Our Bespoke Process
Each of our projects is bespoke and designed to meet the individual needs of our clients and their buildings. We’ve been delivering modular solutions in order to meet those needs for many years, placing us at the forefront of prefabrication.
Once awarded a contract, our team develops a strategy that maximises the opportunities for prefabrication. The question we ask ourselves at the outset of a project is no longer, ”what can we prefabricate?” but ”what can’t we prefabricate, and why not?”.
🔗 Download a copy of the video transcript
Our Prefabrication Process: Video Transcript
Narrators: Gratte Brothers | Building Services & Engineering’s Managing Director, Remi Suzan, and Prefabrication Manager, John Gray.
Visual: Gratte Brothers logo against a white background.
Visual: A bird’s eye view of equipment being winched onto a lorry from the Gratte Brothers prefabrication facility.
Visual: a welder at work.
Remi Suzan: “Prefabrication is a method of working where we take components and assemble them away from the site, in a controlled environment.”
Visual: two engineers lifting equipment into place in the prefabrication workshop.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi Suzan speaking.
Visual: two engineers placing a piece of metalwork into a unit.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi Suzan speaking.
Remi Suzan: “Every project—be it large or small—will have elements of prefabrication in it, some more than others.”
Visual: a welder at work.
Visual: a forklift moves equipment around the warehouse.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi Suzan speaking.
Remi Suzan: “Prefabrication shouldn’t just be thought of as large-scale modules, but also things that we can do such as; Lighting distribution boards;”
Visual: an engineer checks equipment.
Remi Suzan: “Power distribution boards; Lighting and luminaires pre-wiring; Cables; Valve assemblies on pipework; Plant skids”
Visual: an engineer tightens equipment with two spanners.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi Suzan speaking.
Remi Suzan: “Every project will have an element of prefabrication in it, which we want to do here, and at Worthing.”
Visual: An engineer reviews blueprints.
Visual: a head and shoulders shot of John Gray speaking to camera.
John Gray: “The benefits of Worthing are priceless. The work produced there—their fabrication abilities—are second to none.”
Visual: a welder at work.
Visual: John Gray and a second employee review technical designs on a computer screen.
Remi Suzan: “Every project is a series of interconnected events. One thing can’t start until something else has been completed.”
Visual: a welder at work.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Remi Suzan: “So, often with M&E (mechanical and electrical), we can’t start until a room is ready for us.”
Visual: a man walks along a line of equipment in the prefabrication workshop.
Visual: a welder at work.
Remi Suzan: “and that could be from weeks to months before we’re in a position to start.”
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Visual: several shots of engineers using machinery to build components.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Remi Suzan: “We can use that time here. We can build components—80 to 90 percent of that room—off-site. So, when the builder is ready for us and gives us the keys, we can literally be in there, and the work is completed within days, rather than weeks.”
Visual: an engineer runs checks on a piece of electrical equipment.
Visual: several shots of employees at work around the workshop, moving and checking equipment.
John Gray: “It brings many benefits, such as:
• Accidents without a doubt are down to minimal – maybe just cuts and abrasions.
• We’ve got a couple of guys here in their sixties who thrive working here. They’re not talking about retiring – they’re actually working with the younger lads, passing on their skillset.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of John Gray speaking.
Text on screen: John Gray, Prefabrication Manager.
John Gray: “which I feel probably would’ve been lost had it not been for this process.”
Visual: a team of 3 employees winch a prefabricated unit into position in the workshop.
Visual: an employee marks up a printed technical drawing.
Remi Suzan: “We used to look at a project and think, “What can we prefabricate?”
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Remi Suzan: “Today, we try to look at a project and ask ourselves, “What can’t we prefabricate?”
Visual: Remi and John walk along a line of equipment, inspecting and discussing.
Remi Suzan: “An example of something quite minor but very simple would be just the average distribution board”
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Remi Suzan: “Where previously the distribution board would be delivered to site, hung on the wall, and then the electricians would wire it”
Visual: Remi and John close the metal door of a unit.
Remi Suzan: “We can now prefabricate that distribution board on a steel panel here in Chelmsford. We can wire it, loom it, test it, and then deliver it as a single component that just needs to be screwed to a wall.”
Visual: Remi and John walk along a row of preassembled units.
Visual: several shots of employees preparing units for transportation.
Remi Suzan: “We’ve been prefabricating for probably twenty years now, but this is different in that we’ve now got two dedicated units.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of Remi speaking.
Visual: footage of metal rods stacked on shelving.
Remi Suzan: “Wastage is much reduced because all materials are kept on-site. We use what we need, and any offcuts are stored to be used on another part of the build.”
Visual: machinery drilling a hole in a hard surface.
Visual: an employee carries surplus materials across the workshop.
Visual: an employee works on part of a prefabricated unit.
John Gray: “Somewhere like here, where we can control materials, we can save 25% of what we’d normally supplying on the job. Nothing gets wasted.”
Visual: head and shoulders shot of John speaking.
Visual: an assembly line of prefabricated units in the workshop.
Visual: several shots of a lorry being loaded with prefabricated units.
Remi Suzan: “Prefabrication brings many benefits to the business, including:
• Productivity is greatly increased because we have everything that we need in one location.
• Health and safety is improved because we work in a controlled environment.”
Visual: head and shoulders shot of John Gray speaking.
John Gray: “Without a doubt, we have the skillset. That’s what makes it easier to work with”
Visual: over the shoulder shot of an employee working at a computer.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of John Gray speaking.
John Gray: “They guys that we have, they innovate. They come up with ideas we hadn’t even thought of to make things easier.”
Visual: an employee operating an angle grinder.
Visual: head and shoulders shot of John Gray speaking.
