This IS Construction, Just Done Better

By Gaynor Tennant, Founder & Chair, Offsite Alliance

When we set up the Offsite Alliance, the aim was simple: bring people together, share knowledge, and give a voice to a part of the sector that was too often overlooked. Fast forward ten years, and the conversation around MMC feels completely different. We’re not asking if it can work anymore. We know it works. Every day across the UK, we’re building smarter, cleaner, faster, and delivering real outcomes for people, places, and the planet.

What we’re seeing now isn’t just a new set of methods. It’s the industrialisation of construction. Step by step, we’re moving away from one-off projects and towards repeatable systems, data-driven delivery, and pipelines that give the industry confidence to invest. This isn’t a side project; it’s a fundamental shift in how we design, make, and build.

And the progress in just a decade has been huge. We’ve gone from small pilots at the margins to billions embedded in government programmes. From one-off projects to region-wide adoption. From siloed ambition to system-level alignment. Construction isn’t experimenting anymore, it’s industrialising.

That’s why we wanted to capture this journey in our From Pilot to Pipeline report. It highlights just how far we’ve come, but also makes clear there’s still a long way to go.

MMC Pipeline

Industrialisation isn’t only about new methods or clever technology, it’s also about culture and behaviour. Anyone working in this sector knows how often procurement gets in the way of doing things better. Too many projects are still won on lowest cost, which leaves businesses squeezed and unable to invest in long-term capability. We need a shift in mindset. Outcome-based procurement, alliancing contracts, and long-term frameworks are how we give the industry confidence to invest, share risk, and deliver consistency. That’s how we make continuous improvement possible.

At the OA, I see every day what collaboration can unlock. We’re helping to shape new education pathways and competency frameworks for modern delivery. Tools like PAS 8700 are embedding trust, consistency, and performance into everyday practice. Through the Sustainable Homes Hub we are developing, our community will be able to share lessons and drive coordinated action to deliver homes that really work for residents, the environment, and the economy.

For me, industrialisation also means creating a culture that learns and improves continuously. Not one-time fixes, not isolated pilots, but a long-term approach that embraces data, adapts quickly, and rewards outcomes over process.

The Offsite Alliance was built to support that culture. We convene, we connect, and we create space for the sector to grow up together.

The transformation is already underway, but sustaining it will take joined-up, long-term commitment. Short-termism, fragmented procurement, and planning uncertainty still hold us back. We need to move past reactive policies and embed the conditions for productivity and improvement to thrive.

This isn’t about “modern” versus “traditional.” It’s about the industrialisation of construction, done better. Better for people, for place, and for public value.

We know the ecosystem exists. The capability exists. The will exists.

Now we need the consistency, the commitment, and the cultural change to match.

Let’s keep moving forward, together.