Constructing Innovation How Large Scale Projects Drive Novelty In The Construction Industryhnologies In Urban Environments

The construction sector is not exactly known for its innovation. Also, the reputation of large-scale projects builds less on their capacity to generate novelty than on their likelihood to fail in terms of project management's performance indicators of time and cost. And yet, throughout the history of construction, the sector has regularly experienced the introduction of novel technologies and techniques, often advanced through large-scale projects such as the Eiffel Tower or Sydney Opera House. This book seeks to shed light on this aspect of large-scale construction projects. The volume contains the results of an interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars from the social sciences and construction engineering. Through six indepth case studies comprising recent large-scale construction projects in Germany, chapters take different disciplinary and conceptual premises to explore the contribution these projects have made in generating and dispersing innovations.

Innovation in construction is essential for growth. The industry strives to remain competitive using a variety of approaches and needs to engage structured initiatives linked to proven innovation concepts, techniques and applications. Even in mature markets like the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector, where business behaviour is generally considered as being risk averse, it is increasingly important to embed innovation into mainstream business practices. In Construction Innovation and Process Improvement a number of wide ranging issues from construction practice in different countries with different contexts are presented to provide a rich collection of literature embracing theory and practice. Chapters are divided into three broad themes of construction innovation relating to: Theory and Practice; Process Drivers; and Future Technologies. Several questions are posed, including for example: What is particularly unique about construction innovation in theory and practice? What are the major drivers of construction innovation? What factors are needed to support and deliver future construction technologies? In attempting to respond to such questions, the book sheds new light on these challenges, and provides readers with a number of ways forward, especially cognisant of the increased role of globalisation, the enhanced impact of knowledge, and importance of innovation. All these can have a significant impact on strategic decision-making, competitive advantage, and sustainable policies and practices. Part One deals with change management, technology, sustainable construction, and supply chain management; Part Two addresses innovation and process improvement drivers, including strategic management, concurrent engineering, risk management, innovative procurement, knowledge management; Part Three explores future technologies in construction – and particularly, how these can be harnessed and leveraged to help procure innovation and process improvement.

Construction innovation is an important but contested concept, both in industry practice and academic reflection and research. A fundamental reason for this is the nature of the construction industry itself: the industry and the value creation activities taking place there are multi-disciplinary, heterogeneous, distributed and often fragmented. This book takes a new approach to construction innovation, revealing different perspectives, set in a broader context. It coalesces multiple theoretical and practice-based views in order to stimulate reflection and to prepare the ground for further synthesis. By being clear, cogent and unambiguous on the most basic definitions, it can mobilise a plurality of perspectives on innovation to promote fresh thinking on how it can be studied, enabled, measured, and propagated across the industry. This book does not gloss over the real-life complexity of construction innovation. Instead, its authors look explicitly at the challenges that conceptual issues entail and by making their own position clear, they open up fresh intellectual space for reflection. Construction Innovation examines innovation from different positions and through different conceptual lenses to reveal the richness that the theoretical perspectives offer to our understanding of the way that the construction sector actors innovate at both project and organizational levels. The editors have brought together here leading scholars to deconstruct the concept of innovation and to discuss the merits of different perspectives, their commonalities and their diversity. The result is an invaluable sourcebook for those studying and leading innovation in the design, the building and the maintenance of our built environment.

How can innovation in the construction industry be strengthened? What instruments and approaches are being used by governments to promote it? What works and under what circumstances? These key questions have profound implications. This book presents a framework for the analysis of innovation models and systems in construction and an international comparison of these systems, with a focus on their application in practical policy development.

Innovation in Small Construction Firms promotes the benefits of innovation, and stimulate innovation capability within and between small and medium sized (SMEs) construction firms in an effort to bring in a new 'can innovate, should innovate, want to innovate' culture to the construction industry. Presenting new theoretical and practical insights and models grounded in descriptive case studies, the issues addressed include: what is the motivation to innovate? what is appropriate innovation? how can small construction firms create, manage and exploit innovation? what practice-based models, tools and techniques support the capability of small construction firms to innovate well? how does this fit in the context of leading international work in construction innovation? Findings are contextualised in the broader literature to make them of relevance to policy makers, practitioners and researchers interested in small, project-based firms in general.

Buildings and infrastructure represent principal assets of any national economy as well as prime sources of environmental degradation. Making them more sustainable represents a key challenge for the construction, planning and design industries and governments at all levels; and the rapid urbanisation of the 21st century has turned this into a global challenge. This book embodies the results of a major research programme by members of the Australia Co-operative Research Centre for Construction Innovation and its global partners, presented for an international audience of construction researchers, senior professionals and advanced students. It covers four themes, applied to regeneration as well as to new build, and within the overall theme of Innovation: Sustainable Materials and Manufactures, focusing on building material products, their manufacture and assembly – and the reduction of their ecological ‘fingerprints’, the extension of their service lives, and their re-use and recyclability. It also explores the prospects for applying the principles of the assembly line. Virtual Design, Construction and Management, viewed as increasing sustainable development through automation, enhanced collaboration (such as virtual design teams), real time BL performance assessment during design, simulation of the construction process, life-cycle management of project information (zero information loss) risk minimisation, and increased potential for innovation and value adding. Integrating Design, Construction and Facility Management over the Project Life Cycle, by converging ICT, design science engineering and sustainability science. Integration across spatial scales, enabling building–infrastructure synergies (such as water and energy efficiency). Convergences between IT and design and operational processes are also viewed as a key platform increased sustainability.

In the past decade construction and engineering have changed dramatically, with an explosion of innovative new approaches to construction and new methodologies. By bringing together economic, social and construction/engineering management perspectives, this book offers a unique and comprehensive survey of these approaches and techniques. It presents a history of studies in innovation in construction and engineering, and then presents the most recent models of innovation brokering and risk-management, based on complex project-based industries. Innovation is defined and competing theories are discussed in the light of operational issues. The book covers all aspects, including the importance of construction and engineering 'cultures' in the trades for successful project innovation. It also discusses the role of government and policy makers, the implications of rapid change for the building trades and skilled labour, and the difficulty of measuring innovation quantitatively.

Innovations, Disruptions and Future Trends in the Global Construction Industry examines current and futuristic developments in the construction industry hinged on the construction industrial fourth and fifth revolution, otherwise known as construction industry 4.0 and 5.0. This book provides a wide range of expert views and case studies on the future of the construction industry from the perspectives of researchers and practitioners in various fields of study from business management, psychology, sociology, engineering, behavioural studies and computer sciences. The book provides documentary evidence of how the construction industry has changed post-COVID-19 pandemic in terms of design, planning, management, construction, the behaviour of construction professionals, research in the built environment, and new interactions of built environment practitioners with other professionals from computer science, finance, business management, and engineering. The evidence provided in this book can help decision makers in the construction sector and associated industries to understand human interaction in the construction sector and inspire new research directions. Furthermore, the book will map potential future paradigms for the construction industry and the preparedness of construction professionals, teams, and organisations for coming changes. This book is of interest to a wide audience of postgraduate students, academics, researchers, and industry professionals in the built environment, finance, project management, engineering, and policy makers.