HMP Fosse Way Houseblock 8 Expansion - Project Awarded
PCE Ltd are delighted to have once again been appointed by Lendlease as superstructure and façade specialists for the award-winning HMP Fosse Way.
Having been appointed as the superstructure and façade specialist for the full prison delivery in 2021, PCE will once again utilise its HybriDfMA Secure Prison system build solution for the expansion of HMP Fosse Way, in Leicestershire.
Having built 7 houseblocks already, PCE will add a further T60 houseblock, expanding the category C prison by 240 cells. Over 1,700 PCE components will be manufactured offsite by suppliers across the UK and Europe, ready for onsite assembly by PCE’s multidisciplined workforce.
This continues PCE’s successful involvement in the Government’s £4 billion New Prison Programme (NPP), of which Fosse Way’s expansion forms part of the Accelerated Houseblock Delivery Programme.
HybriDfMA Secure Prison
Having delivered HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, and most recently, HMP Millsike, PCE has proven value and expertise in supporting the expansion of the UK prison estate. The company’s HybriDfMA Secure Prison system has become the leading build system for the delivery of high quality, highly secure, modern UK prisons. Across the New Prison Programme (NPP), PCE has to date delivered over 5,000 prison places, comprised of over 41,500 offsite, precision engineered structural components and over 179,000 integrated M&E, security, and utility sub-elements.
Designed to comply with the latest edition of the MoJ design guide and National Offender Management Service (NOMS), PCE’s Secure Prison is a platform DfMA solution. With standardisation and repeatability at its core, Secure Prison provides a proven solution for scalable prison construction, delivered safely at speed. Standardised methodologies and PCE’s ‘smart connectivity’ enables a team of high skilled, multidisciplined PCE operatives to deliver the T60 houseblock in 12 weeks.
PCE’s comprehensive system build solution seamlessly integrates M&E, security, and utility features into the PCE components, as they are manufactured offsite. This creates a holistic, all-encompassing structural solution that reduces waste up to 90%. In addition to waste reductions, following the Decarbonising Precast Concrete report, PCE components are made with a lower-cement concrete mix. This ensures more sustainable manufacturing, creating a more environmentally friendly solution that aligns with the MoJ’s net zero carbon ambitions.
PCE SYSTEM BENEFITS:
- Up to 30% reduction in construction programme
- Up to 90% reduction in waste
- Up to 80% reduction in on-site personnel
- Up to 80% reduction in site deliveries
- Security vetted workforce
- Optimised strategies saving up to 40% embodied carbon against ICE benchmark
- Current embodied carbon savings of 195 tonnes per houseblock
Road to Rehabilitation
The forthcoming T60 houseblock will serve as accommodation for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) prisoners, a specific category granted temporary release for designated purposes. Throughout the delivery of both HMP Fosse Way (full prison) and HMP Millsike, PCE involved numerous ROTL workers to support its site teams during prison assembly. This rehabilitation-focused initiative aims to equip prisoners with new skills and competencies, fostering confidence and providing a pathway toward potential career opportunities upon release.
To expand on this rehabilitation effort, PCE collaborated closely with the MoJ to establish a workshop within HMP Fosse Way. Within this facility, prisoners are engaged in manufacturing components used in the construction of the UK's expanding prison infrastructure. Participants in the programme have successfully produced 60 components to be used in assembling the new T60 houseblock. The workshop continues to advance rehabilitation efforts by teaching additional skills and creating further opportunities to reduce reoffending rates, thereby offering an effective pathway to successful reintegration upon release.
Digital Delivery
PCE’s platform delivery is enhanced through use of secure, cutting-edge digital systems. Having been used to great success on HMP Millsike, PCE will again utilise Ynomia, an innovative digital track and trace system. Consolidating a dispersed supply chain in one place enables the project team to diligently track and coordinate every single component, regardless of supplier or location. The system’s interactive 3D digital twin enables comprehensive traceability for all components, whilst enabling the freedom to install with much greater efficiency, allowing any unit within a component type to be installed in any relevant location effortlessly – ideal for platform DfMA delivery.
Through employing state-of the-art digital systems, PCE can ensure an diligent, transparent, and predictable solution, enabling MoJ projects to be delivered with greater efficiency and accuracy.
Image 2 - Credit to Rikesh Patel
