The third phase of a multi-phase affordable housing project in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Construction Management Program and the Real Estate Synergy Club will be hosting an event entitled “OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION & MODULAR HIGH-RISE” to be held at The Shorin Performance Center @ The Kimmel Center on the NYU campus at 600 Washington Square South, NY, NY on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 7:30 AM.

The event will include breakfast followed by a panel discussion featuring prominent members of the New York development and construction oversight authorities, representatives of the Modular Building Institute, members of the Sustainable construction consultancy community as well as members of the Capsys management team.

As Sasha Durcan, one of the event’s organizers puts it:  “The global construction and development industries have embraced “one of the oldest new ideas” with Off-site & Modular High-Rise Construction.  Advances in parametric modeling and digital fabrication have significantly advanced off-site building capabilities.    Modular design can now substantially reduce schedules; create efficient labor, material and cost savings; improve quality control and worker safety; as well as easily contributing to sustainability goals.”

So, please join the Capsys, along with the NYU Schack Institute CMAA Chapter, the Real Estate Synergy Club, members of NYU Stern, NYU Law and NYU Wagner schools, as well as industry stakeholders, to discuss current challenges and solutions in the Off-Site & Modular Industry. 

This event is free to the public.

For more information as the event evolves, please check in often at the event BlogSpot linked below.  We look forward to seeing you there.

http://nyumodular.blogspot.com/

So says the National Recourses Defense Council in a recent article posted by our friends at “Living Green Magazine”.  We’d like to share the article with you.  We agree that Modular Construction is at the forefront and leading the Green Revolution in construction. 

Within the past year, Capsys has achieved a LEED Gold certification for our Park Terrace apartment building project in Yonkers, NY and achieved LEED Platinum for our Building 92 project in Brooklyn, NY. Our steel frame, midrise modular construction system, while aimed at a different market segment of construction than the corporate examples named in the article, will continue to contribute Sustainable Construction solutions to our clients.

http://livinggreenmag.com/2012/02/29/home-garden/how-green-are-todays-modular-homes/

We’ve been testing a suite of products from Verve Living systems in our office and, so far we are very impressed.  Verve’s products provide easy, convenient or even passive ways to save energy.  Their products fall into four main categories:

• Occupancy detection devices that sense motion and, when no motion is detected over a given time span, can wirelessly communicate with lighting and HVAC systems to close circuits or kick back temperature settings thereby saving on energy costs while keeping the space comfortable.  We see a wide range of applications in the Hospitality Industry for these products.
• Heating and cooling controls produce energy savings by adjusting the thermostat automatically. This technology is useful for all types of residential applications.
• Battery-free or lumen/solar powered user interfaces – door/ window switches and remote controls – that allow you to wirelessly control the lighting and temperature.  Imagine never having to change batteries in your remote controls!
• Lighting and load-control products that enable total control over lighting and outlets.  So you can sit in your living room with the wireless controller and turn on or dim lights anywhere in the house.

A link to Verve’s web site is listed below.  Please visit them.  We think their products, when used in conjunction with our Modular Construction technology offer almost any residential or hospitality construction project a sustainable, energy efficient alternative to conventional site/craft construction.

http://vervelivingsystems.com/

With the start of the New Year it seems we are bombarded with predictions of future trends from every futurist or futurist wannabe.  But many of them are fun and thought-provoking so it seems a good idea to gather a few of the better ones together and let you scan them.  We at Capsys hope your New Year is safe, prosperous and “Sustainable” (to use 2011’s most overused buzz word one more time!) 

Leading Leglobal green building consultant Jerry Yudelson, says green building will continue its rebound globally in 2012 in spite of ongoing economic difficulties in most developed economies.

“Green Building Consultant Lists Top Ten Green Building Mega-Trends for 2012”

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9037435.htm

Our friends at Focus on Renewable Energy published this list of the articles published in their newletter that generated the most hits and comments during the last year.

“Top 5 favorite articles published in 2011”

http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/22861/top-5-favourite-content-2011/

The good folks at the website Jetson Green published this list of “What are the 5 major

“Green Home trends for 2012”

”http://www.jetsongreen.com/2012/01/five-green-home-trends-buildipedia.html

And lastly, the folks at Green Building Advisor listed these as their annual picks for the most innovative products for the coming year.

“Top 10 Green Building Products for 2012”

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/top-10-green-building-products-2012

As the Ashburton and McDougal Project are nearing turnover to their respective owners, the plant “Kanban Pull System” project is out of the planning stages into the implementing stage. The Japanese word, “Kanban” can be translated into English as “Sign Board” and is an important part of our “Pull System”. Taichi Ohno, the creator of the Toyota Production System,  devised a plan in the 1950’s to have demand and actual production determine quantity and timing of re-orders in purchasing. This plan was thought up into existence after Mr. Ohno and the Toyota team visited a United States Supermarket and could not believe its efficiencies.  Using Visual Re-fill points (flags, measuring rods, marked bins, three bins, etc.) and Re-order points coupled with a Daily Patrol and thorough 5S, we can achieve a “pull system” instead of the very wasteful “push system”.

