Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02434365 2003-06-30
METHOD FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF MANUFACTURED HOUSES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of m anufactured
buildings and
particularly to a method for the manufacture of manufactured houses.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The manufacturing of completed or partially completed houses (both of which
are referred to herein
as "manufactured houses") within a factory for subsequent transport to the
installation location of
the manufactured house, for example in a subdivision, is well-known. When
compared to outdoor
stick building, manufacturing houses within a factory provides numerous
advantages, including the
improved ability to work at all hours of the day and without concern for
weather, and providing
greater worker safety and comfort and improved efficiency in use of material,
energy and equipment.
The prior art provides two distinct methods for manufacturing houses within a
factory and includes
those which utilize an assembly line on which the manufactured house is
constructed and those
which utilize a stick building approach wherein the manufactured house is
manufactured or
constructed within the factory in a fashion substantially similar to that used
in traditional outdoor
stick building.
The assembly line method depends for its success on several factors, including
a precisely ordered
sequence of actions or steps, some of which actions or steps require the
precise and timely supply
of material and/or skilled labour to a particular point in the assembly line,
and also including the
production of large numbers of manufactured houses having a significant number
of common
components, structures or elements. Disadvantageously, however, a failure of a
precise and timely
supply of material and/or skilled labour to a particular point in the assembly
line may have a
significant negative effect on production resulting in a significant
bottleneck in production until the
failure has been remedied. Furthermore, the requirement that the factory
produce a significant
number of identical or substantially identical or common
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significantly undermines the ability of the factory to produce, in sequence
and/or economically,
manufactured houses of significantly different sizes, designs and/or
customizations.
The indoor stick building approach of the prior art is typically more
flexible, but does not benefit
from the efficiency gains that may be available using the assembly line
approach referenced above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and
device for the
manufacturing of manufactured houses in a factory which may be located within
or in close
proximity to a subdivision which is being built, which method overcomes,
alleviates, or reduces the
impact of the above-referenced deficiencies or limitations in the prior art.
Accordingly, in one embodiment, the invention relates to a method for
manufacturing a completed
or substantially completed manufactured house within a factory, comprising,
receiving house
building materials at the factory, converting at least some of the house
building materials into
kittable form, delivering at least some of the house building materials in
kittable form to a building
manufacturing area within the factory and constructing a completed or
substantially completed
manufactured house in the building manufacturing area within the factory
utilizing such building
materials.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides a responsive and
flexible method for the
timely delivery of building material, in a precisely ordered sequence, with a
high degree of quality
control and material standardization and pre-preparation, to a manufactured
house during its
manufacture.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that it permits improved
efficiency in purchasing
building material for the manufactured houses, permits improved pre-inspection
of building material
for quality and quantity, allows for the correction of quality and/or quantity
deficiencies before the
building material is inserted into the manufacturing process, and increases
the efficiency of the
personnel engaged in constructing the manufactured house.
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It is a further advantage of the present invention that when used in
association with an assembly line,
such as those of the prior art, it will permit the assembly line to have
improved efficiency, reliability
and flexibility, or when used in association with a stick building process,
will provide amongst other
things, increased efficiency and timeliness of material handling and delivery.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a graphical representation of a factory which has implemented
therein an
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a graphical representation of the same factory which has
implemented therein an
embodiment of the present invention, the factory being shown adjacent to the
subdivision
being built.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Having regard to Figure l and Figure 2 set forth herein, a preferred
embodiment of the present
invention is described herein.
With reference to Figure 2, in the preferred embodiment, a house manufacturing
factory 1 is
established within, or in close proximity to a subdivision 2 which is being
built. The proximity of
the factory 1 to the subdivision 2 beneficially allows for the manufacture of
complete or substantially
complete manufactured houses within a factory 1 and for the subsequent
delivery of the manufactured
house to the subdivision 2, with reduced or entirely eliminated likelihood of
interference during the
delivery of the manufactured house from the factory 1 to its foundation in the
subdivision 2 as a
result of bridges, wires, narrow roads or other impediments and with reduced
or entirely eliminated
need to utilize public access roads and highways (that is, roads and highways
to which the public
generally has access) during such transport of the manufactured house.
