<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="215" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-1024x215.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1514" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-1024x215.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-300x63.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-768x161.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left.png 1479w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Jason Dixon







Actively Manage Your Prefab Schedule



In this edition of the How To Guide for Prefab Leaders, we review how to generate a schedule forecast and factory production plan and how to manage the prefab project cycle to ensure that you are hitting the schedule targets.







In order to manage prefab project delivery in real-time, we will turn to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.offsight.com/forecasting-estimating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forecasting &amp; Estimating</a>&nbsp;feature set to build our plan and then leverage the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.offsight.com/production" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Production &amp; Quality Tracking</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.offsight.com/real-time-analytics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Real Time Analytics</a>&nbsp;feature sets to manage factory production, live, and ensure we are meeting our deadlines.







If production falls behind schedule, we will review how to take proactive steps to accelerate work and how to better understand the cost implications of these corrective actions.&nbsp;



Generate Your Prefab Project Schedule



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1576" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-2-2048x1146.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Begin by generating your project schedule and leveraging Offsight’s <a href="https://www.offsight.com/forecasting-estimating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forecasting &amp; Estimating</a> suite with built in algorithms that factor in labor capacity constraints. These constraints also apply to the unique prefabrication process for the products you are assembling. With <a href="https://www.offsight.com/templates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s pre-built prefab planning, forecasting and estimating templates</a>, you can define your prefabrication process by your product type (e.g. EIFS panels, bath pods, volumetric modules, etc).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1577" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-3-2048x1146.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once each process step is identified and hours are assigned to complete each process, you can then add your current labor resources and capacity constraints to generate an accurate factory production schedule to forecast start and end dates. Projected delivery dates by panel or bundle of panels (e.g. 1st floor, 2nd floor, etc) can then be provided to other project stakeholders to coordinate on-site installation. 







Compare Real-Time Production with Your Planned Schedule



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1578" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-4-2048x1146.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



After building your forecasted schedule, you can turn to <a href="https://www.offsight.com/production" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s Production &amp; Quality Tracking</a> feature set to track your progress against your prefab schedule once factory production begins. As operators actively work on products on the shop floor and products move through assembly, Offsight’s Live Dashboard actively tracks status in real time. In order to compare your real time progress against your planned project schedule, you can leverage Offsight’s Real Time Analytics capabilities.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1579" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-5-2048x1146.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



With Offsight’s Schedule and Analytics Dashboard, you can automatically pull a real time production Gantt chart for all live products on the floor and track when they start prefabrication. We also track the production status of all live products in the overall assembly, including which processes were completed e.g. framing, and which are still pending. 



Identify Schedule Delays and Correcting Course



In order to get a real time view of how you’re tracking against your original project plan, you will need to leverage the linking functionality in Offsight’s Schedule Dashboard to search and apply your forecasted schedule overlaid on your real-time production Gantt chart. By automatically linking forecasted product start and end dates by process and workstation, you can see how each individual product is tracking against your plan. Thereby you could track a large panelized project by individual panel or section, e.g. floor 1, and immediately identify when production is falling behind your schedule.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1580" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Process-6-2048x1146.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



In this manner all operators, team leads and supervisors can see when products and processes need to be completed to achieve your schedule targets. If updates to your forecasted schedule are needed to account for delays,  you can use the drag and drop feature to move the target start and end dates in the Schedule and Analytics Dashboard. This will ensure you are always tracking your progress and managing prefabrication against your overall project schedule. Furthermore by leveraging Offsight to communicate updates to all stakeholders in real time, you can enable collaboration and coordination throughout the project lifecycle.

In this edition of the How To Guide for Prefab Leaders, we review how to generate a schedule forecast and factory production plan and how to manage the prefab project cycle to ensure that you are hitting the schedule targets.

The How to Guide for Prefab Leaders: Actively Manage Your Prefab Schedule

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="215" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-1024x215.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1514" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-1024x215.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-300x63.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left-768x161.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/jason-left.png 1479w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Jason Dixon







Many builders and contractors are actively investing in offsite construction by launching new self-perform prefab businesses and factories. While this is great news for the construction industry at large, it is crucial that technology and processes are implemented in parallel with these investments to ensure these new prefab businesses and operations are successful.