Our System is nearly 50% complete and fully implemented by November of 2011. The 5S methodology will give our plant a very aesthetically pleasing environment with a clear vision of continuous improvement in the Inventory Scheduling and Control Systems.

The initial Value Added Space Percentage was recorded at 60% (40231/66816). After the 5S, we are estimating at improving that number to 80% then continuously improving from there.  The 5S methodology consists of:

1. Sorting – Recognizing waste and discarding
2. Straightening – Creating a set place for all materials and processes
3. Shining – Keeping things clean
4. Standardizing – Everything should be consistent and identical. Every process and worker should know exactly what their role’s and responsibilities are.  
5. Sustaining – This is easily the most difficult part of the process and a clear system of sustaining the gains made while continuing to improve must be part of the corporate charter.

Come out for a tour and see how our already efficient production process and soon to be Lean Supply Chain will change the face of construction in New York!

The Park Terrace project is set for LEED Gold in the Mid-rise LEED for homes program!  Capsys incorporated many innovative and energy saving features to the project such as Energy Star Lighting, water use reduction, framing efficiency, waste management.  In addition to these and many others the use of modular construction is recognized as an exceptional method of building in an environmentally conscious way!  We are thankful to all the project team members for contributing to the overall goal; the building is coming together very well.

Ashburton LEED Checklist

The terrible two’s as parents call it when their children reach the age of two and start questioning everything they see. Why this, why that, why, why, why, until their parents either answer these questions or pass out. There were no questions too small or big. Their status quo is not developed yet and their minds are completely open to new ideas.  

In lean manufacturing and lean six sigma, this used to be annoying behavior, has become standard practice even earning the title “5W Analysis”. What industrial engineers are learning is to become that two-year-old child once more but with a bit more diplomacy and respect for all employees while conducting this analysis. Shigeo Shingo once said, “A relentless barrage of “why” is the best way to prepare your mind to pierce the clouded veil of thinking caused by the status quo. Use it often”.

One of the biggest barriers to building modularly is preconceived notions of trailer park homes or structures with lower quality. However, this could not be more further from the truth. Our sales manager, Tom O’Hara often says, “Would you want your car built outside in the elements or in an environmentally controlled manufacturing factory?” Would it not be nice to be able to have quality checks and measures being controlled during every aspect of the construction process?

At Capsys, every aspect of the construction process is broken down and analyzed. Then put back together so the plumbers, electricians, welders, and carpenters can work together as seamlessly as possible; thus, increasing output and quality.    

As the two year old would say, “why build it the conventional site built way when quality, efficiency, production rate, and supply chain’s all are better with a manufacturing line?” As an industrial engineer, every time I walk the production line I hear that two-year-old boy inside me saying, “Why” and it brings a smile to my face as the factory workers give me silly looks as I ask them.

With Capsys adopting Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing into its Manufacturing line, one cannot help but think of a famous quote by Shigeo Shingo, “The most dangerous kind of waste is the waste we do not recognize.” One can locate waste in many different departments in any organization by asking the simple question, “Does this add value?” If it does not, it is waste and must be discarded. 

Waste or “Muda” as it is called in Lean Manufacturing is everywhere and it starts in the system/program that is responsible for everything. When designing an inventory system, production line, supply chain, production process, schedule, site management, quality control system, one must be cognizant of each step in the process because each step is magnified through time and it either focuses or folds to its pressure.  

Starting in February of 2011, Capsys has adopted this kind of Lean thinking and has enjoyed great success in its manufacturing line by nearly doubling its production efficiency in a little over 5 months while controlling costs by changing to a Kanban, pull-type Supply Chain. Its yields have also been increasing due to a more proactive quality control system that locates causes of problems versus just trying to catch after the fact defects.

On June 27^th, 2011, Capsys welded its first Chassis for Phase III of the Nehemiah Spring Creek Townhouse Project. In concurrency, Capsys is setting the Hanac Bathroom Pods, putting the finishing touches on the Ashburton and McDougal Projects, and starting erection of the Victory Blvd projects in early August of 2011.

Bringing these individual systems and projects together in an interconnected system of continuous improvement makes Capsys poised for a strong finish to 2011 and a stronger beginning to 2012. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like a tour of our construction manufacturing plant in New York City.

It has become just commonplace for materials to have their recycled content published.  Capsys has regularly used high recycled content materials and here are is a short list of the most commonly used:

Structural Steel – up to 90%, Light Gauge Steel – up to 80%, Reinforcing Steel – up to 100%, Gypsum Wallboard – up to 100%!