黑洞社区

Richard Ogden used to work for McDonald鈥檚. Not multinational Mott MacDonalds or even MacDonald 黑洞社区 Contractors of Margate, but the McDonald鈥檚 with the golden arches. Many may not realise it, but the fast-food burger chain became an acknowledged trailblazer in the application of off-site construction to build restaurants in record-breaking timescales, and Ogden played a key part in making that happen.

Now Ogden has been appointed the first chairman of Buildoffsite, the brand new government/industry-sponsored organisation set up to work with and promote the off-site construction sector. Blazing a trail is on the agenda once again. Ogden says: 鈥淚 am intent on engaging all parts of the industry in my plans 鈥� clients, contractors, manufacturers, designers and researchers 鈥� to form a network of members who think in an holistic way. Buildoffsite will drive residential, retail, commercial and industrial construction in both the private and public sectors into a step change using the mechanics of off-site construction.鈥�

Ogden鈥檚 enthusiasm is going to be critical to meeting the goals Buildoffsite has set itself. He talks of the off-site sector as a cottage industry, something in its infancy, as opposed to the behemoth that is construction. And he acknowledges that unless the off-site construction sector grows, it can never hope to make an impact. 鈥淥ff-site techniques account for a 拢2bn spend in a 拢100bn market. We are small, but our aim is to double this figure by 2010 and increase it 10-fold by 2020.鈥�

Ogden鈥檚 career with McDonald鈥檚 illustrates how to get the best out of off-site construction. Starting as an apprentice within Balfour Beatty鈥檚 civil engineering section, Ogden switched to construction on the advice of a college lecturer, and there began his love affair with building things. 鈥淚 love doing, organising, making,鈥� Ogden beams, 鈥渁nd construction is as big a challenge as it gets.鈥�

In the mid-1970s, after gaining his construction spurs in the public sector, Ogden looked to broaden his wings, first taking a contract manager鈥檚 role with Ladbrokes and subsequently, in 1980, becoming the 34th employee of the newly formed McDonald鈥檚 Restaurants UK. This was no desperate stop-gap burger flipping job, but an appointment as project manager to the US giant鈥檚 fledgling British-built portfolio. Before long, Ogden had been fast-tracked to vice-president of construction design and then chair of the European construction team. However, as the high interest rates of the Thatcher era started to bite, McDonald鈥檚 was not making good returns on its UK-built investment and it called on Ogden for a solution.

鈥淚 got together a team of my best staff and we analysed UK construction methods and attitudes. We had to think differently and innovate if we were going to cut costs, so we investigated different construction techniques. We flirted with timber frame, which is heavily used in the US, but at the time UK construction companies weren鈥檛 up to the task of delivering us cost savings.

鈥淭hen one of the team suggested a firm called Britspace which manufactured steel-frame components. We realised we were on to something and went ahead with the design for a prototype freestanding McDonald鈥檚 restaurant building. This was when we realised that not only could we speed up the shell construction but everything else as well.鈥�

Ogden and his team honed their prototype until they could deliver a building to site in modules that were 95% complete. E E 鈥淎nything that is screwed down is installed before being delivered to site,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was an exciting time. One day, I took an electric kettle into a team meeting and said, 鈥榣ook, plug it in and it works. Come back when you can make the services in the modules do that鈥�. The team did it 鈥� we invented services that clip together.鈥�

In February 1992 Ogden鈥檚 prototype became a reality. The city of Stoke was host to the first prefabricated McDonald鈥檚 restaurant. This boxy 6000 ft2 building with a faux-pitched roof was the first of a type that are now instantly recognisable in or around every town and city in the UK.

One day i took an electric kettle into a team meeting and said, 鈥榣ook, plug it in and it works. come back when you can make the services in the modules do that鈥�. The team did it 鈥� we invented services thatclip together

Ogden didn鈥檛 sit back and relish his achievement, though. As important as this new fast-build technique was, it could be improved. Each new restaurant building project was analysed and learnt from. Knowledge was shared across the globe with McDonald鈥檚 construction teams in Europe, Argentina and Brazil. Then, in 1995, Ogden got the go-ahead to start a new company in the US. McDonald鈥檚 Advanced 黑洞社区 Systems was formed and this British-born building lover began showing the home of the burger how to build its McDonald鈥檚 restaurants.

With the freestanding restaurants popping up around the world 鈥� 750 every year in Europe 鈥� Ogden switched his attention from innovative design to build speed. 鈥淭he first freestanding restaurant took 30 days to build, but by 1996 we were much faster,鈥� says Ogden. 鈥淲e took possession of a site in Peterborough and went from greenfield to selling hamburgers in 48 hours.鈥�

People mocked the buildings as cheap and crass but Ogden was immune to the criticism. He and his team debriefed everyone involved after each completion and quietly went on learning how to perfect the art of building off site.

鈥淭he key to our success was our willingness to embrace new ideas and technologies and to re-look at ideas and learn from both our successes and mistakes. Off-site techniques will never be at the forefront of creating monumental architecture. But they are the way forward in creating good, cost-effective, workable buildings for many sectors in less time and with less waste.

Off-site construction can provide the best product in terms of first-time quality, adaptability, cost, relocatability, time savings and health and safety.鈥�

Ogden鈥檚 construction trailblazing with McDonald鈥檚 left him little time for anything else and in 1999, when the Department of Trade and Industry approached him to chair an off-site forum, he declined. But after his retirement, at the age of 56 in 2002, a second knock at the door proved more fruitful. 鈥淭he DTI came to me to head a three-year research project called prOSPa, a forum to instruct the construction industry on off-site techniques. Eventually, in order to move away from pure research and to reform the project鈥檚 intentions, Buildoffsite was born. Using the knowledge base of prOSPa, Buildoffsite connects the demand for new rationalised construction techniques with those who can supply it.鈥�

Ogden realises that there will be resistance to his organisation鈥檚 ideas: 鈥淭here will always be prejudice against off-site techniques because of construction鈥檚 deep-rooted history. I am battling against 5000 years of knowledge but I鈥檓 not advocating wholesale change. You can鈥檛 do off-site without on-site; it is all totally integrated. It is about finding the best solution for each individual project. And this is why the big construction players and clients like Amec, Bovis, BAA, B&Q and Somerfield are involved: because they realise the value of what we are promoting.鈥�

This is not idle rhetoric. Buildoffsite is partly funded by the government but major factors in its creation have been the encouragement, support and financial backing of industry members, both clients and constructors, who realise the importance of taking the industry to the next level and into the 21st century.