July 15, 2025 • 22 mins
Imagine having precise pricing for your construction project before ever hiring an architect. That's exactly the paradigm shift that RaaP Builders wants to create in the modular construction industry.
RJ Mahadev, co-founder and CEO of RaaP Builders, reveals how his company is transforming modular preconstruction through a "rooms as a product" approach that brings clarity, certainty, and efficiency to building developers. The company's innovative online platform lets developers input basic information—location, number of floors, and units—and immediately receive comprehensive designs with detailed pricing comparisons between traditional and modular construction methods.
For developers building prototypical structures like affordable housing, workforce housing, or budget hotels, RaaP's system offers a potential path to greater certainty, faster timelines, and significant cost savings.
Listen to all episodes of MBI's Inside Modular podcast at https://www.modular.org/inside-modular-the-podcast-of-commercial-modular-construction/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Inside Modular, the podcast of
commercial modular constructionbrought to you by the Modular
Building Institute.
Welcome everyone.
My name is John McMullen.
I'm the marketing director hereat MBI.
Today I'm joined by RJ Mahadev,co-founder and CEO at Rapp
Builders.
Rj is here to talk about hiscompany's distinct rooms as a
(00:22):
product approach and thepotential it offers for more
efficient modular design andfabrication.
Rj welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thanks very much, john, great to be here, and also
thanks for saying the name ofthe company right.
It is RAP, like rap music, andnot R-A-A-P.
Well, I guess we are helpingdevelopers navigate the modular
swamp, so maybe we need to bemore pronunciation fluid.
But, yeah, rap, and thanks forhaving me here and looking
forward to this conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well, I appreciate it .
I do what I can.
I'm glad I got it right.
Tell me about yourself, rj,what's your background in the
industry and what led you tofounding RAP Builders.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So my background is in tech for construction and for
manufacturing, and I spent manyyears at Cisco developing
blueprints for how wemanufacture more effectively and
how we construct better.
And you know, as part of thatjourney we started seeing that
there's so much of this that'sapplicable to the modular
(01:20):
industry.
You know, john, I know you'rewith NBI.
I don't know if you've everthought about when that first
modular company happened.
You probably know the answer.
But you know, in my imaginationit's always like imagining, you
know, humans back in the StoneAge driving a rock uphill and
suddenly going you know what.
Let's just free-plop this thingand call it a temple, right?
It was all like kind of veryorganic the way it came together
(01:43):
.
My inspiration a little moremundane, right.
So, but as part of working onthese blueprints for
manufacturing and construction,it was pretty easy to realize
that innovation isn't reallyabout better wall panel systems
and all the things we love totalk about in this industry.
It's really more aboutsimplifying the message to drive
(02:05):
more customer traction.
You know, I think in many wayswe have a housing problem, not
because we don't know how tobuild cost-effective housing.
It's because we failed tocommunicate effectively with
developers.
So that really was theinspiration for RAP was how do
we help bring modularconstruction to the 21st century
through more effectivemanagement of the process and
(02:27):
communication with developers.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So what can you tell me about how RAP works?
Who's the target user and whyshould they be using it?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
A lot of what we are doing is organizing how the
construction ecosystem works toconnect the pieces between
developers and fabricators, andarchitects and GCs.
You know, I think each of theseindividual entities do a very,
very good job at what they do,but because this industry is so
(02:59):
fragmented and disconnected, alot of times the project itself
doesn't go well because thingsfall through the cracks.
So RAP is really about how dowe come up with systems and
processes so we can designbetter, have upfront pricing and
manage the modular processbetter and really helping
developers navigate that.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Well, you took us back to sort of the beginnings
of prefabrication the guysrolling stones up the hill.
I do know a little bit aboutthe history of modular
construction, but I'm interestedabout how RAP has evolved since
it began.
What's changed since youinitially had this idea to where
you are now?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I think the big things that have changed is
we've spent a lot of timegetting into the details of
where things are broken in theprocess and, if we think about
this industrialized constructionprocess, what are the things we
need to do to fix it and how dowe communicate it better.
And a big game changer for uswas all of the work we did with
(03:58):
some large hotel chains andtheir developers to help them
build hotels budget hotels moreeffectively.
And budget hotels in many waysare a poster child for modular
construction because they're sorepeatable.
And the great thing that we sawwith budget hotels is they
always start with a designprototype and having that design
(04:20):
prototype really clarifies thepricing.
