IKON, Kingspan’s Global Innovation Centre Visit

The second in Skillnet MMC Accelerate’s series of Business Support events this year took place at IKON, Kingspan’s Global Innovation Centre, Kingscourt, Co. Cavan on October 23rd.

As always, there was a programme of speakers as well as networking time, a case study and a tour of the centre. 

Louise Foody, MD of Covolve (a venture arm of Kingspan Group) gave the introductory address, after which speakers included Liz Thomas, Strategic Programmes Consultant at Skillnet Ireland, Tony Woods, MD of Midland Steel, Dick Clerkin, MD, Clerkin Consulting, Shane Mulligan, R&D at Kingspan Global, Lorcán MacCinna, Senior Executive Engineer at Monaghan County Council, and Alan Hore, Director of CitA and Project Lead of the Skillnet MMC Accelerate Scheme.   

Thomas and Woods both reprised their talks from the first event in the series, the former discussing issues around developing national talent in the sector. She covered the progress to date from Skillnet Ireland's perspective, and what the Skillnet MMC Accelerate platform hopes to achieve. Woods, meanwhile, outlined the multiple benefits that make MMC adoption such a worthwhile goal, and what we need if we are to get there.  

Clerkin, whose topic was ‘internal barriers to upskilling, training and development’, referenced the significant labour shortage challenges faced by the sector (including in MMC), and the importance of training for long-term competitiveness. Among the challenges, he said, are financial constraints that hamper the development of up-to-date training materials, and inconsistent training standards across different work sites. Wholehearted buy-in from company leadership across the board is vital, he added. 

Mulligan addressed attendees about some of the innovative projects Kingspan is working on to help drive MMC forward. He talked about the increasing application of automation in construction through the use of robotics and drone technology, as well as 3D printing, AI, BIM and more. In Kingspan’s case, the robotic installation of fasteners means better quality and consistency, not to mention health and safety, and is very much a ground-breaking concept.     

MacCinna, meanwhile, spoke to attendees about Monaghan County Council’s recent experiences with MMC, citing some specific projects to illustrate his contribution. Among these was Plás na Bhrí in Castleblayney where, in conjunction with a developer and modular homes manufacturer (MHI), the council delivered 26 homes in 2020. The houses were 80% constructed in a factory environment, with each one delivered on site in the form of six modules. It resulted, said MacCinna, in the “lowest number of snags and defects ever experienced by Monaghan County Council on any housing project."