Use of prefabricated building elements could help the overstretched construction industry here keep up with continued strong demand for new homes and offices, a conference in Dublin has heard.

Prefabrication of housing elements provided a way to reduce labour costs and construction time, according to speakers who addressed the seminar entitled "The role of prefabrication in the European house construction industry".

The Quantity Surveying and Building Surveying Divisions of the Society of Chartered Surveyors organised the event, which formed part of the business programme in a two-day CEEC/AEEBC bi-annual conference held this year in Dublin.

Dire predictions of a slowdown in construction have not yet materialised, according to Mr Michael Webb, the Irish-based president of the CEEC (ComitΘ EuropΘen des Economistes de la Construction). "Despite all the projections of doom and gloom, the Irish construction industry is still overheated and overstretched," he said. "We have a fundamental shortage of skilled trades people which cannot be solved overnight."

Given this scenario, greater use of prefabrication could offer a way out, he said. "The greater use of well-designed prefabricated units will help to ease the pressures on traditional construction trades. Prefabrication also has the benefit of helping to speed up projects and help ensure cleaner and safer sites."

The CIF had reported that labour costs for bricklayers in Dublin had risen by as much as 82 per cent, stated Mr Paul McGarry, an engineer and managing director of Future Build Systems of Dublin.

"The dependency on bricklayers in residential construction is just one of the factors that have challenged the industry to examine new ways of building," he stated. The trend towards higher housing densities could also be served through the use of prefabricated house construction, he added.

Quantity surveyor Mr Roger Matheus outlined the situation in Belgium, where prefab was introduced in the 1960s as the way forward for construction. Young married couples were told that they could begin with a basic home including a "modular sanitary cell", including kitchen and bathroom, and a living/sleeping cell. As children arrived, more accommodation cells could be added as required and the home would grow with the family. By the same token, when children fled the nest, superfluous cells could be disconnected and then sold second-hand.

Of the four schemes introduced, two disappeared and one was converted to primarily industrial projects, but one remained and is still competitive in the marketplace. Prefab was unlikely to do well in Belgium, he said, because it works best in large-volume markets, and the Belgians resist the repetition of barrack-like housing.

Property consultant Mr Rob De Wildt discussed prefab construction in The Netherlands. It was useful in the housing industry and permitted the "industrialisation" of construction works. It could deliver fast, high quality and controlled production and could deliver locally or nationally.

Although the term wasn't applied to it, traditionally prefab arguably included bricks, tiles, doors and similar elements. Today it meant complete walls, floors and facades, which could be fixed quickly and handled easily.

The prefab approach in Britain developed after World War II with the need to deliver housing quickly in response to homelessness, stated Prof Trevor Mole, managing director of Property Tectonics and visiting professor at the University of Salford.

The concept is as old as simple tent structures but after the war it allowed the industrialisation of construction. In 1945 the UK government estimated that it needed 750,000 new dwellings so that each family could have a separate home. "By the end of 1946 one- third of a million units had been provided by building prefabs, conversions and adaptations, temporary huts, requisitioned houses and 52,000 new permanent houses," he said.

However, the notion that industrialisation was the answer in the 1950s and 1960s "led to many disasters", he said. "Industrialisation, prefabrication and system building developed some of the worst buildings ever produced in the UK".

Yet the pressure is on the UK government to increase and improve the construction industry's productivity. Pre-assembly is again being discussed and there is a risk that history could repeat itself, he warned. "Prefabrication is not the answer in itself, but sustainable housing is," he said. "Perhaps one of the most important issues to consider is that prefabrication does not on the whole reduce the need for skilled people."

Danish architect Mr Jacob Pederson provided the view from Denmark. Construction is one of the largest industries there, he said, but it has been unable to increase its efficiency in line with developments in other countries. "By international comparison, therefore, Denmark is in fact losing ground. Construction products have lost export market shares as well."

The market in Denmark is very self contained. "Overall, the Danish construction sector is still characterised by tradition rather than by innovation. And the identified problems in themselves make it necessary to seek innovation in construction."

The government has responded with a scheme called "Projekt Hus", which aims to deliver homes with "double value at half price within the next decade", Mr Pederson said. It will involve standardisation of components and adopting efficiency procedures as applied in neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Finland.