Offsite Builder covers B.PUBLIC Builder Training
Hands-On Training
Heather Wallace Featured in Offsite Builder
December 2, 2024
B.Public Prefab understands that trained installers are key to expanding its market, as well as the market for other prefab solutions.
The saying, “knowledge itself is power” is generally attributed to English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon. The phrase stemmed from his belief that knowledge provides something greater than physical strength — it enables people to make informed decisions based on data, resulting in proficient problem solvers.
Knowledge, however, is really only powerful if it’s shared.
That’s certainly the belief of B.Public Prefab, a New Mexico-based manufacturer of high-performance prefabricated homes that meet Passive House standards.
CEO and Co-Founder Edie Dillman says that the company has a strong commitment to the sharing of knowledge. “We focus on education that supports a builder’s evolution to hybrid site construction, assisted by offsite; on owner education about sustainability and performance; and on helping architects evolve their practice to higher code [requirements], lower carbon impacts and [greater use of] technology.”
Currently, B.Public operates with a distributed manufacturing model, with five manufacturers across the US. It needs local, trained installers in those areas.
Hands On
To fulfill this need, B.Public regularly offers High Performance Prefab Installer Training events at their factory in Las Vegas, New Mexico. During the two-day training, participants are given an overview of the Passive House approach and the strategies and materials needed. Classes are taught in conjunction with 475 High Performance Building Supply, which sells mechanical and building envelope products, and ships across the US and Canada.
During the hands-on portion of the training, attendees practice taping and sealing with B.Public’s choice of air and weather sealing products from Pro Clima, an international company focused on air tightness and vapor control.
B.Public CTO and Co-Founder Jonah Stafford (AIA), one of the first US design professionals trained in the Passive House standard, educates participants on how to successfully work with the company — from workflows to site prep considerations, to understanding how to properly receive and store prefabricated building assemblies. For traditional on-site builders, this instruction provides insights into the differences involved in building with airtight, offsite components.
On day two of the training, attendees learn the rigging, hoisting and safety standards surrounding crane coordination and signaling. Participants then practice signaling with a crane operator as they rig, square, and attach wall and roof panels. The day ends with a short ceremony where graduates are recognized as trained installers for B.Public Prefab products.
Industry Benefits
The company consistently uses field feedback from trainees for constant improvement in their training materials. For instance, father-son team, Eli and Chris Waterhouse, experienced builders based in Colorado, attended a recent training session after completing a challenging, highly custom build using B.Public components. Participants were able to glean best practices from the duo as a result of their own successes and failures.
So, is the training a marketing ploy? Yes, and no. Most builders who participate in B.Public’s Installer Training do not have projects scheduled with the company. Instead, they are interested in advancing opportunities and being a part of a community of builders.
“We hope that all of these builders [who attend our trainings] will build with us, but that isn’t a requirement or a measure of our success,” says Dillman. “We are passionate about what we know and have developed. The sharing of knowledge is a part of our success metric.”
The training is also applicable to set and stitch crews for other prefab high-performance envelope systems. In fact, B.Public has convened a consortium of wood-based panelizers across North America to develop collaborative opportunities and shared resources to move the offsite market forward.
Design Education
A good training program also identifies the holes and biggest recurring challenges. And with the offsite industry, many times those challenges revolve around gaps in architectural practice, and architects’ exposure to new building methods.
“Traditionally, air tightness in the Passive House method is the thing that ends up costing the most and is almost always underbuilt by architects,” says JD Scott, B.Public’s lead architect. “As a licensed architect, I appreciate the power of formal design education,” he says. “However, architecture schools have traditionally incentivized practices that can conflict with high-performance building principles.”
He notes that design education rewards students who break with conventions. It encourages them to constantly “reinvent the wheel” on projects, which means that graduates enter professional practice with the notion that every project must somehow be groundbreaking or complex. “As a result, architects often have an aversion to working within parameters and systems they perceive to be limiting to their authenticity as designers.”
However, Scott has not found parameters to be limiting at all.
“Hard parameters drive creativity and innovation on projects. When I work with my own clients — most of whom are on tight budgets — I let them know that they can invest in complexity for a single, special moment (a large set of windows, for instance), but that the rest of the project should be straightforward. I like to think that we are imparting this approach onto other architects as well.”
In addition to its Installer Training, B.Public offers an architect training program. It also presents to architects and designers at conferences and workshops, and holds regular “Lunch and Learn” events for architects, builders, developers and real estate professionals to gather together and explore innovative technologies, strategies and solutions for the future of the building industry.
“We hope to inspire people to take action with what we offer,” says Dillman. “New construction is challenging for all parties — it makes sense to us that everyone is more resilient when they know what impact they can affect.”
For upcoming events and webinars with B.Public Prefab visit www.bpublicprefab.com/-events-webinars.