The start of a new blog series inevitably means a CR is not far away. That doesn't take away from the news of progress though.
Some of the key take-aways:
- HX2 now also working.
- 0.2% waste - 5.5 bricks wasted. Over the whole build, 2420 HX bricks. Imagine that on a building site today! This would be a significant cost reduction.
- Build accuracy allowing concurrent manufacturing for following trades - reduction of rework required and site visits for measurements, another cost saver.
- Positive feedback from following trades - This is important. The ability and willingness of following trades to work with HX built structures is necessary.
- Testing concepts for exponential speed increase of future Hadrians - Future Hadrians able to build a home even faster. Reduces the number of Hadrians needed to get to scale. On the flip side, further development costs (though we all knew this as FBR is in the business of developing tech, not so much building walls).
A lot of people have complained about the design of the Pilot Programs, but to me it seems fairly common sense (though also sneakily designed to meet performance share milestone):
Stage 1 - show the client that the HX can build any configuration of walls that they choose using a range of their own designs. This gives the opportunity for the client to review the work to ensure the quality and accuracy of the builds.
Stage 2 - Collaborate with the client to complete a full display home. FBA uses HX to build the walls and the client completes the finishing touches (render, doors, windows, roof, fittings, furniture etc.). FBR purchases the completed display home, taking the risk off the client and retaining a completed building to show to other prospective clients.
Stage 3 - Demonstrate the commerciality of the HX by building complete homes for a home buyer under contract. This provides validation that the HX is fit for purpose, providing livable homes for end users.
Imagine you were a builder/developer. What would you want to see in order to be comfortable utilising a brand new, unproven technology? What would you be willing to pay to test it? In this case, all the builder is paying for is the walls of the test structures, as FBR will be buying back the display home. The wall payment could be negated by building in a profit margin to the display home that covers that cost, though I'm not expecting this to be the case.
I agree we are still a long way from meaningful revenue, but I think FBR have set themselves up well for the future with the Pilot Programs. Things may move faster than we think once the tech is validated and proven to be commercially viable.
