The June Issue of Offsite Builder Magazine

The June issue of Offsite Builder Magazine is out, and this month we are tackling one of the biggest issues holding offsite construction back: the systems around the factory. Everyone wants to talk about factory capacity, automation, and speed, but the real friction is often found in codes, approvals, zoning, financing, logistics, and project coordination.

Gary Fleisher opens the issue with a blunt reminder that modular companies are in the compliance business first. Jon Morr of ICC-NTA explains why third-party plan review is not a bottleneck, but a risk management tool that helps get the code right before production starts.

Heather Wallace looks at California’s latest energy code updates and what continuous insulation, U-factors, better windows, and smarter tradeoffs mean for builders well beyond California. Zena Ryder gives practical advice on minimizing approval delays, including early meetings with officials, better submission packages, clear scopes, and stronger contracts. Stacey Freed takes on the zoning battle and the outdated confusion between modular and manufactured housing that still blocks good homes in too many communities.

Larry Bernstein’s interview with Derrick Morris challenges the one-system mindset and makes the case for hybrid offsite strategies that combine modular, panelization, precast, and other systems based on the project, not ideology.

Zena also profiles SoLa Impact and Model/Z, showing how a scalable steel modular platform can lower affordable housing costs in Southern California. She closes with a hard look at modular profitability, where Stratton Tingle makes the case that margins are protected before production starts through planning, code alignment, logistics, and experienced partners.

My Final Word brings it all together: the factory is not the problem. Everything around it is. If we want offsite construction to scale, the entire ecosystem has to catch up. Read the issue, share it, and send it to someone who still thinks modular is just a faster way to build.

Read it here

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