular construction. Join us!
More from the Modular Building Institute
A Huge Win for the Modular Construction Industry in Massachusetts
In early February, 2024, the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) released its proposed 10th Edition building codes. This draft included several amendments targeting modular construction that would have created an extremely difficult environment for the entire modular industry and could have eliminated the industry entirely in the state.
FEMA Announces Hawaii Housing Plan Using Modular Construction
Utah becomes the second state in the country, following Virginia, to fully adopt ICC/MBI standards 1200 and 1205. MBI will continue to work with leadership in Utah to implement the new program.
Supply and Demand: Solving Canada’s Housing Crisis One Relocatable Housing Unit at a Time
Not only do Moda Modular’s repurposed employee housing solutions cut the emissions related to construction down to nearly zero, but they also keep building materials that are often not biodegradable from slowly decaying in storage facilities.
It’s the classic environmental mantra of reduce, reuse, and recycle, scaled up and applied to building after building.
ICC/MBI Standards 1200 & 1205 Provide Foundation for Utah’s First-Ever State Modular Program
Utah becomes the second state in the country, following Virginia, to fully adopt ICC/MBI standards 1200 and 1205. MBI will continue to work with leadership in Utah to implement the new program.
Repetition, Communication, and Coordination: A QSR Case Study
This modular QSR project seemed like any another modular building on the surface. Inside, it was anything but. The rhythm, the desire to iterate and repeat, and the constant communication between all parties made it stand out.
Modular Architecture: Thinking Outside of the Box with Sara.Ann Logan
At a time when modular buildings were still seen as less than by many in the architecture and construction world, Sara.Ann Logan took the plunge and partnered to launch a design-build firm that designed, built, and constructed modular high-end single-family homes. But even though she could see the value of this kind of construction, it wasn’t universally accepted.
Colorado Developer ‘Attacks’ Attainable Housing Crisis
City, county, and state government bodies are reaching out to Fading West Development, a modular manufacturer and developer in Buena Vista, CO, to learn more about how they are using modular construction to solve the affordable housing crisis in Colorado. Governments are eager to learn how they’ve made modular development successful and profitable while meeting the growing need for affordable housing.
CES Group’s Stuart Cameron Will Convince You the Moon Is Achievable with Modularized MEP
While most people think of construction as a gradually layered process, MEP assemblies—such as the modular ones—tend to provide all-in-one installs, like a car factory. A modular MEP product helps developers, architects, and fellow modular manufacturers reach their goals through early integration and planning. MEP assemblies address all the unseen things like electrical, heating, and plumbing when looking at a finalized building. The very nature of MEP assemblies are crucial to any initial prospectus.
Automation: The Future for Offsite Modular Construction
Offsite modular construction lags far behind other industries in embracing and adopting automation. Some people believe it will decrease jobs. Others feel they’ve done okay without it, so why change? In reality, conventional construction methods simply cannot keep up. Cooper Lane of Brave Control Solutions points to the labor shortage and the housing crisis that’s rampant in Canada, the U.S., and globally.
Seizing the Modular Construction Opportunity
The CSA Public Policy Centre’s new report, Seizing the Modular Construction Opportunity, highlights how innovative modular methods can help to bring various building forms—from single unit housing to complex high-rises—online more quickly. Owing to efficient manufacturing practices and controlled factory environments, modular can achieve completion rates that are 25% to 50% faster than conventional construction approaches.