Boosting productivity and safety with modular building

Since creating this article and video series, MODLOGIQ has acquired the equipment, rehired the employees, and completed a new lease for the facility formerly occupied by ToVee. To visit their new website, click here or read the press release here.

After touring the factory and learning about ToVee's innovative offsite process, next in our series from Dave Cooper Live, Dave visits the Fairfax Development job site. Here he discovers how ToVee's modular methods are transforming the way the industry builds – dramatically improving productivity, safety and sustainability.   

Part 1: Touring the Fairfax Development in Connecticut

In part 1, Dave meets ToVee Project Site Superintendent Matt Rutledge and Project Director of Plant Operations Russ Wills to learn more about the Fairfax Development.

The Fairfax Development is a six-story building with retail on the bottom and nearly 200 apartments above. In total, that is 160,000ft² (49,000m²) of framed-up apartment space.

Incredibly, ToVee expect to have all the apartments framed up and ready for finishing and services within three months.

How they achieve that is all in ToVee's streamlined modular approach.

Part 2: Dave checks out how ToVee use their modular system to frame up 39 apartments

In part 2, the impact of the ToVee modular system is on show as Dave inspects the 39 framed apartment spaces on the third floor.

"You can see just how neat and clean it is in here, and that's because of the process of using the ToVee panel system," says Dave.

Installers and other trades can work quickly and safely with exterior panels going in first and acting as built-in fall protection. ToVee has designed everything to deliver faster installation without any compromise.

For example, the precise lip cuts on the bottom track takes the hassle out of fixing studs while also improving strength.  

"It takes a lot of the guesswork and human error out of building the panels and setting them as well," says Russ.

MEP cut-outs and the open truss system also help reduce labour time for services, while the ToVee proprietary Smart Rim Track (SRT) system ensures trusses align exactly and can be fixed so they are truly top chord bearing – which every engineer loves.

In part 3, Dave heads up to the fourth floor with Russ and Matt to see the hyper-efficient installation workflow in action, and learn how ToVee can construct a six-story building with 200 apartments in only three months.

Part 3: See how this ToVee project comes together on the job site.

Rather than walk panels up, a crane with a specially designed rack lifts the exterior and interior panels into place. The rack can carry 150 lineal feet of framing and deliver it within a few feet of its installation point.

The crew then complete the work in a streamlined manner, with one team decking in front of another team installing panels. While this is going on, a third team follows behind and fixes joists to the installed panels.

"Everything works in a continuous loop around this building. We just keep looping it up to the top," says Matt.

The advantages of this modular approach are numerous:

1. Efficiency: Speeds up material "commute" times and construction workflow.

2. Safety: Exterior panels double as safety and wind barriers.

3. Low Impact: With less trucking required, there is less pollution and community disruption.

4. Space Saving: Offsite panel construction frees onsite space.

5. Labour Saving: Less onsite labour is needed due to pre-assembly.

"Doing the panel system, you have a lot fewer vehicles and movement coming in and out of a job site," says an impressed Dave.

"It's low impact on the community. You get in and out of here with less disruption during this process altogether."

This wraps up our Dave Cooper Series with ToVee, and shows how forward-thinking companies like ToVee are making construction faster, safer and cleaner. From digital conception to rapid installation, Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are shaping the future and paving the way for more sustainable and impactful construction practices.