HVAC prefabrication, or building and pre-assembling segments of ductwork in the shop before sending them off to the jobsite, is continuing to grow in the HVAC industry for a variety of reasons. While duct prefabrication can offer increased product quality and efficiency both before and during installation, prefab does have another major value prop for duct fabricators: the ability to collaborate with other contractors and test for collisions with other trades in the construction project. In this post, we'll discuss how HVAC prefabrication testing capabilities can help fabricators and contractors be more efficient with their time and labor.
Collaboration, Collision Checking, and Testing in HVAC Fabrication
Thanks to the technological advances made in CAD software, virtual design, and information modeling, prefabrication allows fabrication shops to deliver constructible data to the contractor or builder before the HVAC system is delivered or installed. In this case, data and insights are available to collision check the HVAC system against the other trades and systems that will be installed into the construction project.
Additionally, prefab ductwork can be tested in a controlled environment, ensuring that the system is able to perform efficiently before installation. Again, the benefit of prefabrication is in the ability to avoid risks that might threaten the project timeline or constraints ahead of time instead of in the field, where issues are more difficult and costly to correct.