In essence, construction is the process of moving and assembling materials and equipment into completed forms for use. However, unlike manufacturing, construction operations are never completely standardised (neither in a fixed sequence nor at a fixed location).

The basic process of construction has remained relatively unchanged since the Middle Ages, however construction technology has changed significantly. The earliest dwellings were built of animal skins draped across sticks, or mud, straw, timber and stone, and were intended purely to provide shelter. Early experiments with concrete were introduced by the ancient Romans, who mixed lime and volcanic rock to build many of their most famous structures.

Buildings are now constructed from a bewildering array of interrelated systems and assemblies that must work together to deliver the required standard of performance. This requires the collaborative work of client, consultants, suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors to properly prepare planning applications, building regulations submissions, submissions for programmes such as BREEAM, construction documentation, operation and maintenance manuals and so on.

Building technology encompasses; materials and their applications, physical properties, capacities and vulnerabilities; the functioning of components and systems; the principles, procedures and details of building assembly; operating strategies and so on.

In its widest sense, it can be considered to cover any skilled area related to the construction of buildings, such as:

Site investigations and surveying.

Construction materials, components, systems and techniques.

Building services.

Operation and maintenance.

Energy supply and efficiency.

Structural systems.

Communications.

Smart technology.

Sustainability.

Waste water and water management.

Building engineering physics.

Building science.

Prefabrication and offsite manufacturing.

Modelling and assessment.

Collaborative practices.

Research, development and innovation.

Construction plant.

The construction industry is repeatedly criticised for being inefficient and slow to innovate. The basic methods of construction, techniques and technologies have changed little since Roman times. But the application of innovation in the construction industry is not straight forward.

Every construction project is different, every site is a singular prototype, construction works are located in different places, and involve the constant movement of personnel and machinery. In addition, the weather and other factors can prevent the application of previous experience effectively.

The term ‘advanced construction technology’ covers a wide range of modern techniques and practices that encompass the latest developments in materials technology, design procedures, quantity surveying, facilities management, services, structural analysis and design, and management studies.

Incorporating advanced construction technology into practice can increase levels of quality, efficiency, safety, sustainability and value for money. However, there is often a conflict between traditional industry methods and innovative new practices, and this is often blamed for the relatively slow rate of technology transfer within the industry.

The adoption of advanced construction technology requires an appropriate design, commitment from the whole project team, suitable procurement strategies, good quality control, appropriate training and careful commissioning.While smart technologies have been evolving over a long period of time, what is relatively new is that, with the development of software, communications technology and common standards, we now have the ability to collect, store, analyse and distribute vast amounts of information. Crucially, this means that not only can we observe, monitor and control individual processes in isolation, we can also see how they interact or how a change in one affects another.

For example, electricity suppliers can monitor and predict demand for power, and respond to behaviour by generating additional power from the most efficient source, storing energy for when it is most in demand, or encouraging consumers to modify their behaviour by using power at different times, or by exporting their own power.

Similarly, the development of the electric car, while still in its infancy, raises questions not just about how and where they will be recharged, but about the capacity of a grid which was essentially designed for a much lower load.

The communications revolution has had a dramatic effect on work and travel patterns for example by making home working increasingly practicable and long distance business travel less essential.

All of this raises a challenge and an opportunity for manufacturers, utilities, and public authorities as well as for those designing, building, owning or occupying buildings or providing services to them. Companies which have developed a successful business model supplying, for example building automation controls may find on the one hand that the systems with which they interact such as HVAC systems, have become more ‘intelligent’ and need less control. At the same time, building energy management systems may need to respond to “requests” from power suppliers to reduce consumption or to export power where appropriate.

There is no risk-free response to this. Suppliers can choose to continue to specialise in their key area of strength and risk becoming bit-players in a system dominated by other companies which have mastered the newly dominant technologies. They can attempt to expand their range of solutions and services, but this requires large-scale investment and acquiring new capabilities either by research and development or through mergers and acquisitions, which often fail to deliver the expected returns.

So who is best placed to benefit from an interlinked smart world? Utilities in many ways are well placed. They generally have the resources, and already run networks which reach into almost every building.

Managing and coordinating a complex, continually changing building-environment or power, transport or security system requires a full understanding of the situation, what the possible responses are, and what is most likely to happen if you, say, divert power from one area to another. This means that companies which are strong in analytics and artificial intelligence and which can ‘learn’ and adapt to new scenarios should prosper.

Operators will also need to understand the social and political ramifications of their services. On the one hand governments and city leaders are constantly looking for ways to make the areas that they govern more efficient and competitive, more attractive to live and work in and more environmentally friendly. They are also looking for more effective ways of communicating with their citizens, whether it is in sending out information and alerts or in soliciting their opinions. Smart technology has a huge contribution to make in each of these areas.