It clarifies what the architectand the GC needs to focus on
and how the developer can getthat built faster and cheaper.
And so a lot of our processesis built on the same idea of we
have design prototypes forhousing and we have them priced
(04:42):
out.
So we can provide these freedesign and pricing tools to
developers to help themunderstand what it would cost to
build their project in aparticular location, whether
modular makes sense in thatlocation and then, if they want
to move forward, a veryeffective way to get started
with a smart start package whichsays let's start with a
(05:03):
conceptual design and pricingthat you can get almost in real
time, because we have all ofthese things pre-developed and
pre-researched.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
What differentiates you and WRAP from other similar
products and services in theindustry?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So WRAP, you know, is a rocket science, right.
We are just one part of abigger shift.
Everything we're doing in RAPthe modular design kits, the
real-time pricing data, thepermit-ready drawings it's based
on stuff that's always trippedup modular projects, right.
So what we're really trying todo is prevent developers from
(05:40):
stepping in that same rake overand over again.
You know, aligning the GC scopewith the fabricator scope, so
the budget is real and not afantasy, making sure that the
design reflects DSA and HUDcodes so you can really hit
those timelines.
We are just actually trying tofix the small things.
That makes modular succeed, andthis isn't really about our way
(06:03):
versus your way or somebodyelse's way.
This is really about helpingthe modular industry shift from
sticks and bricks to bits andclicks, right.
So the lesson we learn everyday, john, is we're not trying
to reinvent a new method ofconstruction, we are just trying
to stop this industry fromreinventing itself badly every
time.
We're trying to organize theecosystem so all of us can
(06:26):
succeed with modularconstruction.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
How does the RAP software it is software, I
believe how does RAP facilitatedesign optimization for modular
builders, particularly with roomlayouts and finishes and other
options that manufacturers haveto consider?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Great question, john.
Again, construction is, I think, one of the last massive
industries that's still definedby fragmentation, competition,
siloed workflows, and it's avery mom-and-pop business at a
global scale, and so every GChas their way, every architect
has their way, and what thatresults in every project
becoming a bespoke unicorn.
(07:05):
So what we're saying is let'sstart with coming up with design
prototypes that are optimizedfor fabrication.
So in one of our projects for ahome two, we took out about $2
million in the cost offabrication.
Through more effective designby making sure that the units,
we are reducing the number ofunit types and the number of
(07:27):
module types and we are drivinggreater factory throughput and
we are reducing the ramp time ittakes for factories to scale.
This and this is one of the bigshifts is to think about design
from a modular constructionmindset rather than a
traditional construction mindset, and then, when we do that, we
can then start to identify allof the different assemblies that
(07:48):
have gone into this design andwe can price that out nationally
using both national databasesas well as individual project
benchmarking with GCs across thecountry.
So now, when a developerapproaches us and says they want
to build a particular design,we can tell them pretty much
with 95% plus accuracy whatit'll cost to build that project
(08:11):
at their location.
How we ensure we select theright fabricators because we now
have quality metrics, becausewe understand the design so well
and then, after we select theright fabricator, we ensure that
this project gets completed ontime and on budget.
So again, it's about organizingthe process and connecting the
(08:32):
fragmented pieces so the projectflows through the process more
effectively and projects aren'tdependent on bets that
developers make that they havethe right indicator and the
right architect who might hit aroadblock because they're not
communicating effectively.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
In what ways does RAP's software and construction
approach affect quality controland sustainability in modular
construction?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Because we have these productized designs that we've
spent a lot of time refining anddeveloping we can identify the
individual assemblies that go into make up the building driven
by this design.
So we've identified about 200 orso assemblies, all the way from
concrete down to the MEPs, andwith those assemblies we can tie
(09:23):
quality metrics to thoseassemblies.
So when it comes to flooring,we know exactly the kind of
flooring that needs to be built,the STC rating, what it's going
to take to make sure thatflooring feels firm underfoot
and how we can ensure that wevalidate the building systems
used by the fabricator to ensurethat that building is going to
(09:43):
be of the quality that thedeveloper wants.
And then we can also identifyin the design things that might
shift during transportation andto ensure that when those
modules are delivered on site wecan minimize the work required
to do any patches and to ensurethat nobody has to enter the
(10:06):
actual units.
So these are some of the wayswe are ensuring that we have
effective quality.
What was the second part ofyour question, jeff?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I was asking about sustainability.
