Offsite Manufacturing Underway for HMP Channings Wood Expansion

PCE Ltd has begun offsite manufacturing for the expansion of Category C HMP Channings Wood in Devon, where Kier has appointed PCE to deliver the superstructure and façade for two new T60 houseblocks. The project will add 500 modern prison places as part of the Ministry of Justice’s prison capacity programme.

Secure Prison – Proven Platform-DfMA Advantage

At the heart of the scheme is PCE’s Secure Prison system—a Platform-DfMA structural solution built around an optimised Kit-of-Parts. Every component is precision-engineered to deliver the four essentials of modern custodial construction: safety, quality, speed, and certainty.

By manufacturing offsite, PCE embeds security and M&E integrations within each element before it arrives on site, enabling a coordinated, fluid assembly process that drives programme certainty, cost control, and absolute client value.

Precision Offsite Production

Across six specialist factories within PCE’s European supply network, 3,700 components are now being produced, including:

• External solid walls and brick-faced sandwich panels
• Precast columns, beams and internal walls (load-bearing and non-load-bearing)
• Hollowcore planks, stairs, landings and in-situ toppings
• Structural steel, steel composite beams, parapets, upstands and plinths

Controlled factory conditions ensure consistent Type C finishes and concrete strengths from C35/45 to C60/75, designed for a 100-year life. First-cast benchmarks agreed by PCE, Kier, and the MoJ set the reference for quality across the programme, with PCE specialists present throughout production.

More than 55,000 free-issue items—including cell doors, windows, conduits and other security elements—are installed during casting, eliminating rework and accelerating site progress.

Digital Oversight & Golden Thread Compliance

Every component is registered in Ynomia, an advanced track-and-trace platform, creating an interactive 3D digital twin with a Bluetooth tag assigned to each unit. This enables:

• Real-time status and just-in-time logistics
• Accurate forecasting of assembly sequences
• Integrated QA data stored securely in a single source of truth

This digital transparency underpins Golden Thread compliance and ensures predictable, auditable delivery from design through to handover.

Reducing Carbon Without Compromise

Leveraging findings from the Decarbonising Precast Concrete initiative with the MoJ, the scheme achieves a 12% reduction in embodied carbon compared with HMP Fosse Way—around 753 kg CO2e per prisoner place—while maintaining full structural performance.

Setting the Modern Benchmark

The HMP Channings Wood expansion demonstrates how advanced offsite manufacturing, integrated digital oversight and a Platform-DfMA approach deliver a new standard in custodial construction—combining speed, safety, quality, certainty and sustainability.

With a proven track record on HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, HMP Millsike and other facilities, PCE’s Secure Prison system continues to lead the market for modern, efficient prison infrastructure.

Images taken from different prison projects