While building automation systems have been around for some time, the latest wave of smart technology offers the chance to collect and analyse a lot of data, and to use this to improve performance. In principle, any device, including small components, can now be designed to return data about its current status, and to show, when they may need replacing.

Given that buildings also affect the performance of people – something as simple as an increase or decrease in temperature may affect productivity – it is now possible to analyse the impact of changes to the building’s state on the workforce, whether it is “self-reported” or collected through sales figures, performance reviews or other metrics.

At the same time, the spectre of a ‘brave new smart world’, and one that is increasingly interconnected, is raising understandable concerns. The smart meter, one of the key links in the smart evolutionary chain, is attracting opposition, both on grounds of arguments about its cost-effectiveness, but perhaps more tellingly, fears about the personal data that can potentially be collected.

Increasing levels of automation, interconnection and sophistication have also raised the fear of cyber-attacks, as something that could compromise the functioning, the security or even the safety of a building or of a larger scale system, such as a power or transport network. Reports of building control systems being hacked into, including both smart homes and high-profile offices, highlight the fact that an interconnected world is in some ways potentially a more vulnerable one.

While specific threats can invariably be addressed once identified, this problem raises the stakes and means that the smart world is also likely to remain a battleground of wits between those pursuing greater efficiency and interactivity on the one hand, and those seeking to cause disruption for whatever reason.

History suggests that societies adapt to new technologies, and initial glitches will be overcome, but there will be a trade-off point, which may differ from one city or society to another as to how much information and control organisations and individuals are willing to share, and for what benefit.

Building science ✍︎︎
‘Building science’ or ‘building physics’ is a broad term that refers to our knowledge of the physical behaviour of buildings and their impact on energy efficiency, comfort, health, safety, durability and so on. It is the application of the principles of physics to the built environment. An understanding of building science is vital if the design of buildings is to be optimised and the performance of buildings maximised.

The National Institute of Building Sciences (USA) propose that building science applies empirical techniques to design problems, and explains why buildings work and why they fail. They suggest that modern building science needs to consider buildings as systems, ‘…an integrated assembly of interacting elements, designed to carry out cooperatively a predetermined function.’ [Gibson 1960]. This is important as buildings are generally complex, one-off prototypes and it is only by considering them as a series of interacting systems that standardised analysis becomes possible.

Building science is concerned with the full life cycle of buildings from planning and design through to construction, facilities management, building pathology, conservation and demolition. It is a collaborative process that can involve disciplines such as architecture, civil, structural and building services engineering, and specialist fields such as acoustic, lighting, and so on.

This is a broader subject area than the related discipline of building engineering physics which considers in more detail the energy performance of buildings and their indoor and outdoor environments.

Building science can be interpreted widely or narrowly, however aspects of building design that might be considered ‘building science’ could include:

Climate and weather.
Façade engineering.
Building materials.
Building structures.
Passive building design.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
Natural and artificial lighting.
Building acoustics.
Moisture and condensation analyses.
Fire engineering.
Systems integration
Physiology and thermal comfort.
Smart building technology.
Sustainability.
Resilience to climate change.
Life cycle assessment.
Energy modelling.

Research in the construction industry 🧐 🔬

In general, research is the systematic and investigative means of undertaking work to expand and build upon knowledge in a particular field. Research can be carried out to establish, confirm or challenge facts and theories, to solve problems, support ideas, develop new theories, and so on.

Very broadly, there are two types of research strategies available: quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative research is an objective measure of definable factual evidence such as numbers and statistics that are capable of being analysed to determine the validity of a hypothesis.

Quantitative research can be used deductively to test a theory that can be presented in one of two ways:

A hypothetical statement such as ‘if X then Y’.
An educated ‘guess’.
Data accumulated through the research process should help to prove or disprove the hypothesis.

Qualitative research is the more subjective analysis of descriptions, views, opinions, and alternative theories. Depending on the approach taken,qualitative research may use a smaller sample size than quantitative research, but the data obtained can be more personal and in-depth.