Builders and contractors need a better understanding of which parts of a large scale project are best suited to be prefabricated and how they need to manage their labor, materials and logistics to achieve the major cost, speed and delivery advantages that come with building offsite.&nbsp;







In this edition of the How To Guide for Prefab Leaders, we review how&nbsp;<a href="https://www.offsight.com/forecasting-estimating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight&#8217;s Forecasting &amp; Estimating</a>&nbsp;feature set can be a gamechanger when it comes to accurately estimating prefab costs and forecasting your prefab project schedule. This tool is built to help with planning and bidding on major offsite projects and can help drive projects to your prefab factory.&nbsp;







Planning and Forecasting Your Prefab Schedule



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-2-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1516" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-2-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-2-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-2-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-2.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



In order to correctly plan and forecast your prefab project schedule, it’s crucial that you understand how labor constraints and capacity specifically tailored to a factory production environment can impact your project delivery speed and cost. With Offsight’s Forecasting &amp; Estimating functionality, you can define your prefab production with target workflow process times for each stage in the prefab process.



This is the first step in building your forecast and schedule. In this guide, we will walk through an example of a prefab factory that specializes in manufacturing wall panels. With&nbsp;<a href="https://www.offsight.com/templates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s pre-built prefab planning, forecasting and estimating templates</a>, prefab managers can model entire workflows based on previous projects with existing labor and production constraints to streamline setup.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-3-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1517" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-3-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-3-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-3-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-3.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



To build your plan you need to begin by defining the physical stages or work areas in your prefabrication process. These can include Framing, Subassembly, Sheathing, Insulation, etc. After defining the stages in your prefab process, it&#8217;s important to assign labor requirements and resources to your process. Labor will be the primary constraint in gauging the speed and cost of completing your project.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-4-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1518" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-4-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-4-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-4-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-4.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Through Offsight’s&nbsp;Planning Dashboard, labor can be assigned with a rate per hour based on their role and skill set and a start date to specify when they should start working on the panelized project at the prefab factory. Factory working hours and target labor hours define how long it would take to complete a process e.g.&nbsp;Sheathing&nbsp;for a specific type of panel and the total process time would forecast the timeframe to complete a product.&nbsp;



In order to make our plan even more accurate, it’s important to specify all types of panel designs e.g.&nbsp;Interior, Exterior, Load Bearing, etc.&nbsp;that would be part of this project including how each design would move through the prefab process and approximately how many labor hours would be needed to complete each step in the prefab process. To receive an accurate production forecast, it’s important to also identify each panel as a product e.g. Panel &#8211; A1 and link this with that panel’s specific design we identified earlier. Finally, we set the sequence in which the individual panels proceed through the prefab factory during production. This sequence may be related to the order in which each floor on the job site may be constructed e.g. all panels on the 1st Floor start before all panels on the 2nd Floor and so forth.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-5-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1519" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-5-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-5-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-5-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-5.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Now that our plan is set, we can leverage Offsight to automatically generate a detailed production forecast and prefab schedule. We can easily review when each panel would be forecasted to start and complete based on our labor constraints and visualize the entire project plan in Offsight’s dynamic GANTT Chart. If the owner or developer needs to accelerate project delivery, the prefab factory can modify labor resources by either adding more personnel or reducing the time between start dates to accelerate. We now have a highly dynamic prefab plan and labor cost estimate for our project which we can reference in our bid package. 







 Performing Materials Takeoff and Costing



After modeling our labor costs, the next part is calculating material costs with Offsight’s Takeoff tool for your prefab project. The materials costs can be added to our project by linking a Bill of Materials (BOM) with each unique panel design. You will recall we defined these earlier based on the type of panel. In some cases BOMs may be unique per Product e.g, Panel &#8211; A1  has a unique set of materials that are significantly different than Panel &#8211; A2. In either case the unique BOMs can be linked through Offsight’s Takeoff Dashboard. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-7-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1520" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-7-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-7-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-7-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-7.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once the BOMs are linked to their appropriate designs with materials and costs per unit identified, we can then link costs across all products we identified earlier in our plan to arrive at the total material cost for our prefab project. 







