Anthony Mitchell, Business Development Manager, MiTek, explores the challenges UK housebuilders face in design, drafting, and estimating and how the industry is replacing outdated perceptions with new ways of working.
UK housebuilders face a unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to design, drafting, and estimating. It is often said that everyone could use a helping hand, and this couldn’t be truer for UK housebuilders. With the proposed introduction of the Future Homes Standard (FHS) regulations coming shortly in 2025, the pressure to comply with increasingly complex requirements has intensified. For housebuilders, maintaining high standards while staying on budget and meeting deadlines is an ever-present juggling act. Traditional approaches are no longer enough, especially in the context of a significant skills shortage across the UK construction industry.
This is where Building Information Modelling (BIM), and software tools such as Revit, come into play. BIM and Revit, used in tandem with skilled teams, allow for efficient, accurate designs, and estimations, enabling housebuilders to meet new regulations with precision. BIM’s capability for real-time collaboration and Revit’s power in creating detailed 3D models ensure that even the most complicated designs are effectively handled.
How does Dedicated Services help?
MiTek Dedicated Services addresses these challenges by offering a flexible, scalable solution with our teams in Vietnam. We are working with the top 10 UK housebuilders already and, with an expanding team of professionals, MiTek provides housebuilders access to highly trained designers, drafters, and estimators, ensuring that quality is never compromised. What we hear from customers is that when they need extra designers and estimators – sometimes just a few people, sometimes an entire team – one way to solve the problem is to work with MiTek Dedicated Services.
We have a model that allows housebuilders to tap into a vast pool of university-educated talent without being constrained by local skills shortages, enabling projects to move forward without delays.
MiTek Dedicated Services works well in this scenario for several reasons:
- Time zone benefits: With teams working overnight in Vietnam, UK housebuilders gain a competitive edge, as designs and plans are delivered for review the next day
- Scalability: As the demand for design and drafting increases, MiTek can easily scale up the size of the team working on a project, ensuring that deadlines are met consistently
- Risk-free onboarding: MiTek offers of a three-month fee-free onboarding period, allowing housebuilders to trial the service without financial risk, building trust in the quality and reliability of the extended team.
Step by step
One hesitation customers can have at the start of onboarding is whether the time difference will be an issue. Actually, what people report back is that the time difference becomes a benefit. MiTek Dedicated Services can be working while the UK sleeps, with drawings back on desks by the morning.
MiTek’s teams are highly qualified, with a deep understanding of the UK construction standards and regulations. By integrating into the client’s team and fostering open communication, MiTek ensures a smooth, collaborative working relationship.
Customers are also assured of excellent ESG working practices, with MiTek Dedicated Services’ new headquarters having recently been voted “Best Companies to Work For in Asia 2024” by HR Asia. Customers take comfort in the knowledge that their MiTek team is well-compensated, professionally developed, and valued by their employer. This ethical approach helps build trust and enhances collaboration between housebuilders and their overseas’ teams.
For the UK, we launched Dedicated Services in 2020 and its growth has been remarkable – tripling in size. Today, the team delivers over 30,000 projects every year to UK customers.
“The quality and speed of output have been exceptional, even without prior knowledge of each other’s work. We’re now able to deliver our products with tight programming and regulatory constraints, confident that the information will be delivered accurately for customers, maintaining productivity, and satisfying all our obligations. I can’t recommend the team highly enough.” UK Housebuilder
A new way forward
We know the UK housebuilding industry requires fresh solutions to tackle the challenges of skills shortages and increased regulatory pressure. By briefing the service design, drafting, and estimating tasks to highly skilled professionals, housebuilders can increase productivity, maintain high standards, and overcome the limitations of a strained labour market.
Many housebuilders are definitely seeing this model as not just a stopgap but a long-term solution. MiTek Dedicated Services is about gaining a dedicated partner that enhances productivity and delivers consistent results. We like to think of it as a win-win.
