Case Study - Panaloc

While visiting the respected “Construction Computing Exhibition” in November 2007, Mike Loftus, Technical Services Team for Panaloc Ltd, said, “The talk is about customer demand for computerised integral building models for the offsite construction sector. 3D design models enable the client to view and check their specifications, and even change details as small as light switches, to guarantee the final onsite build specification.”

Loftus observed, “Pleasingly, we seem to be doing already what others are still just talking about!”

This is because Panaloc has spent the last three years developing leading engineering 3D computer-aided design and manufacturing systems to turn architectural plans and drawings into an accurate offsite manufacturing process. This process is capable of delivering volumetric pods that assemble to form a building, complete with windows, insulation and fittings, to individual specifications for quick and easy assembly. It is important to understand also that we are not talking individual buildings: Panaloc has the capacity to build streets, neighbourhoods and towns even!

The key benefits for clients are: easy and precise design review / sign-off; superior build quality; dramatic build-time reductions; on-time completion and tight budget controls.

Panaloc latest housing success, a £1.6 million social housing development at Higher Broughton in Salford, by Taylor Woodrow, is a typical example of their expertise and capabilities. It took just twenty four days from start to finish for nineteen homes! Taylor Woodrow have been delighted by the speed of the project, overcoming skilled labour shortages in the Manchester area, and allowing local residents to be re-housed in record time.

How does it work? Loftus continues, “Thanks to the knowledge and support from companies like NT CADCAM Ltd, we have been able to incorporate bespoke advanced 3D engineering design software SolidWorks, DriveWorks and CAMWorks into a leading offsite construction process for the building industry.”

Architectural 2D drawings are interpreted into 3D CAD models, from which the design can be easily visualised and numerically checked: right down to the sink and taps in a bathroom pod, for example. Client changes create no problem for Panaloc Ltd. Using their SolidWorks Design Library and Custom Properties, in conjunction with DriveWorks rules-based design automation software, changes to walls, entrances, materials and fixtures are automatically re-modelled and recalculated; and cutting lists, bill of materials and costs are updated on the spot.

This process allows Panaloc Ltd to deliver mass-customised products on an unprecedented scale. An example of this is the manufacture of almost a thousand bathroom pods for St Helens and Whiston Hospitals: there were 44 variations.