Medical Construction- Going Modular or Prefab

To reduce on-site chaos during your medical construction project, it’s a good idea to take advantage or modularization and prefabrication materials. These are invaluable tools in the construction industry that help to save time and money while also maintaining patient flow during your health facility renovation or expansion operation. Whichever design feature you choose for your medical office, there are many options available that incorporate prefabricated or modular components that will fit your budget and time schedule. Tip: Ask your medical construction contractor to advice high-quality building elements that will complement your medical facility layout.

Medical construction: Prefab or modular?

Modularization and prefabricated elements are all designed using innovative 3-D building information modeling (BIM) that can easily be installed by your design and construction teams.

Modular elements

Modular building materials are basically entire modules that are built off-site and installed into your medical facility; these can include reception cubicles, waiting rooms, doctor offices, or other wholly constructed components. What modularization lacks in unique design it scores in noise reduction and speed of construction.

Prefabrication

Prefabricated materials used in medical construction include individual building components that are produced in a factory and assembled on the job site. Prefab is a more popular option than modular units in the healthcare industry, as it allows for more flexibility in design and a greater selection. Many elements that are needed for out-patient rooms, feature wall structures, organization, and exterior spaces are easily customized using prefabricated materials. Prefabricated parts are also versatile, making it easier for your construction team to modify certain layouts should you wish to conduct more renovations in the future.

What are the benefits?

Designing your medical center using ready-made materials offers many added bonuses.

Low cost and speed

You can cut construction time by 30% when you use production-line building pieces, as opposed to traditional construction from scratch. So, you save money and finish the job on time, or even ahead of schedule.

Safety

Because modular pieces are manufactured away from the building site in a controlled environment, your risks for injuries during the construction phase are much lower.

Fewer distractions

Building construction can hamper patient flow. There are ways to avoid or reduce commotion on the job site, such as affixing clear signage, setting patient areas that bypass construction, reserving very loud construction to off-hours, and opting for pre-assembled pieces when available. Would you choose prefabricated building parts or whole modular units for your medical practice renovation? What other advantages do modularization and prefabrication add to medical construction today?