Following the recent success in preventing the expansion of the Davis Bacon Act (DBA) into modular factories, the Modular Building Institute’s (MBI) Board...
Source: “Modular Building Institute Launches Multimillion-Dollar Advocacy Campaign” by Modular Building Institute.
Following the recent success in preventing the expansion of the Davis Bacon Act (DBA) into modular factories, the Modular Building Institute’s (MBI) Board of Directors announced today that it is launching a multiyear, multimillion-dollar campaign to spur investment and promote greater adoption of modular construction.
“Now that it’s clear that government-imposed DBA wages will not apply in modular factories, we must take advantage of this historic opportunity for growth,” said MBI Government Affairs Director Jon Hannah Spacagna. “Government agencies can now get more for taxpayer dollars on projects ranging from housing to schools to hospitals.”
The Modular Advocacy Campaign (“MAC”) will drive industry growth in the following key areas:
- Influencing government legislation, regulations, procurement, programs, and codes.
- Creating new business opportunities for the industry.
- Expanding outreach efforts to developers, architects, and code officials.
- Attracting new employees to the industry, including non-traditional workers.
Attainable, Sustainable, and Transformative
As part of the campaign, MBI plans to leverage technology and embrace sustainability, not only to improve productivity, but also to attract the next generation of workers. Studies have shown that modular construction can reduce the amount of material waste sent to landfills by as much as 80% and has a lower carbon footprint than comparable site-built projects. Every project that goes modular is a win for the environment.
The modular construction industry has greater access to a larger number of potential workers—those that might not be able to meet the physical demands on a job site over a prolonged period. [This] means fewer bad backs and knees, less exposure to inclement weather, less exposure to heights, and less heavy lifting. It means workers can go home at night, not be physically exhausted, and have a better quality of life. It means a safer workplace environment that leads to greater employee longevity and higher productivity.
“I expect to see a big uptick in the number of women, minorities, and young people in our industry over the next five years as we roll out this campaign,” said MBI Executive Director Tom Hardiman. “I think people who otherwise would not consider a career in traditional construction will want to be a part of a transformative industry like ours.”
[What’s Next]
MBI anticipates investing more than one million dollars annually in this campaign over the next several years equally funded by member dues, annual conference surplus, the MBI Seals Program. “We are calling on EVERYONE in the modular construction industry to support MBI and our Seals labeling program to ensure we have the funds needed to grow our industry,” said MBI Board President Chuck Walen of Satellite Shelters. “The greater support we have from members, the greater our outreach and advocacy efforts will be.”
To learn more about the MBI Seals, go here: https://www.modular.org/industry-seals/
