EPISODE · May 28, 2026 · 49 MIN
Modular isn't a product you order, it's a process you run | Randall Thompson
from Built Different · host Tough Leaf
On Nibbi Brothers' modular projects, a 100-unit building goes up within two weeks of podium completion, delivering 10 to 15% hard cost savings and 25% faster project timelines. Instead of treating modular as a product you order and wait for, they approach it as a manufacturing process that demands pulled-forward preconstruction, early manufacturer engagement, and full-team coordination before a single module ships. Randall believes the industry hasn't captured the full cost benefit yet because trade partners are still pricing conservatively on the learning curve.Randall Thompson, Preconstruction Executive at Nibbi Prefab, tells Wissam how they bring manufacturers on as design-assist partners at Design Development 100%, with factory cost running roughly 20 to 25% of the overall GMP. The upfront coordination shifts the critical path: interior MEP and some finish work come off it, replaced by the sequence of foundations to module set to dry-in to site work. Their trade readiness process includes full-scale mock-ups of typical module corridor conditions and factory prototype visits before subs receive product on site.Randall also walks through how they solved modular's most expensive risk, water intrusion, by co-developing a temp-to-perm roofing system with a roofing manufacturer after early Bay Area projects generated significant claims during a wet winter. That system held through an atmospheric river just weeks after module set. He argues modular failures are execution problems, not technology problems. And unlike traditional construction's protectionist culture, the modular community shares knowledge openly, even with direct competitors, because the industry needs more successes to build market confidence.Topics discussed:Pulling procurement, BIM, and design coordination into preconstructionManufacturers as design-assist partners at Design DevelopmentFactory cost benchmarks at 20 to 25% of overall GMPCritical path shift when interior MEP leaves the scheduleTemp-to-perm roofing to solve water intrusion riskFull-scale mock-ups and factory visits for trade readinessReduced modular scopes creating access for smaller firmsAI-generated lessons learned checklists from project history
What this episode covers
On Nibbi Brothers' modular projects, a 100-unit building goes up within two weeks of podium completion, delivering 10 to 15% hard cost savings and 25% faster project timelines. Instead of treating modular as a product you order and wait for, they approach it as a manufacturing process that demands pulled-forward preconstruction, early manufacturer engagement, and full-team coordination before a single module ships. Randall believes the industry hasn't captured the full cost benefit yet because trade partners are still pricing conservatively on the learning curve.Randall Thompson, Preconstruction Executive at Nibbi Prefab, tells Wissam how they bring manufacturers on as design-assist partners at Design Development 100%, with factory cost running roughly 20 to 25% of the overall GMP. The upfront coordination shifts the critical path: interior MEP and some finish work come off it, replaced by the sequence of foundations to module set to dry-in to site work. Their trade readiness process includes full-scale mock-ups of typical module corridor conditions and factory prototype visits before subs receive product on site.Randall also walks through how they solved modular's most expensive risk, water intrusion, by co-developing a temp-to-perm roofing system with a roofing manufacturer after early Bay Area projects generated significant claims during a wet winter. That system held through an atmospheric river just weeks after module set. He argues modular failures are execution problems, not technology problems. And unlike traditional construction's protectionist culture, the modular community shares knowledge openly, even with direct competitors, because the industry needs more successes to build market confidence.Topics discussed:Pulling procurement, BIM, and design coordination into preconstructionManufacturers as design-assist partners at Design DevelopmentFactory cost benchmarks at 20 to 25% of overall GMPCritical path shift when interior MEP leaves the scheduleTemp-to-perm roofing to solve water intrusion riskFull-scale mock-ups and factory visits for trade readinessReduced modular scopes creating access for smaller firmsAI-generated lessons learned checklists from project history
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Modular isn't a product you order, it's a process you run | Randall Thompson
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