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The Art of the ImPossible podcast - EPISODE 7

Making manufacturing personal

What can the construction industry learn from mass customization in the manufacturing industry?

In this episode of the podcast, Dr Saeed Talebi, Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and the Built Environment at Birmingham City University, and Founder of Equitus Engineering Limited, Raam Shanker, talk about the cross-pollination of mass customization from the design manufacturing industry into the construction industry. 

 

Listen to the podcast below

Explore the nuances of individuality and how mass customization can increase the value of a product, such as housing, by delivering products that fulfill specific requirements of different customers. 

Henry Ford once said about the Model T that “any customer can have their car in any colour they want, so long as it is black”. In order to efficiently produce enough cars at a consistent level of quality, they needed to make some compromises. Fast forward to today, demand for personalized items and services is increasing, as is the number of companies competing to offer those products.

In this episode, Asif Moghal speaks with Dr Saeed and Raam, about the cross-pollination of mass customization from the design manufacturing industry into the construction industry. They discuss the nuances of mass customization; what is driving it across the design manufacturing and construction industries; and where and how business owners can find help and advice on their digitization journey.

While mass customization has been around since the ’80s in manufacturing, it is only in the last twenty or thirty years the construction industry has started incorporating it. Construction companies are constantly asking how they can provide social houses at a lower cost because of housing shortages around the world, especially in developing countries. Mass production was used to lower the cost but that resulted in an age-old problem - consumers wanted their own unique home, not a cookie-cutter house. 

 

Biography

Dr Saeed Talebi Bio

Dr Saeed Talebi is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and the Built Environment at Birmingham City University. His current research interest is in the areas of dimensional tolerance management, condition monitoring of infrastructure, and platform design using technologies such as 3D scanning, UAV, thermography, BIM, and AI. Bringing the practical experience of working on a number of projects, he is researching and helping teams manage the interfaces between theory and practice. Saeed has recently completed a £120K project funded by Network Rail as the Co-Investigator. This project utilizes emerging surveying methods and AI to replace visual inspection of railway bridges.

Raam Shanker Bio

Raam is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Founder of Equitus Engineering Limited. His expertise includes delivering innovation, sustainability, and product development. Clients include the European Space Agency, Babcock Group, Samsung Heavy Industries, UKRI, and Kawasaki. Raam is a TEDx alumni, member of Andy Burnham’s Business Advisory Panel, Associate Member and mentor with TiE UK North, a contributor to Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy, Industrial  Advisory Board member with Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Engineering, steering committee Member with two regional chapters and Professional Review Interviewer with the  Institution of Mechanical Engineers, STEM Ambassador, Business Mentor with the Growth Company.