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With reference to Figure 1, in the preferred embodiment of the present
invention, building material
is ordered from one or more suppliers, and received at a receiving area 3 on a
"just-in-time" basis,
or alternatively "in advance", for on-site storage or stockpiling (the
expression "building material"
or "building materials" is to be construed herein in the widest sense and may
include all such items
as may be required for the completion of a completed or substantially
completed manufactured
house, including raw construction materials, processed materials,
prefabricated components and/or
such other material as would be understood by a person skilled in the art to
be required for the
construction of a house or like structure, and may also include, for example,
household appliances,
heating and air conditioning equipment, and items of decoration). It is
understood that while price,
purchasing and handling efficiencies may be achieved by buying in bulk and
stockpiling in an indoor
storage area 4 or in an outdoor storage area 5, it is also understood that in
some circumstances, the
utilization of just-in-time delivery may result in decreased capital and other
costs, particularly those
costs associated with having to repeatedly handle and/or store building
material for a period of time
before utilization.
In the preferred embodiment, the building material will be received, typically
from a truck 17, at the
receiving area 3 at the factory 1 (or at a site located conveniently near the
factory 1 ), and thereafter
inspected for quantity and quality (and, in the preferred embodiment, any
deficiencies in either
quantity or quality corrected at that time, it being understood that, where
appropriate, those portions
of the building material which do not comply with the quality requirements
being remedied at that
time).
After the building material has been inspected, in the event that such
building material is not
required for immediate use, the building material is sent for storage in an
indoor storage area 4 or
in an outdoor storage area S or at a site located conveniently proximate to
the factory 1.
In the preferred embodiment, if the received building material is required for
immediate use, and was
received in"kittable form" (as that term is more fully described herein) and
therefore ready in its
received form and configuration for delivery to the building manufacturing
area 11, it is forwarded
to the lotting area 7, where this building material which is in "kittable
form" is placed on a lotting
transporter 9 for subsequent delivery to the building manufacturing area 11
("kittable form" means
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that condition of the building material in which it can be readily integrated
into the manufactured
house during its manufacture without significant additional preparation of the
building material, and,
by way of example only, may include lumber which has been pre-cut to its
correct size for ready
installation into the manufactured house, or lumber which has been cut and
constructed into building
elements such as trusses, or any other building material which is ready for
installation or which may
be pre-prepared or pre-constructed into a more readily usable form prior to it
being delivered to the
building manufacturing area 11, it being understood that some additional
preparation of the building
material maybe required after the kit is delivered to the building
manufacturing area 11, it also being
understood that the precise balance between the tasks to be preformed on the
building material prior
to the building material being delivered to the building manufacturing area
11, and those to be
performed after it has arnved at the building manufacturing area 11 being
determined having regard
to, amongst other things, efficiencies of time, cost, labour, safety and such
other factors a person
skilled in the art would consider).
When building material is received which is not in kittable form it may either
be immediately stored
in a storage areas 4 or 5 until needed or in the alternative may be sent to a
pre-lotting area 6 for pre-
kitting preparation (it being understood that while in the preferred
embodiment, the pre-lotting area
is proximate the lotting area, the factory layout may vary considerably, and
the specific location of
the pre-lotting area may be determined on a factory by factory basis). In the
preferred embodiment,
pre-kitting preparation includes any step in which the building material is
converted from non-
kittable form i nto k ittable form b y, f or a xample, r emoving a ny r
emaining p ackaging/shipping
material, a final inspection of the building material to ensure satisfactory
building material quality,
and where appropriate, any cutting, shaping, coating, assembly, pre-assembly
or other such
procedure in which the building material is prepared and converted into
kittable form. It is
understood that some building material may arrive at the factory requiring no
further preparation,
having been delivered to the factory already in kittable form.
In the preferred embodiment some of the pre-kitting preparation may occur on
fabrication tables 18,
where, by way of example, a prefabricated wall section 19 in kittable form may
be assembled.
Once in kittable form, the building material, in kittable form, may thereafter
be transported directly
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to the kitting area 7 or stored in a storage areas 4 or 5 for later delivery
to the kitting area 7 as
required.
