MMC business process: a road map based on the RIBA framework

A summary of the brochure "MMC business process. Road map based on RIBA framework" by Ivan Moiseenko (IMAGE, Riga, 2025). The free edition is available as a PDF at the end of this article.

Why a road map

Construction is a fragmented industry with many parties, and off-site development adds its own gaps: information gets lost between the client, the designers, the manufacturer and the site. The brochure argues that a documented, iterative, step-by-step process is the key success factor of a modular project, and that the RIBA Plan of Work (UK, 2020) is a good backbone for it: it defines stage outcomes, core tasks and information exchanges for every stage from the first idea to the use of the building.

IMAGE applies this framework in its projects; the brochure is the first published iteration of an MMC business process map built on it.

The eight stages, adapted to MMC

The RIBA stages and the stage outcomes used in the road map:

• Stage 0 – Strategic definition. Business case as the basis for the contract with the client. Deliverables: ideation and value proposition, market discovery and product-market fit, feasibility studies, client requirements document, risk assessment, project road map and schedule, stakeholder analysis, site conditions and constraints, optional MMC and DfMA applications.

• Stage 1 – Preparation and briefing. Project brief approved by the client; project framework (schedule, responsibility matrix, programme), initial permit documentation, contract, project management framework, kick-off.

• Stage 2 – Concept design (LOD 200). Architectural concept approved by the client and aligned with the brief: pre-concept, site analysis, first sketches, massing 3D models, visualisations, BIM model LOD 200, architectural, structural and MEP concept, specifications and cost calculations, feasibility and unit economics.

• Stage 3 – Spatial coordination (LOD 300). Building permit at the end of the stage; BIM model LOD 300, coordinated architectural, structural and MEP design, cost calculations, sub-contractor search, and the search and sign-off of the prefab or modular manufacturer.

• Stage 4 – Technical design (LOD 400). Production drawings package; all requirements of the MMC manufacturer applied to the design package; preparation for manufacturing and construction.

• Stage 5 – Manufacturing and construction (LOD 500). Contract with the off-site manufacturer or traditional contractor; off-site production and on-site construction, technical tests, quality control, preparation of modules or kit of parts for transport.

• Stage 6 – Handover. Off-site and on-site works completed, contract completed; building handed over in line with the plan of use, review of project performance, seasonal commissioning, defects rectified, aftercare and light-touch post-occupancy evaluation.

• Stage 7 – Use. Warranty from the MMC manufacturer, facilities and asset management, post-occupancy evaluation, verification of project outcomes including sustainability, optional life-time monitoring.

Twelve principal steps

In parallel with the RIBA stages the brochure lays out the practical steps of a modular project: ideation and value proposition → market discovery and product-market fit → feasibility studies → technical project brief → marketing and pre-sales pipeline → concept design → spatial coordination design → technical design → prototyping and mock-up → serial production → on-site installation → warranty obligations and use phase → re-use and recycling. Financing can enter at any step and depends on the local market; MMC and DfMA principles should apply at every step "in order to get the product and not another project".

UK, Germany, Montenegro

One useful page compares the stage structure of three markets: RIBA stages 0–7 (UK), the German HOAI service phases LPH 1–9, and the stages used in Montenegro (conceptual design, preliminary design, final design, as-built design). It shows where the stage boundaries do not coincide, which matters when a project is designed in one country, manufactured in a second and built in a third.

Levels of information and specifications

The brochure also summarises the terms behind the LOD numbers: Level of Detail and Level of Information (LOD/LOI, ISO 19650 "Level of Information Need"), the RIBA types of specification from outline and descriptive to prescriptive and record, the NBS Chorus platform and the Uniclass classification system.

Process maps by stage

The second half of the brochure (from page 36) contains process maps for stages 0–4 with the document templates used at each step: client requirements document, project risks, feasibility studies, project budget, previous projects analysis, site appraisals, business case document, project organigram, project brief, responsibility matrix and so on.

Where it meets our work

The three VMBS services sit on this map: pre-design and Go/No-Go corresponds to stages 0–1, manufacturer search and RFQ to stage 3 ("search and sign off prefab/modular manufacturer"), and coordination of manufacturing, delivery and installation to stages 4–6.

Download: MMC business process. Road map based on RIBA framework — free edition (PDF, 4 MB). Author: Ivan Moiseenko, IMAGE. RIBA Plan of Work 2020 is © RIBA.