For decades, the construction industry has wrestled with a frustrating truth: while nearly every other major industry—from agriculture to manufacturing—saw tremendous gains in productivity, construction barely moved the needle. In fact, in many cases, it slipped backward. Since the 1970s, output per worker in traditional construction has stagnated, while manufacturing workers have become more than twice as productive.
But the story doesn’t end there because something remarkable is happening.
A quiet revolution is taking place behind factory walls and inside design studios. A new generation of builders, innovators, and visionaries is embracing a powerful idea: that buildings can be built like products—offsite, with precision, and at scale. Offsite construction is turning the productivity tide, proving that it’s not only possible to do better—but that we already are.
Looking Back to Understand the Present
To appreciate how far we’ve come, we have to look at where we’ve been. For much of the 20th century, construction remained stubbornly hands-on, job site-based, and highly fragmented. Every project was its own snowflake, with unique drawings, timelines, crews, and suppliers. This patchwork approach made it nearly impossible to replicate efficiencies.
Meanwhile, manufacturing industries embraced automation, robotics, digital twins, and lean principles. Factories transformed into high-output machines. Construction, on the other hand, was stuck hauling materials to muddy jobsites and starting from scratch each time. The result? According to McKinsey & Company, global construction labor productivity grew at just 1% annually over two decades—compared to 3.6% in manufacturing.
But cracks in the old ways are finally starting to show light.
Offsite Construction: A Beacon of Change
photo – Ginosko
Offsite construction—where much of the building is done in a factory setting, using modular, panelized, or prefabricated methods—isn’t just a new technique. It’s a mindset shift. It’s the idea that we can design for efficiency, fabricate for consistency, and assemble with speed.
And it’s working.
Speed to Market: Entire homes and commercial structures are now being completed 30–50% faster than conventional builds.
Reduced Waste: With tighter material controls and repeatable processes, factories produce up to 90% less construction waste.
Improved Quality: Factory-built environments allow for higher standards, fewer reworks, and better performance testing before delivery.
Safety and Workforce Retention: Indoor, climate-controlled factories mean fewer injuries and higher worker satisfaction.
This isn’t a niche. It’s a movement gaining momentum across the globe.
Innovators Leading the Way
In the U.S., companies like VBC, Impresa Modular, Autovol, and Modulous are showing what’s possible when you combine design, engineering, and production under one roof.
photo – Autovol
VBC (Volumetric Building Companies) has proven that hotels, apartments, and student housing can be built faster and smarter through modular methods. Meanwhile, Autovol’s Idaho facility is bringing automation into the modular game with robots and AI managing repetitive tasks that once required multiple hands and hours on a jobsite.
Internationally, Japan’s Sekisui House and Sweden’s Lindbäcks Bygg have shown for years that prefab doesn’t mean boring—it means precision and pride. These companies are achieving near-zero defects while dramatically increasing throughput.
And the best part? The technology and know-how are becoming more accessible by the day.
Spotlight on Impresa Modular: Factory Precision Meets Custom Home Dreams
Among the leading lights of this movement is Impresa Modular, a company that has taken a unique path in modular homebuilding. Under the leadership of Ken Semler, Impresa has grown into a national network of custom modular home builders—bringing together the flexibility of custom design with the precision and predictability of factory construction.
Impresa’s approach is different: it doesn’t just build homes—it empowers homebuyers. With a powerful online platform, buyers can browse home designs, customize layouts, and get accurate pricing—all before breaking ground. The company then partners with regional modular factories to manufacture components and deliver them to the buyer’s site for rapid assembly.
Why It Works:
Design Freedom + Factory Control: Buyers enjoy custom options without sacrificing speed or quality.
Digital Front-End: Impresa’s website acts like a virtual design studio, lowering the entry barrier for prospective homeowners.
Franchise Expansion: In 2021, Impresa launched a franchise model that lets entrepreneurs open local modular home-building businesses under its brand, vastly expanding its reach.
Ken Semler, a long-time industry advocate and current Chair of the NAHB’s Building Systems Councils, is leading Impresa with a mission: to change the way America builds homes. And judging by the growth of the company and interest from potential franchisees, he’s succeeding.
“The time is now for modular,” Semler often says. “We’re not here to fight site builders. We’re here to show that there’s a better, faster way to meet housing demand.”
The Digital Backbone of a Physical Industry
What’s driving this momentum isn’t just nails and screws—it’s data and digitization.
With Building Information Modeling (BIM), entire buildings can be virtually built before a single wall is framed. From structural loads to plumbing and electrical runs, conflicts can be identified and solved digitally. Fewer surprises mean fewer delays.
AI-driven project management tools are also entering the mix, allowing teams to track productivity in real time, adjust schedules dynamically, and predict issues before they occur. Offsite construction is becoming a hub where digital precision meets physical production.
Why This Shift Matters More Than Ever
At a time when the U.S. faces a housing shortage of over 4 million homes, speed and efficiency aren’t luxuries—they’re lifelines. Offsite construction offers a real, scalable solution to building the homes, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure our communities desperately need.
For a younger workforce, too, it changes the narrative. Modern factories offer clean, tech-enabled jobs, from robotic programming to digital fabrication—far from the cold, muddy jobsite image of the past.
A Future Built Offsite
The transition to offsite won’t happen overnight. But it is happening. A generation of builders, designers, and entrepreneurs is proving that construction can catch up to its peers in productivity—and perhaps even lead.
This isn’t just about building faster or cheaper. It’s about building smarter, safer, and with greater intent. It’s about embracing innovation not as a buzzword, but as a way of life. And it’s about proving that after 40 years of flatlining, we can still rise.
The next era of construction isn’t coming. It’s already here...and it’s being built—offsite.
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Gary Fleisher, The Modcoach, writes about the modular and offsite construction industry at Modular Home Source.
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