 Finalizing Your Prefab Estimate







With the addition of material costs, we now have a highly accurate picture of what our prefab project would cost. As a next step, we need to access Offsight’s Estimation Dashboard to complete our costing.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="697" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-8-1024x697.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1521" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-8-1024x697.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-8-300x204.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-8-768x522.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Process-8.png 1445w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



With Offsight’s&nbsp;Estimation Dashboard&nbsp;feature set, we can automatically pull a plan and all associated labor costs including factory prefabrication and installation costs and pair this with the appropriate materials costs for that plan. We can then add in logistics costs which can include shipping, warehousing and delivery. These costs can be entered as a fixed cost per a vendor’s quote or as an overall percent of project costs to account for variability in price that can scale with a project&#8217;s complexity.&nbsp;







Once these final elements are added, Offsight’s&nbsp;Estimation Dashboard&nbsp;will provide a complete project cost breakdown for your prefab project along with a full project schedule and forecast. These documents can be included in active bids or for better internal or external alignment with project stakeholders. Furthermore, this will provide your prefab team with the tools needed to accurately bid on projects and advocate for prefabrication to meet the project objectives and goals.&nbsp;

Drive Projects Offsite with Accurate Prefab Planning, Forecasting and Estimation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="221" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-1024x221.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1335" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-1024x221.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-300x65.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-768x166.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1.png 1443w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Jason Dixon







The goal of running any successful prefab operation is actively managing your materials costs on current projects, accurately tracking these costs to improve and optimize for future projects, and managing your materials ordering, delivery, and installation process to avoid costly factory downtime. 







In this edition of the How To Guide for Prefab Leaders, we walk through how to easily address these core essentials with <a href="https://www.offsight.com/materials-inventory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s Materials and Inventory Management</a> feature set. We review how to build your processes and workflow in <a href="https://www.offsight.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight</a> to make your material management seamless and scalable.







Managing Material Costs On Active Projects







Through Offsight’s Materials and Inventory Management feature set, prefabricators can build out their manufacturing workflow and full bill of materials (BOM) by project or specific product design for engineer-to-order. Whether the fabricator is manufacturing fully volumetric modules, pods, panels, or other building components, we can use Offsight’s Management Tool to identify the type of product we are building and create unique Product Types that correspond with your designs (e.g. Panel Design A, Panel Design B, Panel Design C).







We can then associate a custom bill of materials for each design or if it&#8217;s made to order, we can associate a bill of materials with each specific product design. Many products can be linked with your overall active project to provide highly accurate real-time material costing. 







<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1402" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-2.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>







Through Offsight’s Materials &amp; Suppliers dashboard, we can easily link material suppliers, part IDs, and part pricing with your bill of materials. Additionally, purchase orders created for each part will update the pricing to reflect changes across the system and allow for very accurate material costing during projects. 







Once your project launches, capturing real-time material costs and consumption directly from the shop floor can be done seamlessly through <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/offsight/id1522830069" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s mobile app</a>. Operators can easily identify and select the specific product they are working on and see its bill of materials for that specific process or station. They can then record material consumption at the moment as they are assembling the parts. During this process, if there are parts that are installed incorrectly or damaged during assembly they can be recorded as waste material. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1405" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-3.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



By tracking your material consumption in real time across all live products on your shop floor, Offsight provides real-time tracking of material costs on active projects. This provides you with the ability to proactively manage your overall project budget and material costing.







Avoiding Downtime With Streamlined Material Ordering







In addition to tracking material consumption, Offsight’s Materials and Inventory Management feature set allows prefabricators to effectively manage their entire factory inventory, materials ordering, and materials receiving as their inventories run low.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1407" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-4.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Through Offsight’s Workflow Automation functionality, prefabricators can set up automated alerts that would go out to materials managers and other personnel as parts run low. Minimum quantity threshold alerts can be defined per part and as these parts are consumed during assembly and these thresholds are triggered, managers will receive live notifications and emails through Offsight’s alerting system to re-order more parts.