Is there an aspect of yourapproach RAP's approach that
improves or affects thesustainability of a modular
project?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
sustainability of a modular project.
Many of the developers that wework with they haven't really
emphasized sustainability as akey goal.
A lot of the larger developers,especially the affordable
housing ones, as well as some ofthe larger companies they do
(10:49):
care about sustainability, andsome of the things that we've
been working on is tying ourassemblies to net zero metrics,
so we can also talk about whatan assembly with a lower net
zero score might be, both interms of which manufacturers
might be the best to use, how wetransport those more
effectively, and then also howwe construct on-site more
effectively and to create netzero scores around that.
(11:12):
That's something we've beenworking on on the site.
But again, since we are astartup, we really want to focus
on what our customers areasking for today and
unfortunately, not many of ourcustomers have really demanded
sustainability.
So I think that's more sort ofa long-term focus for us, like
it is for many of us in theindustry.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, it's good to hear that it's something that
you've got on your radar.
You mentioned that you're astartup.
Haven't been around atremendously long time, but it
seems like you've made lots ofprogress.
You have a well-developedproduct.
What's your plan for scalingRapp Builders and how do you
envision expanding into newmarkets and new sectors?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You know, when we started our journey, we
positioned ourselves as a puretech company and I'm based in
the Bay Area and so I'msurrounded by folks in Silicon
Valley and we really sort oftried to think of this and
derive this as a tech company.
But that's not the way theconstruction industry works,
(12:16):
right, the construction industryis a very physical industry.
It moves at human speed, not atthe speed of thought, right,
and so we've had to sort ofreevaluate our scaling plans and
we are a lot more focused onbootstrapping this based on
successful project completed andsort of success with developers
(12:37):
, on sort of shifting theindustry in this new direction.
And the inertia has really beenmore kind of past behaviors and
how slow people are to change,and so we're really taking this
a sector.
At the time we started withhotels and we spent a lot of
time with hotel developerseducating them on how to build
more effectively using modular.
(12:58):
We've just come into housing,and here again it's very sort of
prototypical housing, so it'saffordable housing with a
capital A as well as workforcehousing that can use more sort
of repeatable units, and we'revery focused on designs that are
optimized for fabrication.
(13:19):
So we're not doing singlefamily and townhomes.
We are not doing high rises.
We focus on where the industryis, which is type 5 construction
three to four floors fasterwhen they come into the factory
(13:52):
and to drive more factorythroughput so we can lower their
costs and we can bring moreprojects to them.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
How do developers and GCs and the target users of
your product, what's theinterface?
What data do they need to input?
How do they actually interactand interface with RAP in order
to get the results they'relooking for?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I think the best way to experience our technology is
to go to our website it'srapbuilders, r-a-a-pbuilders and
once you go there there'saccess to free tools that you
can sign up for to play with ourdesign and pricing tools.
And when you get to our designand pricing tools, you'll see
(14:33):
that we've really designed themfor simplicity for developers.
So they get to pick theirproject time, whether they're
building hotels or housing.
They get to tell us thelocation they're building in, so
which is the nearest big citythey're building in and the
number of floors that they'rebuilding and the number of units
they want to build.
And with just that informationthe location where they're
(14:54):
building, the number of floorsand the number of units we have
a generative design engine thatwill provide them the designs
for that building.
So it'll show them the massing,it'll show them the designs and
it'll show them the typicalunit floor and it'll provide
pricing.
Not only does it just providepricing, it says this is how
this price would compare tobuilding traditional on-site and
(15:16):
this is how this price wouldcompare to building with a
traditional modular fabricatoron some design that's not as
optimized as ours is.
And then it gives them theability to click on a pricing
button, and in the pricingbutton they can get a detailed
breakdown of the pricing bymaster format division.
So for concrete, for masonry, etcetera, what is the overall
(15:39):
price?
And not only that, but also howdoes that scope split up between
the GC and the fabricator?
So, as you know, most modularprojects the GC still has around
50% of the cost and workinvolved, but then this varies
by division.
So in the case of, for instance, wooden plastics, 87% or plus
(16:03):
should come from the fabricatorand less than 13% of that cost
should be with the GC.
And when the developer knowsthat, they can then look at the
bids they're getting from GCsand go.
You know why is wooden plastics50% of the fabricator cost as
opposed to 5% of the fabricatorcost?
