Kāinga Ora releases its first Offsite Manufacturing Plan
15 December 2021
Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities (formerly Housing New Zealand) has continued to scale up its use of offsite manufacturing (OSM) in recent years. The Government agency has now released a plan outlining how it will use OSM to help deliver more quality public and market homes.
Transforming construction through innovation; our offsite manufacturing plan sets out the action Kāinga Ora is taking to realise the benefits of OSM and how this build method can contribute to the agency building more homes effectively, affordably and sustainably. There is also a strong focus on the role Kāinga Ora can play in helping to grow the New Zealand OSM sector.
General Manager Construction and Innovation, Patrick Dougherty, says alternative build solutions are needed now more than ever before.
“There is intense nationwide demand for more quality public and market housing. At the same time, the construction sector in New Zealand is operating at full capacity and we can’t rely solely on traditional stick build methods. We need to think differently about how we deliver well-designed and built homes for people and families in need,” Dougherty says.
“As the largest provider of residential homes in the country, Kāinga Ora has a responsibility to invest in build methods that show a clear pathway to delivering more quality homes, at a faster rate, and with the best possible outcomes for people, communities, and the construction industry. We believe that offsite manufacturing can play a significant part in achieving these results.”
General Manager Commercial, Caroline McDowall adds that Kāinga Ora has a huge opportunity to lead change.
“The Government expects us to look beyond the way we currently do things towards new processes, technology and solutions that utilise modern construction methods and systems. The OSM Plan delivers on Kāinga Ora’s commitment to innovation across public, market and affordable housing, and how we can use our scale and strong partnerships to lead a more effective and sustainable future for the building sector.”
The plan is clear about the numerous benefits of OSM, acknowledging the homes can be built up to 40 per cent faster than traditional builds, there are fewer variables to allow a more streamlined build process, materials are not exposed to the elements during construction, and less construction waste is produced.
Important to Kāinga Ora is that OSM homes meet quality and sustainability thresholds expected of a traditional build, including Healthy Homes standards and the New Zealand Green Building Council’s 6 Homestar rating, which is the minimum rating Kāinga Ora sets for all of their public housing.
Dougherty says that while OSM is not new to Kāinga Ora, the OSM Plan lays the groundwork for future growth.
“About 15 percent of public homes currently under construction or in design through Kāinga Ora utilise OSM techniques. A key objective in the OSM Plan is to increase that by 20 per cent year on year. To achieve this we will further develop partnership frameworks with suppliers, so that together we can meet the growing demand for housing. A guaranteed pipeline of work means we can provide our build partners and suppliers with assurances through contracts which enable them to increase their capacity and capability to provide this type of home at scale.”
The OSM plan sits alongside Kāinga Ora’s broader construction plan for future homes – Building Momentum.
Are you an OSM manufacturer?
If you are an OSM supplier with capacity to build homes at scale, Kāinga Ora wants to hear from you. Get in touch by emailing CCO@kaingaora.govt.nz.
