Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

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SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK 2 The Professional Team The professional team of any construction project usually comprises an architect, engineer, quantity surveyor and project manager. Table 1 illustrates the said professional team and their respective percentage contributions to encouraging innovation, as carried out in an international case study by Manley (2006). Table 1. Improving Performance in the Building and the Construction Industry (Manley, 2006) 20 Encouragers of Innovation Large/Repeat Clients 59% Trade contractors 27% Architects 55% Other suppliers 26% Engineers 51% Organisations that set industry standards 26% Manufacturers 46% Quantity surveyors 19% Building designers 44% Funders 15% Main contractors 43% Government regulators 11% Developers 38% Letting agents 7% Project managers 38% Insurers 5% One-off clients 27% Table 1 shows that architects and engineers contribute considerably towards encouraging innovations, and therefore, the relationship between these two consultants is an important factor for innovation in construction (Manley, 2006). The Contractor Studies have shown that contractors play a significant role in innovation. They do not merely implement innovations introduced by suppliers as they are also at the source of the innovation process. Since contractors implement products and have full access to building site information, they are able to come up with innovative solutions. Contractors also generally create solutions that are not present in the market place. These kinds of contractors are prepared to use new products in order to maintain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Benefits of Innovation in Construction Innovation is intended to improve the performance of organizations in the construction industry and achieve the objectives of its stakeholders. The benefits of innovation in the construction industry are (Manley et al., 2005; Blayse and Manley, 2004; Gunnigan and Eaton, 2008): � Reducing construction cost and time as well as reducing injury rates. � Improving productivity, increasing competitiveness and competitive advantage, marketing growth and achieving social objectives such as affordable housing development. � Enhancing design buildability and economy as well as improving communication and learning. � Reducing operational and maintenance costs as well as maximising additional opportunities for use of the facility which will generate future income. � Partnering and Alliancing between project stakeholders helps increasing productivity, achieving client satisfaction and improving quality. Barriers to Innovation in Construction A barrier to innovation is a circumstance or obstacle that prevents the implementation of innovation in construction. There are currently many reasons as to why the level of innovation is low in the construction sector:
HANDBOOK 2 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION � The short term of projects which are won in most instances on price and the opportunity or motivation for industry stakeholders to invest in R&D initiatives for innovation is minimal. � The patterns of the construction industry cycle follow that of the economic cycle, during a recession, profits for companies are reduced, and as a result, this hinders the implementation of innovation. � The construction industry is project-based and does not produce repetitive products. The implementation of construction methods, changes with every site according to the scope and objectives of the project. In addition, the fragmented nature of the industry makes the products of construction more complex. Consequently this hinders the implementation of innovation in construction (Leiringer, 2001; Gann and Salter, 2000). � Nam and Tatum (1997) and Budiawan (2003) argued that the slow adoption of new technology and innovation is a major factor in the construction industry. Participants in the industry stated that the tendering process in construction is too short to adopt innovative ideas. Furthermore, when the construction stage is reached, it is too late to adopt innovative ideas as the processes have already been priced. � The industry is predominantly made up of small firms which hinders the ability to innovate (Sexton and Barrett, 2003). Small firms have more factors limiting innovation (Reichstein et al., 2005), for example they tend to focus mainly on those activities that directly affect them and have no strategy on managing technical external changes (Gann, 2000). � Budiawan (2003) stated that the risks attached to implementing innovation are higher in the construction industry, as a trial-and-error approach is not acceptable. If the resulting effect of implementing innovation is a failure, it affects the company’s reputation and credibility. As a result, construction firms are more averse to innovation. � The conventional method of managing construction projects poses another obstacle in the execution of innovation in construction (Mohamed and Tucker, 1996). � Government statutory regulations and procurement methods adopted also have a significant impact on innovation in construction (Gann and Salter, 2000). In an Australian case study by Manley (2006), key barriers facing the construction industry were identified. The results of which are represented in Figure 2. 21
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Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

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