Andrew Dey
Username
Andrew Dey
Proposer First Name
Andrew
Proposer Email
andrew@unityhomes.com
Proposer Last Name
Dey
Proposer Company/Organization
Unity Homes
Proposer Phone
(603) 757-3462
Proposer Job Title
COO

Boston 2023 Areas of Focus

Proposer Additional Info
I've been part of several NESEA BE Boston presentations in the past, including "Renewable Energy Powering Local Self-Reliance in Germany" in 2015, "Offsite Construction: the Future?" in 2016, and "Getting Better at Getting Better: Lean Thinking for Residential Construction" in 2017.
Proposed Session Description
For the past forty years, building industry thought leaders have made the claim that offsite construction will revolutionize the way that homes are built. But the promise in our country has consistently outstripped the practice, and in recent years we’ve seen spectacular failures in this arena. Offsite construction remains a niche market, comprising roughly 3% of the homes built in the U.S. today. Using lessons learned from Unity Homes’ first ten years, this session aims to further the conversation about scaling the construction of high-performance homes: Why hasn’t offsite construction taken off in the U.S.? What are the obstacles? How can building professionals benefit from and support the scaling of offsite construction?
Diversity and Inclusiveness
The session doesn't directly address these issues. However, I see offsite construction as a practical avenue to greater diversity in the construction industry. Here's a link to a blog post I wrote about this in 2018: https://unityhomes.com/blog/where-are-the-women/
Learning Objectives
Understand the potential advantages of offsite construction
Understand the potential short-comings of offsite construction
Increase their understanding about the obstacles facing wider adoption of offsite construction
Contribute to overcoming these obstacles
Has this session been presented before?
No
Additional Comments
This session builds on sessions from previous BE Boston conferences, including 2016's "Offsite Construction: the Future?" and 2018's "The BrightBuilt Barn 10-year Anniversary: Celebrating the Birth of Affordable, Off-site-Built Net Zero Industry Change It Spawned."
Session Format
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Session Format Details
I’d like the session be 90 minutes, to allow for 60 minutes of presentation followed by 30 minutes of facilitated discussion. However, it could be made to fit in 60 minutes, with a 40-minute presentation followed by 20 minutes of facilitated discussion.
Recommended Length
60-minute session
90-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2023

Anything else you'd like to tell us about your session proposal?
I wasn't planning to propose a session for BE Boston 23, but when I reviewed the conference information a few days ago and saw that the theme related to "scaling," something clicked for me, and the session proposal pretty much jumped into my head. I'd be excited and honored to create and deliver a presentation that I think would generate great discussion among the attendees.
Reviewer 1
Nielson, Christopher
Proposal #
191
Committee Decision
Rejected

Presenters

Full Description
This session is important because, as demonstrated in other countries, offsite construction holds the potential to scale affordable, high-performance homes. But in the U.S., we haven’t succeeded in achieving scale. It’s a multifaceted challenge that will be solved by creativity, resourcefulness, entrepreneurship and innovation. The presentation and the ensuring discussion will contribute to forward movement in this critical area. Real-life examples from Unity Homes and other companies will be used to illustrate the challenges. I anticipate engaging the attendees in a lively discussion about this topic, with questions such as - Have you worked with offsite construction companies, and if so, what was that experience like? - If you haven’t worked with offsite companies, why not? - What do you see as the obstacles to wider adoption, and how can they be overcome?