Broadly, the two categories of qualitative research are exploratory and attitudinal:

Exploratory research is used primarily to gain a greater understanding of a particular subject. It is useful for diagnosing a situation, considering alternative ideas and discovering new ones. The most common method of exploratory research is interviewing. Another common method is a questionnaire (usually with open-ended questions).
Attitudinal research is used to evaluate the opinions or views of individuals in a way that is subjective. Examples are questions that ask the individual to express their level of agreement with a statement, or to rank preferences.
Research generally follows a specific structural process (although it may vary according to the subject matter and researcher):

Formation of the topic.
Hypothesis (a testable prediction).
Conceptual definition.
Operational definition (how the variables will be measured and assessed).
Data gathering.
Data analysis.
Data interpretation.
Test and revision of hypothesis.
Conclusion (and reiteration if necessary).Construction innovation ✔︎✔︎✔︎
Contents[hide]
1 Introduction
2 Types of innovation
3 Why innovate?
4 Risk
5 Innovation management
5.1 Technology push – 1st Generation (1G)
5.2 Market pull – 2nd generation (2G)
5.3 Coupling of R&D and marketing – 3rd generation (3G)
5.4 Integrated business processes – 4th generation (4G)
5.5 System integration and networking – 5th generation (5G)
6 Innovation frameworks
6.1 Socio-technical perspective
6.2 The framework
7 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Introduction

Innovation is a word which has crept into the lexicon of modern society. Whereas ‘invention’ is the creation of an object, process or idea which is new to the world, innovation “…is an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or the unit adopting it.” (Rogers, 1995, p.11 )

There are three parts to this definition:

Firstly, innovation can relate to an idea, practice or object. This may seem obvious but there is a temptation to slip away from this understanding and to start considering only innovation relating to product development.
Secondly, innovations need only be perceived as new. This is important as it is the first point which helps us distinguish between innovation and invention.
Thirdly, implicit to innovation is the process of adoption.
Types of innovation

We can broadly break innovation into three categories:

Product innovation.
Process innovation.
Service innovation.
Products and processes can be considered to have life lifecycles. Typically at the start of a product’s life there is a proliferation of designs and approaches. Over time the variation in product or approach narrows and standards emerge which are refined slowly over time. This approach allows us to classify in terms of its ‘radicalness’.

Radical innovations are those that open up new markets. They change the ‘rules of the game’ and create the opportunity for a large number of approaches to be developed. This type of innovation often makes existing skills and competencies obsolete.

In contrast, incremental innovation comprises small changes in design and performance. This type of innovation tends to improve the performance of existing products or processes and strengthens the position of incumbent firms. Incremental innovation often builds upon skills that already exist strengthening or enhancing existing capabilities. This type of innovation closes markets and makes it harder for new firms to enter.

Why innovate?

Firms are constantly striving for competitive advantage; to eke out some way of establishing a lead over their competitors. It is true that this type of advantage can be created through size, resources and other attributes of a firm. However, it is increasingly becoming apparent that the ability to take knowledge and resources and mobilise these with the correct technical skills leading to the creation of new products, processes and services is critical in establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage.

The speed with which a firm can innovate is also important. Product lifecycles are shortening; firms are able to get more and more new products to market more quickly. This places pressure on firms to not only innovate, but to do so speedily. The ability to innovate quickly increases the agility of a firm.

In our discussions we must not forget processes. Being able to make something that no one else can, or in a way that nobody else can provides a significant competitive advantage. The success of Toyota, and other Japanese firms, is often attributed to the way in which they manufacture their products. This approach has been made famous worldwide as the Toyota Production System.

The same arguments apply when we think about services. Being able to offer unique services, quickly and cheaply will provide a competitive advantage.

Risk

The vast majority of new concepts and ideas do not make it through into production and then to successful market launch. This can pose significant organisational risk, particularly if the firm is relying on new products or processes to change the direction of the firm.

To mitigate risks in the innovation process it is important to learn as an organisation. Organisational learning is distinct from individual learning. The knowledge that an individual has leaves the organisation when they do. Organisational learning is a way of capturing this individual knowledge and learning in order to make it available to others in the firm.

Studies have revealed that the majority of new ideas that open a market up and undermine existing skills and capabilities, do not come from firms that have dominant positions within the market. Radical innovations not only have the potential to cause difficulty for individual firms but for whole sectors.

Innovation management

The temptation is to think of innovation a sequence of functions either from research into the market (technology push) or from the market through to research (market pull). The process of innovation is actually about the interplay between these two forces. Rothwell produced an interesting historical summary of the way in which the management of innovation has developed.

Technology push – 1st Generation (1G)

This approach dominated from the 1950’s through to the mid 1960’s. A fast-growing economy allowed for a strong focus on science, research and development. This resulted in an approach with a very strong characteristic of ‘technology push’. Basic science was conducted, new technologies where developed and these were offered to the market with very little attention paid to what the market wanted. The attitude was often that the market didn’t know what was possible and that demand could be created through supply.

Market pull – 2nd generation (2G)

The 1960’s and 70’s witnessed and increase in competition for market share. This triggered a re-orientation of the innovation process to focus more strongly on market demand. The stronger focus on market needs was coupled with a need to drive down costs. Often individual innovation projects were subject to cost-benefit analysis in a structure of controlled and managed resource allocation.

