Marketplace interviews Blox CEO Chris Giattina about healthcare construction, DMC and the need for speed
March 31, 2020
By: Marketplace
Photo credit: Blox
Marketplace, the renowned business and technology radio program from American Public Media, recently interviewed Chris Giattina, Founder and CEO of Blox. In this interview, Giattina articulates how the company is transforming healthcare construction through its innovative Design Manufacture Construct (DMC) process. Blox, known for pioneering modular healthcare construction delivers high-quality healthcare facilities, leveraging DMC to streamline and accelerate the building process.
In the article Giattina outlines how BLOX designs hospitals digitally and manufactures components in their plant, likening the process to assembling a complex Lego set. This method allows for significant time savings, reducing the construction period from the typical 12 to 16 months to just four months. The DMC process ensures that every element, from raw materials to finished modules, integrates seamlessly, enhancing both efficiency and quality.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Blox adapted its capabilities to address urgent healthcare needs. Giattina highlights the creation of Mobile Isolation Care Units (MICUs), designed to be quickly deployed to hotspots. These units protected frontline healthcare workers, preserve hospital capacity, and provide flexible, reusable assets for the healthcare system.
Unlike the traditional design build or AEC method of construction, the DMC approach fosters close collaboration among architects, engineers, and builders, enabling immediate feedback and iterative improvements. Giattina notes that this approach uses an idea called chunking, that was first pioneered by Boeing to construct its large aircraft. This process assembles the largest transportable sections of the aircraft, manufactures them in different locations, and ships them to a central point for assembly. By eliminating traditional silos and ensuring real-time adjustments, Blox is able to enhance the precision and reliability of its constructions.
BLOX's commitment to innovation and rapid response capabilities exemplifies how the DMC method can revolutionize construction, especially in critical sectors like healthcare. This interview not only sheds light on BLOX's cutting-edge processes but also underscores the potential for modular construction to meet urgent and evolving demands in the industry.
For more details, you can read the full interview on Marketplace's website (Marketplace).
