DfMA and Digital Coordination for Algeco / MOJ

Project: Rapid Deployment Cells

When Algeco began delivering Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) for the Ministry of Justice, the programme required not only modular efficiency but also absolute clarity across design, data and manufacturing. Our role focused on translating the existing design intent into a fully coordinated, DfMA-aligned, BIM-driven model suitable for precision offsite delivery.

Rather than redesigning the product, we refined it; interrogating interfaces, enhancing digital certainty, and ensuring the design was genuinely manufacturable at scale.

The Challenge

1. Turning design intent into manufacturing certainty

The conceptual and architectural information existed, but it was not yet optimised for offsite production. Every tolerance, interface and sequencing decision had implications for factory efficiency.

2. Multiple disciplines, multiple data sources

The programme relied on structural, MEP, custodial, manufacturing, and site-installation inputs. Misalignment anywhere in the chain would compromise both speed and quality.

3. A high-volume, high-repetition system

Hundreds of identical (and near-identical) units required a level of standardisation that only comes from rigorous digital coordination.

4. Accuracy before arrival on site

Given the tight footprints within existing prison estates, every dimension mattered. The digital model had to eliminate on-site unknowns.

Our Contribution

DfMA Alignment

We examined the existing design through a DfMA lens, identifying where details needed simplifying, sequencing, or re-configuring for offsite production.

This included:

• rationalising components to minimise variation

• tightening tolerances for repeatable factory assembly

• clarifying build sequence to support consistent manufacturing flow

• reducing ambiguity in interfaces between modules, services and fixtures

• ensuring every component could be installed predictably by the production team

The goal was a design that behaves well in the factory; predictable, buildable, and repeatable.

BIM Coordination & Information Management

Our primary responsibility was digital integrity: ensuring the RDC model was complete, coherent and usable across all delivery stages.

Key BIM contributions:

• coordinating structural, architectural and MEP inputs into a single integrated model

• resolving clashes proactively to protect manufacturing and installation timelines

• creating a clear data structure aligned with asset and product requirements

• ensuring every digital element matched the physical manufacturing process

• providing a “single source of truth” model for design, manufacturing and installation

This digital foundation allowed the factory to work with confidence, knowing the design was settled, validated and aligned with production constraints.

Project Impact

1. Reduced manufacturing risk

By cleaning the design, clarifying interfaces and streamlining components, the final product moved through the factory with greater efficiency and fewer surprises.

2. Clear communication across disciplines

The BIM model became the mechanism through which Algeco, suppliers and the MOJ team maintained alignment. This reduced rework and improved decision-making.

3. Scalable, repeatable production

Because every unit was coordinated digitally, the system could be produced at volume with consistent quality — essential for a high-volume, fast-delivery programme.

4. A more predictable on-site installation

Accurate digital coordination ensured that modules fit the constrained site conditions without disruption, supporting the MOJ’s need for rapid, seamless deployment.

The value of digital coordination is rarely the headline, but it is often the reason a modular programme succeeds. This project shows how DfMA thinking and BIM discipline transform a design from a static concept into a manufacturable product.

Better digital information leads to better physical outcomes.