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Evaluating the Potential for Automation in the Modular Home Industry

Source: www.fpl.fs.fed.us
Topic: Home Industry

Sort Desciption: in the Modular Home Industry. U. S. Department of Agriculture. Forest Service • Forest Products Laboratory. In a recent assessment of. the U.S. modular home ...

Content Inside: Evaluating the Potential for Automation in the Modular Home Industry U. S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service • Forest Products Laboratory In a recent assessment of the U.S. modular home industry, we observed that automation and advanced technology were largely absent from factories. Although taking place in a controlled factory environment, much of the construction process resembled that of tradi- tional on-site “stick built” house construction. The controlled environment provides factory-built home manufacturers a number of benefits over conven- tional on-site construction: • Controlled factory environment prevents weather damage to materials. • Subcomponents can be built concurrently. • Inventoried materials can be better controlled and managed. • Less-skilled labor can be utilized. • Manufacturing quality control can be implemented. Total labor cost is a major concern for modular home manufacturers. Although cost of materials fluctuates, workforce utilization has a more significant impact on the bottom line. Modular home manufacturers closely monitor labor content, and improved manufacturing efficiencies generally focus on reducing labor content. Background Our modular home manu- facturing technology assessment offered the fol- lowing insights: • The major process sta- tions in a modular home factory that use wood- based materials are floor framing, floor deck- ing, wall framing, wall sheathing, wall set, roof framing, roof assembly, roof decking, and roof setting. • The typical U.S. modular housing factory has very little advanced technology. Examples of base technologies found to be in use include manual pneumatic nail guns, manual cut-off saws, cranes, and roller track systems. Opportunities to implement advanced tech- nology potentially abound. • Factories that manufacture roof trusses or wall panels have generally implemented a higher level of tech- nology. Many modular home manufacturers purchase roof trus ...

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