EVOLVE is dedicated to serving MEP contractors and those in the construction industry with products and services to help them see success with their own organizations. As a part of this mission we often survey our users and audience to gauge what is important to them. We aim to understand the concerns and trends within the BIM and prefab industry so that we can deliver amazing experiences to those working in the industry.

EVOLVE and Helm Mechanical conducted an anonymous, nationwide survey from November 2022 to January 2023, targeting prefab shop managers and shop leaders across the United States. The aim was to gain valuable insights into their prefab processes and understand how this innovative approach is being harnessed in the realm of construction.

Below you can find the questions, the provided possible answers, and a percentage showing how many people selected that possible answer. Please note that the percentages have been rounded for clarity.

1. Has your company invested in prefabrication operations and technology?

• Have not invested - 2.5%

• Somewhat invested - 13%

• Moderately invested - 23%

• Currently invested - 2.5%

• Strongly invested - 59%

2. How much have you implemented BIM in current projects?

• Getting started - 5%

• Working toward full implementation - 31%

• Fully implemented - 64%

3. What percentage of components go through your fab shop on the average project?

• 100-75% of components are built in the shop: 50%

• 75-50% of components are built in the shop: 15%

• 49-25% of components are built in the shop: 23%

• 25-5% of components are built in the shop: 10%

• Less than 5% of components are built in the shop: 2%

4. How clean and organized is your shop floor? 

• Everything has a place: 43%

• Moderately organized: 31%

• Somewhat organized: 26%

5. By percent, how many more projects do you feel you can take on because of prefabrication with the same staff/headcount?

• Prefab allows me to take on 0-10% more projects: 41%

• Prefab allows me to take on 20-30% more projects: 49%

• Prefab allows me to take on 50% more projects: 10%

6. How connected is your BIM and fab shop with the field and procurement purchasing?

• Not connected: 10%

• Somewhat connected: 42%

• Totally connected: 49%

7. Does the connection between BIM, Fab shop, and procurement work well?

• Needs work - 15%

• Works somewhat - 23%

• Works ok - 21%

• Works great - 28%

• Works very well - 13%

8. How often do you leverage the model when you prefab?

• Every project - 57%

• Few projects - 8%

• No projects - 5%

• Some projects - 30%

9. How much visibility do you have into the productivity of your prefab operations?

• Visibility could be better - 41%

• Visibility is fine - 21%

• Great visibility - 21%

• We can see everything we need to - 17%

10. How much do you leverage hardware and machines / equipment in prefab operations?

• Not very often - 5%

• Every now and then - 5%

• Some projects - 28%

• Most projects - 54%

For a more comprehensive analysis of the survey results, watch this on-demand webinar. Travis Voss from Helm Mechanical reviews the results and sheds light on the current state of prefab.