And so this gives them a moreeffective way to manage not only
(16:25):
the overall cost of the projectbut also the bids that they're
getting in from GCs andfabricators.
And again, what we have on oursite are demos based on the demo
design and demo projects.
And if developers are seriousabout moving forward, we then
spend time with them tocustomize this pricing to their
(16:47):
specific project location andsite conditions and then, based
on that, we can provide muchmore that we can use to
negotiate better pricing fromGCs and fabricators.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
That sounds very comprehensive and very cool, if
I may say so.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's very much like that, john.
It's really something we'vespent a lot of time on, but
again, I think for those of uslistening to this, it's really
about shifting that message todevelopers and telling them hey,
we want to flip the script foryou, we want to help you start
with price and we want to showyou why modular is a better way
(17:28):
than site build and really makeit easy for you to select
modular early in your project soyou don't go down this path of
working with architects todevelop a design that's really
tough to fabricate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Are there any upcoming technological
developments or enhancements orpatches or new releases to your
software that you can share?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Two so to give you an idea of our product offering.
We offer a free modularfeasibility study so based on
that, we can look at theirlocation and tell them, from a
price and a design perspective,is modular a good fit or are
they better off site buildingthis project?
And we want to do that for thedeveloper very early in their
(18:10):
life cycle of a project, rightwhen they're looking at sites
and considering underwriting.
And once we've done thispre-feasibility and we show that
modular can price in and isattractive compared to other
means of construction, we thendo what's called a smart start,
where we provide a completeconceptual design for that
(18:32):
project and we provide detailedpricing for that project.
And this is obviously a lotmore detailed and granular and
accurate than the pricing youtypically get from a GC or a
fabricator.
And with that we want to sortof start shifting developers
into thinking about how they canconsume our FabAssure product,
(18:52):
which shows them that theyselect the right fabricator and
they're managing them mosteffectively and they are also
getting an easy design from us.
Now the product offering for allof these.
Some of these are indevelopment and in many of these
, for instance with our SmartStart we've integrated large
language models and AI, so wehave chatbots where you can ask
(19:15):
questions to get into someincisive answers around what
makes up the pricing and howthey can value, engineer their
pricing to even lower it.
At the end of the day, both mybackground in tech as well as
the team that we have are reallydata science and AI focused,
but we realized that we can'tget to that AI and data science
(19:39):
magic until we've organized theprocess and the workflows to
where we're thinking about thismore effectively and thinking
about pricing and design, beforewe get too deep in with
architects, gcs and fabricators.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So what's next for RAP builders as a whole?
What's your next goal?
So what's next for RAP buildersas a whole?
What's?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
your next goal?
Our next goal is to really getour messaging out there to the
development community.
Especially if it's a hoteldeveloper or a housing developer
that's building prototypicalbuildings, we really have an
effective way to help them buildwith greater certainty, greater
speed and to drive cost savings.
(20:24):
And so that would be my ask toanybody sort of listening to
this and nodding along with acar stereo.
It's a really small ask, youknow.
Forward this episode to threedevelopers in your network.
Tell them that we're reallytalking about making more
relevant to them and as anindustry, we're really getting
much better at understandingtheir pain points and addressing
(20:48):
them with the right set oftools and processes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, speaking of messaging and getting the word
out, I know you've been on theroad this year.
You were at World of Modular inVegas in April.
In a couple of months, I think,you'll be in Denver for the
Offsite Construction Summit,hosting a panel there.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (21:08):
That's right.
We've had a really successfulpresentation of both the world
of modular as well as theBerkeley Offsite Summit, and we
continue to evolve that message,and so what we have on tap for
Denver is we have a panel with adeveloper, a GC, an architect,
a fabricator.
I'll be moderating it and it'sto really understand where the
(21:33):
modular industry has come shortin terms of addressing developer
pain points and how we changethe narrative to developers.
So anybody in the audience isin the modular industry and is
interested in how we can allshift the narrative for modular.
We'd love to have you at oursession and talk to you some
more.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Well I know I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you, rj.
This has been a greatconversation.
I learned a whole lot.
I appreciate your time.
Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Thanks very much, john.
Thanks for helping us shift thenarrative collectively.
I think you know you, me, mbi,us as an industry as a whole.
We've got the tools, we've gotthe talent.
We've just got to tell thestory better, and hopefully this
is a start to doing that.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Well, I hope so.
I can't wait to see you inDenver that's September 18th, if
I'm looking at my calendarcorrectly, at the Offsite
Construction Summit in Denver.
So, RJ, until then, I'll seeyou soon.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Thanks, John.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
My name is John McMullen.
This has been another episodeof Inside Modular, the podcast
of commercial modularconstruction.
Until next time.
Hello and welcome to Inside Modular, the podcast of
commercial modular constructionbrought to you by the Modular
Building Institute.
Welcome everyone.
My name is John McMullen.
I'm the marketing director hereat MBI.
Today I'm joined by RJ Mahadev,co-founder and CEO at Rapp
Builders.
Rj is here to talk about hiscompany's distinct rooms as a
(00:22):
product approach and thepotential it offers for more
efficient modular design andfabrication.
Rj welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thanks very much, john, great to be here, and also
thanks for saying the name ofthe company right.
It is RAP, like rap music, andnot R-A-A-P.
Well, I guess we are helpingdevelopers navigate the modular
swamp, so maybe we need to bemore pronunciation fluid.
But, yeah, rap, and thanks forhaving me here and looking
forward to this conversation.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Well, I appreciate it .
I do what I can.
I'm glad I got it right.
Tell me about yourself, rj,what's your background in the
industry and what led you tofounding RAP Builders.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So my background is in tech for construction and for
manufacturing, and I spent manyyears at Cisco developing
blueprints for how wemanufacture more effectively and
how we construct better.
And you know, as part of thatjourney we started seeing that
there's so much of this that'sapplicable to the modular
(01:20):
industry.
You know, john, I know you'rewith NBI.
I don't know if you've everthought about when that first
modular company happened.
You probably know the answer.
But you know, in my imaginationit's always like imagining, you
know, humans back in the StoneAge driving a rock uphill and
suddenly going you know what.
Let's just free-plop this thingand call it a temple, right?
It was all like kind of veryorganic the way it came together
(01:43):
.
My inspiration a little moremundane, right.
So, but as part of working onthese blueprints for
manufacturing and construction,it was pretty easy to realize
that innovation isn't reallyabout better wall panel systems
and all the things we love totalk about in this industry.
It's really more aboutsimplifying the message to drive
(02:05):
more customer traction.
You know, I think in many wayswe have a housing problem, not
because we don't know how tobuild cost-effective housing.
It's because we failed tocommunicate effectively with
developers.
So that really was theinspiration for RAP was how do
we help bring modularconstruction to the 21st century
through more effectivemanagement of the process and
(02:27):
communication with developers.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So what can you tell me about how RAP works?
Who's the target user and whyshould they be using it?
Speaker 2 (02:37):
A lot of what we are doing is organizing how the
construction ecosystem works toconnect the pieces between
developers and fabricators, andarchitects and GCs.
You know, I think each of theseindividual entities do a very,
very good job at what they do,but because this industry is so
(02:59):
fragmented and disconnected, alot of times the project itself
doesn't go well because thingsfall through the cracks.
So RAP is really about how dowe come up with systems and
processes so we can designbetter, have upfront pricing and
manage the modular processbetter and really helping
developers navigate that.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Well, you took us back to sort of the beginnings
of prefabrication the guysrolling stones up the hill.
I do know a little bit aboutthe history of modular
construction, but I'm interestedabout how RAP has evolved since
it began.
What's changed since youinitially had this idea to where
you are now?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I think the big things that have changed is
we've spent a lot of timegetting into the details of
where things are broken in theprocess and, if we think about
this industrialized constructionprocess, what are the things we
need to do to fix it and how dowe communicate it better.
And a big game changer for uswas all of the work we did with
(03:58):
some large hotel chains andtheir developers to help them
build hotels budget hotels moreeffectively.
And budget hotels in many waysare a poster child for modular
construction because they're sorepeatable.
And the great thing that we sawwith budget hotels is they
always start with a designprototype and having that design
(04:20):
prototype really clarifies thepricing.
It clarifies what the architectand the GC needs to focus on
and how the developer can getthat built faster and cheaper.
And so a lot of our processesis built on the same idea of we
have design prototypes forhousing and we have them priced
(04:42):
out.
So we can provide these freedesign and pricing tools to
developers to help themunderstand what it would cost to
build their project in aparticular location, whether
modular makes sense in thatlocation and then, if they want
to move forward, a veryeffective way to get started
with a smart start package whichsays let's start with a
(05:03):
conceptual design and pricingthat you can get almost in real
time, because we have all ofthese things pre-developed and
pre-researched.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
What differentiates you and WRAP from other similar
products and services in theindustry?
Speaker 2 (05:20):
So WRAP, you know, is a rocket science, right.
We are just one part of abigger shift.
Everything we're doing in RAPthe modular design kits, the
real-time pricing data, thepermit-ready drawings it's based
on stuff that's always trippedup modular projects, right.
So what we're really trying todo is prevent developers from
(05:40):
stepping in that same rake overand over again.
You know, aligning the GC scopewith the fabricator scope, so
the budget is real and not afantasy, making sure that the
design reflects DSA and HUDcodes so you can really hit
those timelines.
We are just actually trying tofix the small things.
That makes modular succeed, andthis isn't really about our way
(06:03):
versus your way or somebodyelse's way.
This is really about helpingthe modular industry shift from
sticks and bricks to bits andclicks, right.
So the lesson we learn everyday, john, is we're not trying
to reinvent a new method ofconstruction, we are just trying
to stop this industry fromreinventing itself badly every
time.
We're trying to organize theecosystem so all of us can
(06:26):
succeed with modularconstruction.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
How does the RAP software it is software, I
believe how does RAP facilitatedesign optimization for modular
builders, particularly with roomlayouts and finishes and other
options that manufacturers haveto consider?
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Great question, john.
Again, construction is, I think, one of the last massive
industries that's still definedby fragmentation, competition,
siloed workflows, and it's avery mom-and-pop business at a
global scale, and so every GChas their way, every architect
has their way, and what thatresults in every project
becoming a bespoke unicorn.
(07:05):
So what we're saying is let'sstart with coming up with design
prototypes that are optimizedfor fabrication.
So in one of our projects for ahome two, we took out about $2
million in the cost offabrication.
Through more effective designby making sure that the units,
we are reducing the number ofunit types and the number of
(07:27):
module types and we are drivinggreater factory throughput and
we are reducing the ramp time ittakes for factories to scale.
This and this is one of the bigshifts is to think about design
from a modular constructionmindset rather than a
traditional construction mindset, and then, when we do that, we
can then start to identify allof the different assemblies that
(07:48):
have gone into this design andwe can price that out nationally
using both national databasesas well as individual project
benchmarking with GCs across thecountry.
So now, when a developerapproaches us and says they want
to build a particular design,we can tell them pretty much
with 95% plus accuracy whatit'll cost to build that project
(08:11):
at their location.
How we ensure we select theright fabricators because we now
have quality metrics, becausewe understand the design so well
and then, after we select theright fabricator, we ensure that
this project gets completed ontime and on budget.
So again, it's about organizingthe process and connecting the
(08:32):
fragmented pieces so the projectflows through the process more
effectively and projects aren'tdependent on bets that
developers make that they havethe right indicator and the
right architect who might hit aroadblock because they're not
communicating effectively.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
In what ways does RAP's software and construction
approach affect quality controland sustainability in modular
construction?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Because we have these productized designs that we've
spent a lot of time refining anddeveloping we can identify the
individual assemblies that go into make up the building driven
by this design.
So we've identified about 200 orso assemblies, all the way from
concrete down to the MEPs, andwith those assemblies we can tie
(09:23):
quality metrics to thoseassemblies.
So when it comes to flooring,we know exactly the kind of
flooring that needs to be built,the STC rating, what it's going
to take to make sure thatflooring feels firm underfoot
and how we can ensure that wevalidate the building systems
used by the fabricator to ensurethat that building is going to
(09:43):
be of the quality that thedeveloper wants.
And then we can also identifyin the design things that might
shift during transportation andto ensure that when those
modules are delivered on site wecan minimize the work required
to do any patches and to ensurethat nobody has to enter the
(10:06):
actual units.
So these are some of the wayswe are ensuring that we have
effective quality.
What was the second part ofyour question, jeff?
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I was asking about sustainability.
Is there an aspect of yourapproach RAP's approach that
improves or affects thesustainability of a modular
project?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
sustainability of a modular project.
Many of the developers that wework with they haven't really
emphasized sustainability as akey goal.