In the preferred embodiment, marking or coding may be added to any piece of
building material at
an appropriate stage, such marking or coding being human or machine readable,
or both. Such
marking or coding may facilitate control over movement and inventory of the
building material, both
before and after inclusion in a kit, and may also facilitate the preparation
of the building material or
the incorporation of the building material into the manufactured house, for
example by pre-printing
of nailing or cutting patterns on the building material. It is understood that
such marking and coding
may also facilitate automation.
In the preferred embodiment, once the building material is in kittable form,
and has been delivered
to the kitting area 7, the building material in kittable form is placed on a
kitting transporter 9. It is
understood that the lotting transporter 9 may take one of many different
configurations including
1 S one or more carts, wagons, trailers, or other suitable transport devices
known to persons skilled in
the art, provided that they are suitably adapted for transporting the finished
kit from the lotting area
7 to the building manufacturing area 11, and is generally capable of
efficiently handling and
transporting the building material to its destination, it being understood
that the kitting transporter
9 may be self propelled or may be propelled by some other means, for example a
truck or tractor
or similar device 8 or (where available) an overhead crane. In the preferred
embodiment, where
appropriate, two or more kitting transporters 9, may be linked together for
improved efficiency of
delivery of the building material to the building manufacturing area 11.
In the preferred embodiment, once the building material in kittable form has
been placed on the
lotting transporter 9, they are available for delivery to the building
manufacturing area 11. In the
preferred embodiment, one or more lotting transporters 9 may be used to
transfer the building
material(now in kittable form) from the lotting area 7 to the building
manufacturing area 11. It is
understood that the kitting area 7 may be used for the purpose of receiving
building material in
kittable form, placing the building material on the lotting transporter 9, and
where appropriate,
arranging the lotting transporters 9 in a sequence which is related to the
expected demands of the
constructing of the manufactured house and in response to the requirements of
the crew leaders and
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co-ordinators as set out below.
In the preferred embodiment the building material in kittable form may now be
delivered to the
building m anufacturing a rea 1 1 w hen i t i s r equired a t the b uilding m
anufacturing a rea 1 1 f or
incorporation into a particular manufactured house, it being understood that
while it is generally
preferred that the building material in kittable form should be delivered very
shortly before it is
needed at the building manufacturing area 11, to avoid unnecessary congestion
in the building
manufacturing area 11, it is also understood that improved efficiency may be
achieved in some
circumstances when multiple lotting transporters 9 with a variety of different
building material in
kittable form are delivered simultaneously to the building manufacturing area
11. It is also
understood that in some circumstances it may be advantageous to deliver the
kits to the building
manufacturing area 11 in advance, for example, so that the building material
may be available
immediately at the beginning of a work shift, or immediately after a work
break.
It is understood that the kitting area 7 may be used both as a marshaling
location for the building
material that is in kittable form and which has been placed on lotting
transporters 9, and also may
be used as a temporary storage or buffer area, to allow for the temporary
accumulation of building
material in kittable form, the lotting area 7 thereby acting as a buffer in
relation to the delivery to it
of building material in kittable form, and the delivery from it of such
building material to the
building manufacturing area 11. In the preferred embodiment, a marshaling area
11 may be used
integrally with, or independently of the kitting area 7 to act as a buffer to
allow for the temporary
accumulation of building material on kittable form, the marshaling area 11
thereby acting as a buffer
in relation to the delivery to it of building material in kittable form, and
the delivery from it of such
material to the building manufacturing area 11 (it being understood that while
in the preferred
embodiment, the marshaling area 11 is proximate the kitting area 7, the
factory layout may vary
considerably, and the specific location of the marshaling area 11 may be
determined on a factory by
factory basis).