A major advantage of the material ordering workflow in Offsight is the entire process can be connected and managed within one solution. Once parts run low, materials and procurement managers can log into Offsight’s Order dashboard to immediately create Purchase Orders for specific parts. Since all suppliers, part IDs, and BOMs are already loaded in Offsight, managers can seamlessly select parts low on quantity and generate POs. Managers can also send POs through Offsight to their suppliers or can download the PO as a PDF to send externally. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1408" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-5.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>







Once POs are created, they are assigned a status in Offsight’s dashboard and can be tracked through shipment, receipt, and ultimately receiving once they are ready to be added to inventory. During the receiving process, warehouse managers can identify if the correct number of parts arrived or if there are any defects or damages and can seamlessly “quarantine” these parts whereby they would be held and returned to the supplier.







A running record of all parts with damages or defects by part ID and supplier is stored in Offsight for future reference and to evaluate supplier quality. 







Optimizing Material Costs &amp; Improving Prefab Efficiency



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1409" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Process-Improvement-July-6.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



A major value add of leveraging Offsight&#8217;s Materials and Inventory Management is the ability to improve and optimize material costs on future projects and to improve your prefab materials management and operations overall. As outlined earlier, Offsight allows prefabricators to track both material damages and defects at the point of receipt and material waste at the point of assembly on the floor.







By understanding which parts commonly arrive damaged or defective, prefabricators can optimize their designs and corresponding bill of materials on future projects to limit these overhead costs related to material shipment and handling. If necessary certain parts or unreliable suppliers can be swapped on future projects.







Furthermore, being able to record which parts or processes commonly result in material waste on the floor, and being able to identify the root cause of this waste, can provide a significant opportunity for improving overall prefab operations. Recording and identifying, in Offsight, which parts are commonly damaged during manufacturing and improving standard operating procedures for assembly and installation of these parts on future projects will greatly cut down on overall material costs and rework.

The goal of running any successful prefab operation is actively managing your materials costs on current projects, accurately tracking these costs to improve and optimize for future projects, and managing your materials ordering, delivery, and installation process to avoid costly factory downtime. 

The How to Guide for Prefab Leaders: Managing Material Costs

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="215" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Frame-53-1024x215.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1390" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Frame-53-1024x215.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Frame-53-300x63.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Frame-53-768x161.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Frame-53.png 1479w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Jason Dixon







Tracking, Managing and Optimizing Labor Costs on Prefabrication Projects







Prefabricators who are actively investing and growing their factory operations are well aware of the importance of managing labor costs for the overall success of their projects. This can be the difference between delivering on the speed and cost efficiency advantages of prefab and offsite construction.







In this case study, we will review how specialty contractors and offsite manufacturers who may produce upwards of 1000 panels, pods, and other prefabricated components on major projects can leverage technology and process optimization to accurately track and control labor costs on their projects. By following these guidelines, prefabricators can set their businesses up for success and implement the tools to drive continuous improvement. 







We analyzed a specialty contractor that prefabricates 2 types of panel designs, interior and exterior panels. On a given project there could be upwards of 500 interior panels and 500 exterior panels. We will assume for simplicity&#8217;s sake even though there may be design differences between any 2 panels that the interior panels are relatively similar and their assembly is relatively consistent and that the exterior panels are also relatively similar and their assembly is relatively consistent.







Fixing The Problem



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1383" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-2.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



To optimize labor costs on a major project, prefabricators must first accurately measure and estimate these costs on a handful of panels. This process of establishing a baseline estimate for your total project labor cost can be made much easier with technology. 







Through <a href="https://www.offsight.com/labor-tracking-timesheets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s Labor Tracking &amp; Timesheets</a> feature set, prefabricators can begin by defining their production or assembly process, adding laborers/manpower, and then tracking their labor across several products to extrapolate and arrive at a total project labor cost.  







