HMP Fosse Way Houseblock 8 - Assembly
Having been appointed by Lendlease as superstructure and façade delivery partners for the expansion of HMP Fosse Way, PCE’s multidisciplined operatives are making good progress across the assembly phase.
The Ministry of Justice project once again utilises PCE's award-winning HybriDfMA Secure Prison System, following its success at HMP Five Wells, HMP Millsike, and the original HMP Fosse Way in 2021.
Platform DfMA
Secure Prison is a platform-DfMA system build solution. Optimised, repeatable components are manufactured offsite and then assembled onsite using standardised processes. For the expansion of HMP Fosse Way, PCE’s multidisciplined site team will install over 1,700 components to assemble the four-storey T60 houseblock.
Efficiency, speed, quality, and predictability are central to PCE's platform approach. Through an offsite engineered repeatable 'kit of parts,' PCE's HybriDfMA system replaces ambiguity with consistency and certainty throughout design, manufacture, and assembly.
Standardised methodologies and construction techniques enables routine component installation with speed and safety. This approach allows PCE to deliver large-scale projects with accuracy and efficiency.
Offsite Efficiencies
With the majority of operations conducted offsite, quality and safety are heightened, while the number of onsite operatives, deliveries, waste, and resources required are significantly reduced. This streamlined approach allows a small crew to build each houseblock within a 12-week window. With installers, finishers, supervisors and crane drivers, PCE provides a holistic, turn-key assembly solution.
Logistics play a crucial role throughout the installation period. Ynomia, a digital asset tracking and information system, creates a digital twin of the design model, tracking every component from factory to final location in real-time. This transparency enables just-in-time deliveries and supports adherence to stringent delivery strategies.
By adopting PCE's HybriDfMA solution, the installation of HMP Fosse Way’s new T60 houseblock unlocks the benefits of repeatable, predictable, and reliable construction, ensuring the final structural solution is completed efficiently, with safety, quality, speed, and value.
Road to Rehabilitation
Across the New Prison Programme (NPP), there is a major focus on rehabilitation. From influencing the design of prisons, through to the manufacturing and installation of components, efforts are taken to encourage and promote rehabilitation in a bid to reduce re-offending. PCE are playing a key role in this focus, integrating prisoners into both its manufacturing and assembly operations.
Workshop 5, an exciting and revolutionary initiative led by PCE with support from Serco, sees prisoners nearing release provided the opportunity to learn new skills and prepare for life after release by creating a new career pathway. PCE are training and upskilling participants, teaching them how to operate and excel in a manufacturing environment. This has been a resounding success so far, with participants manufacturing a number of components that are now being used throughout assembly across the NPP. In addition, PCE engage Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) workers within its assembly teams. It is hoped that these measures will help make a real difference, providing new skills, confidence, and pathways for those nearing release.
