AIMCH - Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes
"**AIMCH seeks to industrialise the housing sector**, applying design for manufacture and assembly solutions to become a global housing leader. Digital working and offsite construction have not broken through as viable mainstream alternative's to paper based design and masonry methods. **AIMCH's ambition will transform how we build homes,** through industrialisation, solving these challenges for good. AIMCH will be a **sector catalyst** moving to housing delivery to become a **digitally integrated, manufacturing and assembly based sector**.
The UK needs an additional **120,000 homes each year**. Housing faces many challenges reduce construction skills, aging workforce and poor intake. Productivity is poor and output is low. Housing quality, customer satisfaction and building performance must improve. Affordability is low and costs too high. Housing is fragmented, risk adverse and cyclical limiting long term investment.
AIMCH goal is to deliver **offsite construction for the cost of masonry** and understand how future advanced offsite solutions can be applied. This **ambition has never been achieved**, creating business opportunity. AIMCH seeks **20% cost reduction, 30% productivity gain, 50% less defects, build 5,000 & impact 35,000 homes** across the sector. **AIMCH unique collaboration** will develop and commercialise digital design tools, develop new automated manufacturing systems, trial enhanced & advanced offsite systems, with new lean site processes.
AIMCH will be the **Henry Ford of housing**, catalysing sector transformation, becoming the game-changing project, for Industry and Government to showcase. AIMCH will make people's lives easier driving uptake because people want too.
AIMCH has the UK's largest private, rented and social housing providers, leading offsite manufacturers and UK researchers. **AIMCH provides scale** (35,000 homes or 16% of the market) high profile companies & innovation **capability**, with clear route to market exploitation. AIMCH will deliver **wider sector benefits** in jobs, investment, growth, younger and diverse workers, provide communities, accelerate technology adoption and become a world leading housing exemplar.
This **36 month £6.2m Innovation project** will develop **concepts, prototype and trial solutions** on 10-12 live projects. New methods will be commercialised & disseminated for wide market uptake. AIMCH are confident **we can deliver** this ambition."
Sigma SSPW - Single Skin Party Wall System
The Sigma SSPW R&D project will develop the UK's first patented single skin timber frame party wall build
system. This project will undertake industrial research to overcome several innovation challenges. This unique
product significantly improves the whole life performance of timber frame buildings, by reducing heat loss,
building in fire and acoustic performance, future-proofing against adaptions and guaranteeing "as-built" and
"in-use" whole life building performance, compared to conventional party walls. The product will commercially
impact on 35,000 homes per year, as well as many non-domestic buildings. The innovation challenges include,
the product design, detailing and technical validation, the commercialisation of the technology, the
development of a high volume, low cost, advanced CAD/CAM manufacturing system, and the development of a
innovative site handling and installation process. The products whole life performance will be verified, through
as-built and in-use testing of 20 homes, over 12 months.
Advanced Industrialised Methods of Construction for Homes (AIMCh)
In this project we will challenge our current approach to speculative house building by applying lessons from
overseas business models, especially where they use advanced offsite construction. We will map out the UK
business process from land purchase through design, the supply chain, construction & sales with a view to
understanding added value, waste, cash inflows & outflows, as well as risks. From this we will create a
“SimCity” type business model that will enable us to visualise the business transformations needed to increase
volume, control or reduce cost, whilst meeting new customer & future legislative requirements.
Application of Innovative Materials, Products and Processes to Meet Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4 Energy Performance (AIM C4)
The AIMC4 projects seeks to deliver mainstream Level 4 Code for Sustainable Homes (Energy only) using a fabric first approach, without reliance on renewable technologies or solar orientation, for the cost of a Level 3 home .In addition the homes will be user friendly, simple to use and low maintenance. This will drive supply chain product/systems, process and material innovations, associated with the building envelope, for volume housing delivery.