In keeping with our specialty contractor case study, we can assume this specialty contractor has 10 workstations, which can include stations like Framing, Sheathing, Insulation, Sizing, Base-Coat, Paint, Final QC, etc. Through <a href="https://www.offsight.com/production" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s Production Tracking</a> feature, the specialty contractor can create these workstations, identify how interior and exterior panels will flow through their respective workstations, and then add labor resources and personnel who will work in these stations. In the case of this specialty contractor, we can assume there are 20 labor personnel, roughly 2 laborers assigned per station. Through Offsight’s Management Tool, the specialty contractor can define specific User Groups and roles (e.g. welders, framers, drywall installers, etc.) and assign hourly costs to these workers. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1384" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-3.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once the production process, workflow, and personnel have been added to Offsight the specialty contractor can then load all 1000 panels, with individually marked Product IDs and QR Codes from the project to Offsight’s Production Schedule. They can also set Shift Times in Offsight to define when labor personnel would be actively working in the plant and when they will be off the clock. 







After these parameters are set, a process can be established to begin tracking and baselining the initial estimate for total project labor cost. The contractor can leverage Offsight&#8217;s labor tracking feature set and ensure that mobile devices such as tablets are available at each workstation to track labor costs on the panels. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1385" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-4.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once production begins factory operators or team leads overseeing operators will need to leverage Offsight to clock in and out of specific panels and workstations. This process if done across all 1000 products, for a relatively high volume production process, may be very cumbersome. Therefore, it is usually best practice to clock operators in and out of a workstation and allow Offsight to automatically track panels as they pass through. Alternatively, we can also arrive at a highly accurate approximation of total project labor cost based on an analysis of a subset of panels. 







For example, a time study can be performed on 10 interior panels and 10 exterior panels to establish a baseline for total project labor cost. As these panels pass through each workstation, operators will need to clock in and out of each panel to record their time spent on that assembly activity and in that work area. The clocking in and out can be done in Offsight either manually by selecting the panel or by scanning a unique Offsight QR code for the panel and a QR code on the operator’s badge. This process can be managed by individual operators or by team/station leads to reduce errors and prevent downtime during production.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1386" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-5.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once all 10 interior panels and 10 exterior panels complete production, the contractor can access their Time Log in Offsight to see a highly accurate chart of time spent by the operator on each panel. Labor hours can be broken down by panel, by station, and by worker. In Offsight’s dashboard, we can average the total labor hours and labor costs across each of the 10 interior panels and each of the 10 exterior panels. We can then extrapolate the average labor hours and average labor cost per interior and exterior panel across the entire project of 500 interiors and 500 exterior panels to arrive at a baseline total project labor cost. 







Capturing The ROI of Your Process Improvements



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1387" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6-1536x860.jpg 1536w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Process-Improvement-June-6.jpg 1801w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



While this case study primarily focuses on a specialty contractor tracking labor and optimizing their process on a single major project, prefabricators who are investing in their offsite and industrialized construction capabilities are driving their business toward an efficient manufacturing process. As such, it is important to regularly and continuously track total labor hours and costs at various points throughout the year and to establish a continuous process improvement program that will work to drive improvements over the long term. 







Understanding overall labor costs can also benefit the estimating and bidding process by ensuring project stakeholders have realistic timelines for prefabricated products and are able to understand the costs associated with changing those timelines. For example, if a project owner wants to change the scope of the project by reducing the timeframe to completion, there will be increased labor costs and Offsight can provide a detailed breakdown of where that increase in labor costs would be. Speciality contractors and offsite manufacturers who wish to provide accurate cost estimates and delivery schedules to owners on these projects, can leverage <a href="https://www.offsight.com/planning-forecasting" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight’s Planning &amp; Forecasting</a> capabilities and include highly accurate labor capacity estimates from the analysis above. 