In the preferred embodiment, the marshaling area 11 is provided at an
intermediate location between
the lotting area and the building manufacturing area 11 in order to insert
flexibility and resiliency
into the supply of building material from the lotting area 7 and the
manufactured house 12. In the
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preferred embodiment the marshaling area 11 is designed and constructed such
that the kitting
transporters 9 may be positioned relative to one another and where
appropriate, linked to one
another, so that the movement of building material from the marshaling area 11
to the manufactured
house 12 is orderly and efficient, and in particular so that the positioning
or movement of any
particular lotting transporter 9 will not interfere with the orderly and
efficient movement of any other
lotting transporter or equipment. In another embodiment, the marshaling area
and kitting area may
be substantially or completely combined.
In the preferred embodiment, the person who is responsible for the
constructing of a particular house,
(referred to herein as a "crew leader"), is responsible for the requisitioning
of and the timing of each
of the deliveries of building materials to the building manufacturing area 11
from the kitting area
7 or marshaling area 11, as appropriate. In accordance with the requisition
from the crew leader, the
building material is delivered, in kittable form by means of a lotting
transporter 9, to the building
manufacturing area 11.
In the preferred embodiment, in close coordination with the crew leaders for
each of the different
manufactured houses being manufactured in the building manufacturing area 11
at any given time,
a second individual (referred to herein as a "co-ordinator") who is
responsible for co-ordinating the
delivery of building material to each of the different manufactured houses
being manufactured in the
building manufacturing area 11 at any given time, is advised sufficiently in
advance of the expected
needs of the crew leaders so that the kittable building material is assembled
into a kit and available
for delivery to the crew leaders as needed.
When the building material in kittable form arrives at a particular
manufactured house 12 being
constructed in the building manufacturing area 11, the building material will
be moved from the
lotting transporter and thereafter incorporated into the manufactured house 12
being constructed in
the building manufacturing area 11.
While it is understood that all or substantially all of the said final
preparation of the building material
will have already occurred when the building material was pre-prepared while
being put into kittable
form, once the building material has arnved at the building manufacturing area
11, further
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preparation of the building material may be necessary, such as, for example,
specific modifications
to the building material may be required which were not contemplated at the
time of putting the
building material into kittable form, or any necessary on-site adjustments or
alterations to the
building material during the installation process.
It is understood that in the building manufacturing area 11, the building
material may be incorporated
into the house in a stick-built fashion as illustrated in Figure 1, which
illustrates 4 separate stick
building sites 13,14, 15 and 16 within the building manufacturing area 11, or
where the kit includes
a subassembly of the manufactured house being constructed, the building
material may be
incorporated into the house as one or more subassemblies of the manufactured
house, or where the
factory building area utilizes an assembly line for the assembly of the
manufactured house, the kits
may be delivered to the appropriate location on the assembly line for
incorporation into the
manufactured house being constructed thereon.
In the preferred embodiment, the factory 1 will contain more than one building
sites within a
building manufacturing area 11 (Figure 1 illustrates 4 separate stick building
sites 13, 14, 1 S and 16
within the building manufacturing area 11), it being understood that in other
embodiments the
factory may contain only one building site within a building manufacturing
area 11, while in other
embodiments the building manufacturing area may be remote from the factory l,
for example in a
second factory, or, where appropriate, within a temporary structure, or
outdoors.
A manufactured house which is completed or substantially completed using the
method described
herein may then be moved from the factory to the subdivision for installation
on footings or a
foundation located therein.
In an alternative embodiment, a significant volumetric segment, section or
portion of a manufactured
house can constructed in a factory utilizing the method of the present
invention, which significant
volumetric segment, section or portion of a manufactured house can thereafter
be combined with one
or m ore o they s imilarly c onstructed s ignificant v olumetric s egments, s
ections o r p onions o f a
manufactured house at the installation location to form a complete or
substantially complete
manufactured house, the segments, sections or portions each representing a
significant volumetric
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aspect of the completed house, and typically greater than 10% of the volume of
the completed house.
It is also understood that the method of the present invention may be utilized
to construct dwellings
in v arious formats, i ncluding, b ut n of 1 invited t o, h igh-rise a nd 1 ow-
rise a partments, d uplexes,
triplexes, townhouses, row houses, semi-detached houses and singles, and may
be utilized in the
construction of office, retail and other commercial buildings.
The present invention has been described herein with regard to its preferred
embodiment. However,
it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations
and modifications can be
made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein.
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