Coupling of R&D and marketing – 3rd generation (3G)

From the 1970’s into the 80’s difficult economic condition resulted in a consolidation of product and project portfolios. Companies moved away from individual research & development projects to a much more corporately controlled research programme approach. Marketing and research and development became much more tightly coupled through defined innovation processes. An emphasis was placed on feedback loops and the interface between the push and pull.

Integrated business processes – 4th generation (4G)

As the economy recovered through the 1980’s and 90’s a time-based race began to develop new products and services as lifecycles shortened. The shortening of product lifecycles led to an increased focus on integrated innovation processes and total solutions. Unlike the 3G model, this approach required parallel activities rather than activity shifting from one function to another. This approach began to recognise that innovation is not a simple process to manage, and developing the 4G approach began to provide a suitably flexible approach.

System integration and networking – 5th generation (5G)

Entering the 1990’s resource constraints became a priority. In addition the 90’s witnessed an increase in technology-enabled communication and strategic partnering. The key development in focus here is a significant shift towards being a ‘fast innovator’. Firms focused on the capability to deliver new products to the market quickly. 5G innovators embrace the multi-firm, multi-actor, non-linear nature of innovation to emphasise the vertical integration present in the 4G firm and to involve key suppliers and customers early in the process.

Innovation frameworks

So far the perspective offered has been managerial. That is that we have talked about what innovation is from the point of view of the new product, process or service and we have discussed different approaches that have been taken to managing the innovation process. Both of these are internal to the firm and innovation process. There are a great number of factors that are external to a firm which play a part in ultimately deciding if an innovation is going to be successful or not.

Socio-technical perspective

A socio-technical perspective seeks to understand the successful diffusion, or not, of an innovation not just in terms of the technical features of an innovation, or how the innovation process is managed, but in terms of the myriad different social influences that bear upon the innovation process. Users and society play an active part in ‘socialising’ a technology. This can be particularly important for the construction industry. For example, the performance of buildings which are designed to have high degrees of air tightness can be hugely compromised by the installation of a cat flap. User’s behaviours and routines have a key role to play in how a technology is used and therefore if it is successful or not.

First we start by saying that on an innovation journey not every option is a possibility. For example, a car manufacturer, like a builder, has strong legislation and regulation to adhere to. There are formal rules which dictate what can and cannot be developed. There are also informal rules. Professions such as engineers, architect and surveyors are taught particular approaches to problem solving, they use a common language and often have a clear idea of what is expected of them professionally. These informal rules shape problem solving approaches, or heuristics, which guide the innovation process as strongly as the formal rules. Groups who share the same heuristics, are referred to as technological regimes. These technological regimes guide and shape the innovation process in a particular direction; giving the regime a momentum which we call a technological trajectory.

However, the regime does not operate in a vacuum. It is not immune to influence from a wider group which includes users, policy makers, societal groups, suppliers, scientists, investors and others. This wider group, which is often guided by a looser set of ‘guidelines’, is what we refer to in our framework as a socio-technical regime. We represent a regime using six criteria which are market, science, culture, users, policy and industry.

The framework

The framework helps us to make sense of socio-technical transitions. Socio-technical transitions are changes in the way in which major societal functions, such as housing or energy, are delivered.

We have three layers in the framework:

Landscape level – These are deep-seated trends that change slowly over time. Changes in landscape often take decades or more to manifest. Examples include religious, economic and political ideologies, structural relationships between cities and/or nations and environmental conditions.
Socio-technical regime – as discussed above this is the loose group of actors that come together to stabilise and shape the technological trajectory of a particular sector. Socio-technical regimes have stable patterns of interaction but change on a timescale shorter than that of the socio-technical landscape.
Niche innovations – Niches are spaces protected from the pressures exerted by the socio-technical regime. Innovations from niches ‘bubble up’ to either enter the socio-technical regime and alter its trajectory or they are rejected and have no effect.
Socio-technical regimes have a structural element which reproduces itself. This is caused by the formal and informal rules discussed above. Due to this, the regime is far more likely to produce incremental innovations. This is no surprise as the common problem solving approaches of those in the regime are likely to produce innovations which build upon the regimes current design and production approaches.

Radical innovations are far more likely to originate at the niche level. The actors in the niche level are not bound by the same rules as those in the socio-technical regime, leaving them free to explore more alternatives. However, the products and process produced by radical innovations are likely initially to have drawbacks in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. Most radical innovation leads to novelties that if subjected to the full competitiveness of the regime would not be able to compete. An example of a niche is formula one. Many road going technologies can trace their origins to motorsport. In motorsport technologies are developed and trialled away from the mainstream regimes by a group of experts who have a different set of ‘rules’. Many of the technologies such as ABS, traction control and variable valve timing may not have had the opportunity to develop if they had not had the protective niche of motorsport.

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