Through the use of technology like&nbsp;<a href="http://www.offsight.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offsight</a>&nbsp;prefabricators can make the most of their investments and implement the programs outlined in this case study to drive internal improvements and set their business up for success.&nbsp;

Prefabricators who are actively investing and growing their factory operations are well aware of the importance of managing labor costs for the overall success of their projects. 

The How to Guide for Prefab Leaders: Optimizing Labor Costs

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="221" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-1024x221.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1335" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-1024x221.png 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-300x65.png 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1-768x166.png 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Frame-50-1.png 1443w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Jason Dixon A recovering control freak







Being a part of modular manufacturing for over a decade now and having my hands in operations has taught me some hard lessons.  One of which is the importance of giving the people on the production floor the ability to do their jobs without wasting time gathering data. My first mistake in operations was to needlessly track every action on the production floor by having operators record every step in their work.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-2-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1336" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-2-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-2-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-2.jpg 1201w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Imagine having to nail boards to make a wall and then having a question for every board you complete. You can see how cumbersome this process can become and I became so overly detailed with this process that it caused additional problems.  For one, I was looked at as an overbearing Broom-Hilda for expecting operators to constantly log every single action and I received push-back for slowing down the production process. Soon the urgency to complete their production activities with the constraints of also having to fill out forms resulted in garbage data getting collected. Operators rushed to check every box on forms as quickly as possible without paying close attention to what was being asked or recorded.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-4-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1338" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-4-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-4-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-4-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-4.jpg 1201w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Due to this over-collection, our company ultimately had so much production data that we couldn’t rely on most of it in making informed decisions.  I could not say with certainty that when someone on the floor checked a quality or assembly step (e.g. confirming “ item A was fastened with the right fastener B”), that this truly was the case.  Ultimately, this caused me to have to run down quality issues that came from the field rather than dealing with issues at the factory level and preventing unnecessary service costs and repairs. 







Fixing The Problem







To finally fix this data overcollection problem, I began looking for ways to gather the data without wasting my most precious asset, my operator’s time. I looked at what was absolutely necessary to collect and why and then tried to determine the most efficient way to actually record that data.  Instead of each step being checked, I simplified our checklists to one question for documenting a standard procedure for a specific work area or process in the factory.







E.g. a question could be: “Does this meet the standard?” and then the standard was then attached so it could be referenced.  If the standard was not met, then the team lead answering the quality checklist could record the reason it was not met. I got the data I needed and it did not take several questions to get to the reason.  







This opened up time for my team leads to focus on finding failures they were logging and doing root cause analysis. They successfully started limiting the problems that were getting through production by focusing on correcting issues in real-time. This gave them the opportunity to make changes to our production process as a whole and make our operations leaner and the team much more effective.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="573" src="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-6-1024x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1339" srcset="https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-6-1024x573.jpg 1024w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-6-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-6-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.offsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Process-Improvement-May-6.jpg 1201w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Once we identified common issues, I updated our quality and conformance checklists for specific work areas or processes to remind operators to always check for that common issue.  







I had my quality controllers become quality auditors and the team leads that were overseeing the areas of production became my quality controllers.  When you add an audit process to the mix you can then help team leads manage individual processes and activities in their work areas to become leaner. This freed up my team leads to do their jobs faster and allowed my quality team to become more effective at identifying issues and coaching operators on improving their processes.  







We created a tight process that would allow quality auditors to find inefficiencies and help the team determine how to make the process lean while documenting any changes to our standard procedures.







Now having learned how to build and institute a lean quality process, I’ve taken my learnings and paired them with my experience here at Offsight. Where we had mountains of paper and spreadsheets in my prior roles we now have Offsight’s mobile apps and dashboard.  







We have created software that is so intuitive, that it helps make lean production easy.  It provides an easy-to-use, fully digital toolset to solve many of the manual challenges I faced with getting the quality team and the production team to work together. 







In summary, when you want to collect data from your production floor, focus on how you would do it without interrupting the ebb and flow of your overall production process and assembly. Collect only what counts. Keep it simple and don’t over-collect.

Being a part of modular manufacturing for over a decade now and having my hands in operations has taught me some hard lessons. 