Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is a broad term describing contemporary innovations in construction. These include new technologies such as digital tools and techniques, offsite manufacture, and the use of efficient processes to deliver more productive, sustainable and higher-quality outcomes.

For us MMC is very much an enabler (a means to an ends) not an ends in itself.

The term emerged in the early 2000s following the influential Egan Report, Rethinking Construction (1998), which called for fundamental change in how the UK construction industry operates. While some of these approaches, notably prefabrication and standardisation, have historical precedents stretching back over a century, MMC represents their modern application alongside genuinely new technologies and ways of working.

Recognising that terms like MMC, prefabrication and offsite construction were prone to different interpretations (a point we wrote about here) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) established a cross-industry working group in 2017. This led to the publication of the MMC Definition Framework in 2019 – a seven-category system designed to regularise and refine the term by defining the broad spectrum of innovative construction techniques being applied.

The framework enables clients, advisors, lenders, investors, warranty providers, building insurers and valuers to build a common understanding of different forms of MMC use. 

The official framework identifies seven distinct categories, ranging from 3D structural systems (Category 1) through to non-structural assemblies and sub-assemblies (Category 5) and site process-led improvements (Category 7).

A full explanation of these can be found in this video. 

We have lobbied consistently that this definition needs to be broadened further to recognise the value and importance of design (it its interlink with standardisation, platform based approaches and digitisation), and have strongly encouraged the introduction of a Category 0 to represent this.

When applied in the right context, MMC can deliver benefits that include

• Improved quality and consistency through controlled manufacturing environments and standardised processes
• Faster delivery with reduced on-site construction time and parallel workstreams
• Enhanced safety by reducing work at height and exposure to site hazards
• Better sustainability outcomes through reduced waste, improved material efficiency and enhanced thermal performance
• Greater cost certainty with more predictable manufacturing processes
• Reduced site disruption with fewer deliveries, less noise and shorter programmes
• Workforce benefits including more stable employment, improved working conditions and new skills development opportunities

MMC is not a silver bullet however .At Akerlof, we maintain that a clear focus on outcomes – not technologies – is critical to evaluating whether MMC is the right approach and whether the context can support these benefits to be realised.

At Akerlof, we distinguish between MMC – which describes specific technologies and methods – and Industrialised Construction, which represents a more fundamental transformation of the delivery model.

While much of the industry views MMC as synonymous with offsite, prefabricated solutions, we believe realising its benefits requires more than substituting manufactured products into traditional project-by-project procurement. It demands systems thinking: transforming procurement, commercial models, design processes and supply chain relationships alongside technology adoption.

This is why we use the term industrialised construction to describe the wider, programmatic approach needed to create the conditions where MMC can succeed.

Read more about our approach to industrialised construction here: