In this episode, we break down the real differences between temporary and permanent classroom solutions, cutting through outdated assumptions, industry jargon, and half‑truths that often drive the wrong decisions. We explore how timelines, funding cycles, enrollment uncertainty, building codes, student experience, and long‑term flexibility actually factor into the choice—and where schools frequently get surprised after the decision is already made.

This conversation is designed for superintendents, facilities leaders, and administrators who want a practical, unbiased understanding of:

• When temporary classrooms make sense—and when they don’t
• How “permanent” doesn’t always mean slower, riskier, or more expensive
• Why flexibility is often more strategic than locking into a single path
• The hidden costs and operational impacts schools rarely hear upfront

Enrollment growth, program expansion, renovations, and funding cycles rarely move in sync. When those forces collide, education leaders are often left making highly visible space decisions under intense calendar pressure.

In this episode, Mark Meyers draws on 25 years in the modular building industry to unpack why school space challenges feel urgent, public, and difficult to unwind — and why the real risk often isn’t the building itself, but the way decisions get framed under pressure.

This conversation is designed for Superintendents and education administrators who want to think more clearly about capacity before urgency takes over. Rather than focusing on products or solutions, the episode explores how timing, uncertainty, and confidence shape space decisions — and how leaders can preserve optionality, credibility, and calm when planning for growth.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most school space crises are timing problems, not planning failures
• The early signals districts often miss before space becomes urgent
• How calendar pressure changes decision psychology
• Where regret in education space planning actually comes from
• A practical checklist to help leaders act before panic sets in

If you’re navigating enrollment growth, facility transitions, or long‑range planning — or simply want a clearer way to think about school space decisions — this episode will help you slow the moment down and lead with confidence.

Featuring Lamar Green from the Daphne, Alabama Fire Department, this video delves into the successful use of modular solutions in fire station remodels, highlighting remarkable improvements in response times and operational efficiency.

In today's fast-paced world, governmental agencies face increasing demands to be efficient and responsive. Lamar Green shares insights on how modular construction not only solved their operational challenges but also enhanced community trust and engagement. This session provides practical knowledge, especially for departments grappling with similar spatial and financial constraints.

In this episode of Built Modular, host Michelle Dawn Mooney engages with Lynette Wooten, a seasoned transactional Sales Representative at BOXX Modular covering the dynamic territory of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

Referencing her day-to-day supplying general contractors and large-scale construction projects, Lynette sheds light on the flexibility, environmental benefits, and time-efficiency of mobile offices. From debunking misconceptions about modular construction to discussing the convenient relocation process, Lynette delivers crucial insights about mobile offices and their ability to enhance operational efficiency on project sites.

Lynette explores how choosing modular can streamline the process of your interior planning using her own hands-on experience. She discusses how she helps clients fully furnish their work spaces with all the necessary elements needed for a productive workspace, including kitchens, office furniture, and more, depending on the client's unique requirements. 

If you're considering a mobile office trailer for your business' needs, Lynette concludes by exploring how you can get started. The process of acquiring a mobile office begins with an inquiry on the BOXX Modular website, where you can quickly and directly start interacting with a local sales rep, like Lynette, in your region. The result is an efficient delivery and setup process, taking only a few days for standard units.

Tom shed light on the remarkable growth of modular construction. He highlighted the industry's tripling market share over the last seven years and the strong demand from different sectors. He emphasized the substantial increase in modular construction use in healthcare, education, and housing—sectors pushed by a skills shortage in the construction industry and the critical need for affordable housing.

Looking ahead, Tom predicts increased production of modular buildings in various segments, including hospitality, education, healthcare, and especially multifamily homes. With the illustrious benefits of modular construction—speed, efficiency, and sustainability—he believes it's an invaluable tool to mitigate the housing shortage issue.

Despite its glowing potential, the modular construction industry has challenges to overcome. Regulatory barriers and outdated construction ideologies are among the major hurdles. Nevertheless, the reward looks promising—a brighter, more sustainable future marked by reduced construction waste and increased building efficiency.

Tom envisions this future as attainable, especially if governments and builders fully embrace the potential of off-site and modular constructions. He sees it as an opportunity to streamline construction processes, spur regional economic growth, and provide affordable, quality housing.

Driven by personal experiences during the pandemic, Sabrina set out to globally revolutionize healthcare infrastructure. She introduces us to innovative modular construction solutions, including an "ICU in a box," designed to address critical healthcare needs swiftly and effectively. Throughout the episode, Sabrina reflects on her vision for the future of modular manufacturing in healthcare, her commitment to social impact, and her ongoing efforts to empower women in the industry. Join us as we explore how Sabrina leads with purpose, aiming to create a lasting environmental impact and championing empowerment through innovation.

In another episode of Built Modular by BOXX Modular, host Gabrielle Bejarano chatted with Errick Small, a BOXX Sales Representative, about plant turnaround and how BOXX Modular can use their expertise to provide a safe and efficient modular solution.

They discussed:

1. Meaning of plant turnaround and challenges this necessary process presents.
2. What sets BOXX apart in making the process an easier one?
3. The timeline for getting your new building project done.

As mentioned by Errick, “We are providing temporary modular buildings that can be used in a variety of different functions such as office space, launch room space for craft workers, washroom facilities, laundry facilities, and we are able to rapidly deploy this equipment in a safe and economic setup for the client.”

Formed in 2002, TIPS helps make purchasing personal. In cooperative purchasing, Mabe said, “We put out category IDIQ contracts where vendors respond and go through a reward process.” Not only does this take the burden off the public agencies, but Mabe emphasized, it allows entities to jump straight to the table of negotiating pricing, saving both time and money.

Free to public agencies, membership with TIPS assures that you are receiving quality vendors at great prices. Membership, Mabe said, is easy to join via an online membership form or inter-local agreement/board resolution form to complete. The process is fast and easy and helps serve industry sectors such as education, government, and non-profit.

TIPS-USA works with BOXX Modular to establish prices ready to go. Mabe stated that building these permanent and portable modular buildings receives two parts in the process, procurement prior to work and JOC.

With 12 program managers located across the nation available to work with vendors and members, TIPS managers assist in case BOXX, or other vendors, outsell their contracts, and helps ensure pricing is reviewed and compliant with the contract.

With the myriad of protective measures, Mabe emphasized that TIPS acts as “a helping hand” in the job-order contracting process. All TIPS employees are active and engaged with their clients and Mabe emphasized the personal aspect of care, “If you pick up the phone and call TIPS it’s not a voice messaging system that you get.”

Working with BOXX Modular, and the growth that has come for TIPS following this partnership, has helped TIPS continue growing, Mabe said. TIPS helps save time and money while providing access to quality vendors with a vast degree of transparency. To learn more information about TIPS-USA, visit www.tips-usa.com.

From the decisions that impact the quality and feasibility of a modular building to the strategies that work best for specific industries, Meyers and Litwin left no stone unturned.

For starters, what are the main differences between a modular building process and traditional construction?

“I would say the primary difference of modular versus conventional construction is that the buildings are constructed in sections in manufacturing facilities that may not be anywhere near the end construction site,” Meyers said. “Once these modules are constructed, then they’re delivered to the site, they’re put together, and they form a very similar building to a conventional structure.”

As for similarities, Meyers said both processes share a commonality with the types of materials used in construction. “The building materials, whether it be wood or steel or concrete, even the finishes, the windows, the doors, plumbing, fixtures; they’re all very much similar, if not the same, in both.”

And, while a customer may turn to modular construction for time and cost considerations, Meyers said that doesn’t reduce quality. “Our base spec is not going to provide you with something that’s going to fall apart in a year. That’s not the way that we operate. We make sure that our base spec supplies the quality that any customer requires. But there are always upgrades that can be put into any building.”

www.VanguardModular.com

Carl Bennet has been in the business for 50 years and is one of the original members of the Modular Building Institute, a legacy organization of dealers, manufacturers, installers, and other industry professionals. 

Commercial modular, prefabricated, or relocatable construction has historical examples from ancient Rome to covered wagons and premade houses for British colonies. The modern era of modular construction took off in the early 20th Century and was largely driven by residential housing. In the WWII era companies used relocatable construction to house workers, putting towns up almost overnight.

From these origins, modular construction has boomed over the last fifty years, expanding from residential units into commercial buildings like offices, laboratories, and schools. These market forces brought enhancements and innovations to the typical modular building offerings. Engineers and architects began to see the opportunities and pushed the industry forward. “Just about anything you could envision construction-wise was now transitioning from site-built conventional to modular,” Bennet said. 

The creation of a digital twin to a real-world part allows for effective digital twin modeling that empowers manufacturers to, in a virtual space, see how each process in the manufacturing chain will impact parts or how a part will perform in the physical world before a significant investment is made in producing that part at scale.

That process brings benefits to a variety of industries, including modular construction. On this episode of Built Modular from Vanguard, host Daniel Litwin invited Nathan Yorgey, President of North America Operations at CyberTwin, to share his insights and give listeners a better idea of exactly how digital twins are elevating the way the world approaches manufacturing.

“Sometimes, it’s almost scary how accurately artificial intelligence can predict what’s going to happen in the real world better than humans,” Yorgey said. “[Add virtual reality and augmented reality], and you now have an entire ecosphere of technology at your disposal to take the physical world, virtualize it, and then be able to run scenarios, run models, or, more importantly, just expose your connected sensor data on top of that virtual model for a host of use cases.”

In modular construction, digital twin modeling has been used to understand what finished spaces are going to look like, envision a part’s journey through the manufacturing process, and more.

Why do school districts need these solutions?

“There are four primary reasons,” Meyers said. “Easing overcrowding, consolidation, renovations, or demolition and new construction.”

Those drivers have remained consistent for the market. Meyers did note that the pandemic impacted space for schools due to a need to have fewer bodies in classrooms.

Meyers also discussed how modular classrooms can have all the same features as standard construction, including technology integrations, security features, and more.

“These are real buildings and have structural integrity, plumbing – everything in conventional construction,” he added.

Meyers also took listeners through the process of purchasing and installing modular buildings at schools. He spoke about the need for building to code, which varies from state to state, and pulling permits. The product is then built to specifications and delivered to the prepared site for installation.

After it’s up and functional, facility managers can handle the standard maintenance. Vanguard becomes involved with more significant issues. “With leaks or other bigger issues, we’ll assess the situation and are extremely responsive to client needs,” he said.

When Vanguard constructs a modular building, it runs through these steps in the construction process: design and engineering, permitting, manufacturing, delivery, set, seam and utility connections, power up and turn on water, installation of decks, steps, ramps and other elements, the final punch list, and final occupancy.

Vanguard has a history of success not only in modular buildings, said Jody Werner, the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales, but also in guiding clients through those processes.

“You can have experience based on years, but you also have to experience based on knowing what the right things are to do through the process, the right steps to take, and communicating things to the customer to make sure there are no surprises,” Werner said. “The other thing is they want to know they’re entering into an agreement with a company that has the financial wherewithal to see the project through. That’s very important in today’s day and age.

When Vanguard constructs a modular building, it runs through these steps in the construction process: design and engineering, permitting, manufacturing, delivery, set, seam and utility connections, power up and turn on water, installation of decks, steps, ramps and other elements, the final punch list, and final occupancy.

Vanguard has a history of success not only in modular buildings, said Jody Werner, the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales, but also in guiding clients through those processes.

“You can have experience based on years, but you also have to experience based on knowing what the right things are to do through the process, the right steps to take, and communicating things to the customer to make sure there are no surprises,” Werner said. “The other thing is they want to know they’re entering into an agreement with a company that has the financial wherewithal to see the project through. That’s very important in today’s day and age.”

During all steps, communication is key, said Paul Lubertine, Director of Construction & Contract Services.

“I think one of the strengths Vanguard brings to the table is great communication throughout the process. Obviously on the front end, on the sales side, there’s lots of communication, but once it gets handed over to our ops team, that communication continues,” he said. “We want to keep our customers informed and let them know what they need to do.

“Communication is key through the process, and our teams are very experienced in delivering successful outcomes to projects.”

“Cooperative purchasing is a procurement system,” Brown said. “It’s where a lead agency advertises for bids, awards a master contract to the vendor and for the prices to be extended to the registered members of the cooperative, and then notifies the members of the contract awarded. The registered members then contract directly with the vendor for their own needs subject to the specifications of the master contract.”

So, if cooperative purchasing provides cost savings and reduces the hassle of the “go-it-alone” bid process, how does one become a member of such a cooperative?

“Joining a cooperative is very easy for membership,” Brown said. “Most of the cooperatives, all you have to do is fill out a one-page application. There are no fees and no downside. It’s a simple as sign up and begin ordering.”

Any public entity can become a member of counting organizations, such as municipalities, public and charter schools, colleges and universities, nonprofits, and governmental agencies.

Many cooperatives are available, but one commonality they share is eliminating the need for businesses to go through the lengthy bidding process, which is the ultimate win.

“Cooperative purchasing is a procurement system,” Brown said. “It’s where a lead agency advertises for bids, awards a master contract to the vendor and for the prices to be extended to the registered members of the cooperative, and then notifies the members of the contract awarded. The registered members then contract directly with the vendor for their own needs subject to the specifications of the master contract.”

So, if cooperative purchasing provides cost savings and reduces the hassle of the “go-it-alone” bid process, how does one become a member of such a cooperative?

“Joining a cooperative is very easy for membership,” Brown said. “Most of the cooperatives, all you have to do is fill out a one-page application. There are no fees and no downside. It’s a simple as sign up and begin ordering.”

Any public entity can become a member of counting organizations, such as municipalities, public and charter schools, colleges and universities, nonprofits, and governmental agencies.

Many cooperatives are available, but one commonality they share is eliminating the need for businesses to go through the lengthy bidding process, which is the ultimate win.

While many people might think the typical way of obtaining temporary modular construction is to lease a building, Meyers noted many custom and permanent modular building projects are purchased. An even lesser-known, but viable option for people is “lease to own.”

“This option is a fantastic way to reduce the amount of initial capital that needs to be put out for a project and still end up owning the building,” Meyers said.

What about costs for the various options for a typical new modular building project? The base leasing price ranges from $1-$1.50 per square foot per month. This pricing does not include delivery, on-site assembly or project completion tear-down costs.

“Customized modular projects tend to be purchases,” Meyers said.

Those ranges can vary depending on the myriad factors of the design needs.  Meyers provided a ballpark purchase price range between $100-$300 per square foot, not including delivery and installation.

Meyers said modular construction shares many similarities with traditional building processes. However, unlike conventional construction projects, modular buildings are built in sections off-site and delivered to the site destination and then assembled. And one of the things Vanguard Modular does is keep track of each state’s building codes and regulations.

“All of those calculations are carefully put together and engineered in the design of the building to ensure that the structure does meet those codes before those buildings are moved out from the manufacturing facility and installed on the site,” Meyers said.

Now an $8-billion industry, modular construction is experiencing even more growth with the onset of the pandemic, with the need for health centers to build quick and efficient solutions for emergency treatment facilities and other solutions growing.

What considerations drive the costs associated with these projects, and how do businesses strategize around these costs? Paul Lubertine, Director of Construction & Contract Services for Vanguard Modular Building Systems, provided his insights.

Many of the project inquiries Lubertine said Vanguard’s recently received have been COVID-19-related, including educational systems trying to plan out various overflow and social-distancing scenarios.

“We are getting orders, putting in units, and doing projects now for schools, but it’s early in the process,” Lubertine said.

While education, commercial and industrial office space, and healthcare are industries doing a lot of business with modular construction these days, the cost factors vary.

“Building use, equipment and utilities required to run the equipment within those buildings determine the cost differences of a project,” Lubertine said.

“The cost drivers that affect a project primarily are building size, its application—whether it’s a typical office, or a classroom, or a laboratory, or a medical facility. Building specifications will impact the cost. But these costs can be controlled through offsite design and manufacturing.”

Looking at all of the cost variables, Lubertine pinpointed a building site’s location and condition as the one that loomed the largest over a project.

“Each site is different and has its own set of challenges,” Lubertine said.

Topography, building placement (is it freestanding or connected to another building), and access to utilities all possess varying cost implications.

The nature of prefabricated, modular construction allows for factory assembly without dealing with nature’s elements. This process allows development to happen quicker and less expensively, an attractive option for many building projects’ needs.

Among many efficiencies Eberle said modular construction could bring to a project, from less material waste to quicker construction time in a controlled environment, is safety.

“When you’re building in the factory, it’s single-story, so you’re not putting a tremendous number of workers three, four or five stories in the air or higher,” he said. “Everything is plug-and-play, and the quick assembly allows for fewer workers on site.”

There is also a strong green component to modular construction, because the buildings have the flexibility to move into different locations.

“If you take a building and move that building from point A to point B, I don’t think you can get much greener or efficient,” Eberle said.

Everything created in the factory utilizes materials purchased in bulk for use on multiple projects, further reducing waste.

While modular construction is often permanent, temporary modular construction is on the rise, and Eberle offered some examples of situations where the flexibility of this type of build makes sense. School districts may need temporary buildings to handle the additional student population, and these modular buildings are movable, so a school system could relocate it for use in another area if the need should arise.

Some businesses may need to utilize a “swing space” for a temporary situation while they finalize a new building.

“We build these temporary modular buildings to adhere to several state codes to be repurposed and relocated with ease,” Eberle said.