A Tipperary construction company has announced that it will accelerate the use of off-site building methods in the future.
Clancy Construction used the approach to complete a 554-bed student accommodation project in Cork.
Enterprise Ireland has developed a productivity improvement programme known as “Built to Innovate” which is part of Enterprise Ireland’s approach on Housing for All.
The initiative aims to achieve faster, higher-quality construction of housing by providing funding support for productivity training, innovation and the introduction of digital, paperless systems.
Clancy Construction is the first firm to secure approval from Enterprise Ireland in the programme, and took the approach seriously in building out the 554-bed Bandon Road student accommodation complex.
Managing director John O’Shaughnessy says despite lockdowns and supply chain disruptions the project was completed on time and within budget. Mr O’Shaughnessy said this demonstrated the value of using technological advances, lean construction, and off-site construction. The Bandon Road project is made up of 77 apartments in five blocks, with the frames manufactured and assembled off site. These were then delivered and erected on site. Bathroom pods were assembled in the same way.
The approach meant that an individual apartment block five to six storeys high was constructed and weatherproofed in an 18 week period, with the internal finishing cycle taking just 16 weeks.
The firm is a family business which was founded in Drangan, county Tipperary 75 years ago and has an extensive portfolio of projects, including building two 24-bed isolation wards in a 14-week period for the HSE during the Covid-19 crisis. Enterprise Ireland has indicated it will support Clancy with funding for productivity training, innovation and the introduction of digital, paperless systems. The company were winners in the Irish Construction Excellence Awards in 2020.
