Prefabrication
Encore Electric Prefabrication Capabilities
Prefabrication is an important part of our culture at Encore Electric. It has been defining the practices of our craftspeople, from apprentice through superintendent, since our founding in 2003.
Our team excels in identifying repetitive field installations and adapting them to LEAN manufacturing processes. By prefabricating many of the components we use in our own projects, we continue to improve quality, safety, scheduling and productivity on site. Its advantages have been proven on all of our project types, in all geographic locations.
We use our Virtual Design Construction and Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to find ways to discover efficiencies in construction and lower costs. This is especially beneficial on large projects that have a large number of identical assemblies, like healthcare facilities and hotels.
Encore Electric provides engineering, procurement and construction complete solutions. We prefabricate and assemble electrical components in our own 67,000 square foot facility. In addition, we are a UL508A listed control panel assembly shop. Our shop provides all the equipment, materials and workers needed to create the modular building blocks required for today’s fast-paced projects. Our prefabrication team works closely with our engineering team to quickly transform computer-generated models into electrical components for just-in-time construction, providing secure warehousing for off-site material storage to support timely deliveries and reducing project congestion at the site.
Safety Benefits of Prefabrication
Prefabrication, in a controlled shop environment, means that our crews have less exposure to many potentially hazardous situations on job sites. With prefabrication, crews spend less time working on elevated platforms or around dangerous operating equipment.
Prefabricated components are ideal for installations that:
- Can be constructed on a bench instead of on a platform lift for safer installations, such as atrium lighting and supports.
- Are assembled, wired and labeled on a bench instead of over high finishes, such as the wire-mold above lab counters.
- Occur in areas of high congestion where fewer electricians would improve trade flow in areas, like multi-trade corridor carrier racks for conduit and piping.
- Are used for remote projects where craftsman and material resourcing are challenging
Advantages of Prefabrication
- Reduces job site waste caused by packaging and clutter.
- Teaches apprentices early on in their careers about LEAN manufacturing processes that can be brought into the field.
- Allows for just-in-time delivery to remote projects or projects that have limited space. For example, on hospital projects where there may be limited space, prefabrication cuts back on trade stacking and improves efficiency.
- Decreases aggregate labor rate on the project to save money for the owner.
- Lowers manpower spikes on a job site through greater resource management.
- Provides controlled atmosphere allowing for quality control and consistency across builds.
- Brings a proactive, collaborative effort early in the project, leading to increased productivity gains.
- Ties the entire process together, from planning to production to installation.
We are proud of our collaborative approach to exploring new and different multi-trade prefabrication opportunities with our project partners.