A lot of the larger developers,especially the affordable
housing ones, as well as some ofthe larger companies they do
(10:49):
care about sustainability, andsome of the things that we've
been working on is tying ourassemblies to net zero metrics,
so we can also talk about whatan assembly with a lower net
zero score might be, both interms of which manufacturers
might be the best to use, how wetransport those more
effectively, and then also howwe construct on-site more
effectively and to create netzero scores around that.
(11:12):
That's something we've beenworking on on the site.
But again, since we are astartup, we really want to focus
on what our customers areasking for today and
unfortunately, not many of ourcustomers have really demanded
sustainability.
So I think that's more sort ofa long-term focus for us, like
it is for many of us in theindustry.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Well, it's good to hear that it's something that
you've got on your radar.
You mentioned that you're astartup.
Haven't been around atremendously long time, but it
seems like you've made lots ofprogress.
You have a well-developedproduct.
What's your plan for scalingRapp Builders and how do you
envision expanding into newmarkets and new sectors?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
You know, when we started our journey, we
positioned ourselves as a puretech company and I'm based in
the Bay Area and so I'msurrounded by folks in Silicon
Valley and we really sort oftried to think of this and
derive this as a tech company.
But that's not the way theconstruction industry works,
(12:16):
right, the construction industryis a very physical industry.
It moves at human speed, not atthe speed of thought, right,
and so we've had to sort ofreevaluate our scaling plans and
we are a lot more focused onbootstrapping this based on
successful project completed andsort of success with developers
(12:37):
, on sort of shifting theindustry in this new direction.
And the inertia has really beenmore kind of past behaviors and
how slow people are to change,and so we're really taking this
a sector.
At the time we started withhotels and we spent a lot of
time with hotel developerseducating them on how to build
more effectively using modular.
(12:58):
We've just come into housing,and here again it's very sort of
prototypical housing, so it'saffordable housing with a
capital A as well as workforcehousing that can use more sort
of repeatable units, and we'revery focused on designs that are
optimized for fabrication.
(13:19):
So we're not doing singlefamily and townhomes.
We are not doing high rises.
We focus on where the industryis, which is type 5 construction
three to four floors fasterwhen they come into the factory
(13:52):
and to drive more factorythroughput so we can lower their
costs and we can bring moreprojects to them.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
How do developers and GCs and the target users of
your product, what's theinterface?
What data do they need to input?
How do they actually interactand interface with RAP in order
to get the results they'relooking for?
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I think the best way to experience our technology is
to go to our website it'srapbuilders, r-a-a-pbuilders and
once you go there there'saccess to free tools that you
can sign up for to play with ourdesign and pricing tools.
And when you get to our designand pricing tools, you'll see
(14:33):
that we've really designed themfor simplicity for developers.
So they get to pick theirproject time, whether they're
building hotels or housing.
They get to tell us thelocation they're building in, so
which is the nearest big citythey're building in and the
number of floors that they'rebuilding and the number of units
they want to build.
And with just that informationthe location where they're
(14:54):
building, the number of floorsand the number of units we have
a generative design engine thatwill provide them the designs
for that building.
So it'll show them the massing,it'll show them the designs and
it'll show them the typicalunit floor and it'll provide
pricing.
Not only does it just providepricing, it says this is how
this price would compare tobuilding traditional on-site and
(15:16):
this is how this price wouldcompare to building with a
traditional modular fabricatoron some design that's not as
optimized as ours is.
And then it gives them theability to click on a pricing
button, and in the pricingbutton they can get a detailed
breakdown of the pricing bymaster format division.
So for concrete, for masonry, etcetera, what is the overall
(15:39):
price?
And not only that, but also howdoes that scope split up between
the GC and the fabricator?
So, as you know, most modularprojects the GC still has around
50% of the cost and workinvolved, but then this varies
by division.
So in the case of, for instance, wooden plastics, 87% or plus
(16:03):
should come from the fabricatorand less than 13% of that cost
should be with the GC.
And when the developer knowsthat, they can then look at the
bids they're getting from GCsand go.
You know why is wooden plastics50% of the fabricator cost as
opposed to 5% of the fabricatorcost?
And so this gives them a moreeffective way to manage not only
(16:25):
the overall cost of the projectbut also the bids that they're
getting in from GCs andfabricators.
And again, what we have on oursite are demos based on the demo
design and demo projects.
And if developers are seriousabout moving forward, we then
spend time with them tocustomize this pricing to their
(16:47):
specific project location andsite conditions and then, based
on that, we can provide muchmore that we can use to
negotiate better pricing fromGCs and fabricators.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
That sounds very comprehensive and very cool, if
I may say so.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's very much like that, john.
It's really something we'vespent a lot of time on, but
again, I think for those of uslistening to this, it's really
about shifting that message todevelopers and telling them hey,
we want to flip the script foryou, we want to help you start
with price and we want to showyou why modular is a better way
(17:28):
than site build and really makeit easy for you to select
modular early in your project soyou don't go down this path of
working with architects todevelop a design that's really
tough to fabricate.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Are there any upcoming technological
developments or enhancements orpatches or new releases to your
software that you can share?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Two so to give you an idea of our product offering.
We offer a free modularfeasibility study so based on
that, we can look at theirlocation and tell them, from a
price and a design perspective,is modular a good fit or are
they better off site buildingthis project?
And we want to do that for thedeveloper very early in their
(18:10):
life cycle of a project, rightwhen they're looking at sites
and considering underwriting.
And once we've done thispre-feasibility and we show that
modular can price in and isattractive compared to other
means of construction, we thendo what's called a smart start,
where we provide a completeconceptual design for that
(18:32):
project and we provide detailedpricing for that project.
And this is obviously a lotmore detailed and granular and
accurate than the pricing youtypically get from a GC or a
fabricator.
And with that we want to sortof start shifting developers
into thinking about how they canconsume our FabAssure product,
(18:52):
which shows them that theyselect the right fabricator and
they're managing them mosteffectively and they are also
getting an easy design from us.
Now the product offering for allof these.
Some of these are indevelopment and in many of these
, for instance with our SmartStart we've integrated large
language models and AI, so wehave chatbots where you can ask
(19:15):
questions to get into someincisive answers around what
makes up the pricing and howthey can value, engineer their
pricing to even lower it.
At the end of the day, both mybackground in tech as well as
the team that we have are reallydata science and AI focused,
but we realized that we can'tget to that AI and data science
(19:39):
magic until we've organized theprocess and the workflows to
where we're thinking about thismore effectively and thinking
about pricing and design, beforewe get too deep in with
architects, gcs and fabricators.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
So what's next for RAP builders as a whole?
What's your next goal?
So what's next for RAP buildersas a whole?
What's?
Speaker 2 (20:02):
your next goal?
Our next goal is to really getour messaging out there to the
development community.
Especially if it's a hoteldeveloper or a housing developer
that's building prototypicalbuildings, we really have an
effective way to help them buildwith greater certainty, greater
speed and to drive cost savings.
(20:24):
And so that would be my ask toanybody sort of listening to
this and nodding along with acar stereo.
It's a really small ask, youknow.
Forward this episode to threedevelopers in your network.
Tell them that we're reallytalking about making more
relevant to them and as anindustry, we're really getting
much better at understandingtheir pain points and addressing
(20:48):
them with the right set oftools and processes.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, speaking of messaging and getting the word
out, I know you've been on theroad this year.
You were at World of Modular inVegas in April.
In a couple of months, I think,you'll be in Denver for the
Offsite Construction Summit,hosting a panel there.
Is that right?
Speaker 2 (21:08):
That's right.
We've had a really successfulpresentation of both the world
of modular as well as theBerkeley Offsite Summit, and we
continue to evolve that message,and so what we have on tap for
Denver is we have a panel with adeveloper, a GC, an architect,
a fabricator.
I'll be moderating it and it'sto really understand where the
(21:33):
modular industry has come shortin terms of addressing developer
pain points and how we changethe narrative to developers.
So anybody in the audience isin the modular industry and is
interested in how we can allshift the narrative for modular.
We'd love to have you at oursession and talk to you some
more.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Well I know I'm looking forward to it.
Thank you, rj.
This has been a greatconversation.
I learned a whole lot.
I appreciate your time.
Thanks for being here.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Thanks very much, john.
Thanks for helping us shift thenarrative collectively.
I think you know you, me, mbi,us as an industry as a whole.
We've got the tools, we've gotthe talent.
We've just got to tell thestory better, and hopefully this
is a start to doing that.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Well, I hope so.
I can't wait to see you inDenver that's September 18th, if
I'm looking at my calendarcorrectly, at the Offsite
Construction Summit in Denver.
So, RJ, until then, I'll seeyou soon.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Thanks, John.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
My name is John McMullen.
This has been another episodeof Inside Modular, the podcast
of commercial modularconstruction.
Until next time.
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