Industrialised, Integrated, Intelligent sustainable Construction - I3con

HANDBOOK 2 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION
Results
� In spite of the positive role that the construction industry plays towards social and economic
development, it has a negative impact to the environment in terms of consuming non-renewable
resources and energy, generating waste and pollution as well as land dereliction.
� The universal call for sustainability has increased the competition between construction
professionals and organisations working in the construction sector towards delivering products
that save the environment, enhance society and prosper the economy.
� Case studies and examples of innovative and competitive companies in construction and other
industries are essential for educating construction professionals and showing them successful
stories and the practicality and possibility of integrating innovation and sustainability to achieve
competitive advantage in construction.
� Maintaining competitive advantage in an ever expanding industry, like construction, and making
it sustainable through continuous improvement, research, development and market research is a
cornerstone for remaining in market and competing for the future.
� The developed framework is generic, theoretical and time consuming. Hence, its benefits have to
be presented to senior management in construction companies in order to provide resources and
allow the time needed to test, validate and then adopt the developed framework.
Conclusions
In spite of the vital contribution that the construction industry makes towards social and economic
development as well as achieves national and international development programmes, it has a
negative impact on the environment. The scarcity of non-renewable resources, energy consumption,
pollution and waste necessitated that construction professionals strive to produce projects that save the
environment, enhance society and prosper the economy. This increased the competition between
organisations working in the construction sector and forced them in the direction of finding innovative
ideas, new technologies and creative approaches that generate sustainable solutions. Achieving
competitive advantage is a key factor for any company wishing to successfully remain in market and
compete for the future. The research work presented in this chapter adds value to the original body of
knowledge through establishing the link between innovation, sustainability and competitive advantage
and developing a theoretical yet innovative framework that puts the integration between innovation
and sustainability in a practical way to achieve competitive advantage in construction.
References
Anink, D., Boodtra, C. and Mark, J. (1996). Handbook of Sustainable Development. London: James and James
Blayse, A.M. and Manley, K. (2004). Key influences on construction innovation. Construction Innovation, Vol.
4 No. 3, pp. 143-54
Bossink, B.A.G. (2004). Managing drivers of innovation in construction network. Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, Vol. 130 No. 3, pp. 337-45
Boyko, C.T., Cooper, R., Davey, C.L. and Wootton, A.B. (2006). Addressing sustainability early in the urban
design process. International Journal of Management of Environmental Quality, 17(6), 689–706
Budiawan, D. (2003). Determinants of Process Innovation on Construction Projects from the contractors’
Perspective. Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane
Digital Strategy. (2009). Glossary of Key Terms. Available from:
http://www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/Resources/Glossary-of-Key-Terms/ (Accessed 12 September 2009)
EDMS (2007), “Framework”, Engineering Data Management Service, available at:
http://cedar.web.cern.ch/CEDAR/glossary.html#Framework (accessed 14 September 2009)
Egan, J. (1998) Rethinking Construction. Report of the Construction Task Force on the Scope for Improving the
Quality and Efficiency of UK Construction, Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions,
London
Field, B. and Ofori, G. (1988). Construction and economic development – a case Study. Third World Planning
Review, 10(1), 41–50
39