Ph.D. RESEARCH WORKSHOP on TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION (original) (raw)

Innovation in Construction: A Critical Review and Future Research

The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In order to improve the success rate of construction innovation, the implementation of innovations within the context of construction has been discussed and developed. Literature in this area focuses extensively on construction innovation, and yet does not contain a systematic review. This paper looks to fill this gap by providing a systematic review of construction innovation. The review synthesizes the conclusions and shows the implementation of construction innovation. Collaboration, culture, innovation process, and drivers are identified as critical factors to improve the performance of construction innovation. Finally, the limitations of prior studies in construction innovation are discussed and recommendations made for areas of future study.

Innovation Processes in Construction: Two Case Studies

2020

The importance of innovation in construction is increasing. However, until now construction research has mainly focused on the implementation of new ideas and disregarded the interdependencies to previous phases of the innovation process. This paper presents the results of two case studies concerning the whole process of generating, developing and implementing new technologies in construction. The cases revealed institutional leadership and managing part-whole relationships as main problems that prevent a faster introduction of innovative technologies into construction. The paper concludes that fostering innovation in construction requires the early integration of application knowledge into the technology development process and the timely creation of a supportive institutional context.

Construction innovation: Addressing the project-product gap in the Swedish construction sector

2013

The construction sector is often accused of being inefficient, conservative and noninnovative, although some commentators have suggested that the construction sector is not backward, it is merely different to other industries. One of these differences is the uniqueness of construction projects, which are determined by the characteristics of the site, interaction of project participants (also partly site specific) and the relationship between contractors and building product producers (which changes from one project to another). These factors are known to colour construction innovation. Previous research into the Swedish construction sector has identified a significant gap between the building product producers who are 'product focused' and the contractors who are 'project focused', with concerns expressed about effectiveness of communication between two. The findings of previous research imply, both implicitly and explicitly, that this gap may be hindering innovation within the construction sector. This appears to have implications for those concerned with construction, the building users and society as a whole. In this paper the authors provide an extensive review of the literature and research findings from which a number of unique insights are offered. The reasons for the gap between producers and contractors are discussed and a number of innovative measures are proposed that may help to bridge the gap, and hence improve innovation systems. The paper concludes with some practical findings for producers and contractors as well as some thoughts on where future research should be targeted.

Construction innovation: a literature review on current research

2006

ABSTRACT: Innovation in construction is a subject being discussed during a considerable period of time. However current research and statistical data shows that construction is lagging behind other sectors in the aspects of productivity and efficiency for which lack of innovation is blamed. This paper is an effort to illustrate present status of construction innovation research and perceptions of researchers and practitioners based on a review of current literature.

Delivering Differently: Emerging Technologies in Construction Industry

Abstract: Construction industry is in the phase of revolution and it is adopting the technology to improve the productivity, quality and lowering the risk. Now the construction industry is moving from resistant and unresponsive mindset to adopting the innovations. The present construction industry is embracing the technology and genuinely begins to deliver differently. The top 5 emerging technologies in the construction industry are studied in this paper. These technologies have been identified as a primary driver of construction productivity, quality and reduction in risk exposure. The top 5 emerging technologies slated to shape the future of the construction are: 1. Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), 2. Drones, 3. 3D Printing, 4.Big Data and 5. Mobile/ Paperless Tech Key words: Emerging technology, productivity, quality, cost effective, risk, VDC, 3D printing, big data

A.T.İlter, D.Artan İlter, A.Dikbaş, "An Analysis of Drivers and Barriers of Construction Innovation", 06/2008, Innovation in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), Antalya, 2008

Innovation is a key to competitive advantage in the construction industry, enabling firms to contend with major changes occurring in the market and to achieve the objectives in a specific project or over a range of projects. Accordingly, innovation studies have become an established part of construction management discipline with respect to the academic research undertaken and to the wide application in practice. However, knowledge base in the discipline is still developing and there is a genuine need to identify the research trends and neglected areas in the literature. This paper attempts to overview and organise the many innovation drivers and barriers that have been identified in construction innovation literature and analyse the source articles within a meta-classification framework proposed. Peer reviewed articles tackling the subject are analysed and classified in terms of research stream, level of analyses, stage of life-cycle, sources of information, contribution of the articles and backgrounds of authors. Based on the findings, the paper presents future research suggestions for the discipline.

An Analysis of Construction Innovation Literature

2005

The importance of innovation in construction has been widely advanced. This paper analyses the most recent research in the field of construction innovation and offers an overview of what and how aspects of innovation have been studied in different construction contexts. Peer-reviewed journal articles from the last decade are coded and analysed to reveal the construction focus, innovation fundamentals and prominent research features of the literature. A research agenda based on the findings of the analysis and the future research suggestions of the journal articles reviewed is presented to extend and enhance construction innovation research.

The Utilisation of Industrialised Building System in Design Innovation in Construction Industry

World Applied Sciences Journal, 2011

Since the introduction of Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) in the construction industry of Malaysia, there have been doubts and speculations on the usage of this new system of building construction in the application of innovations in building design. This doubt has been proved from the findings of past researches. The aim of this paper is to investigate on the different opinions of stakeholders’ involved in the design process of a building on the compatibility of IBS in design innovation and the factors that stem these opinions. With the use of quantitative method of data collection, a questionnaire was developed and pilot survey was carried out to test its validity. The main survey was carried out on a population of 120 respondents representing the clients, engineers, architects and construction managers from 72 IBS contractor firms and 34 property developers within the environs of Penang State. A total of 64 replies were analysed. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Relative Importance Index (RII). The findings show that standardization, inadequate knowledge of the concept of modular coordination and insufficient research on IBS components and application of building components was identified as the key factors affecting the application of IBS to design innovation. Keywords: Design Innovation, Industrialised Building Systems, Stakeholders, factors, Malaysia

Projecting Change through Construction Innovation

Summary In projecting change for the critical Australian construction industry, the CRC for Construction Innovation envisions a culture of self improvement through applied research and technology transfer. Construction Innovation is driving research outcomes into business practice in areas such as innovativeness, sustainability, procurement, project diagnostics and site safety. The group has also led the formation of an international alliance to ensure its activities are hitting the mark nationally and internationally. Through initiatives like these, the CRC for Construction Innovation is already providing a potent vehicle for change. This paper will briefly track the development of the CRC for Construction Innovation and highlight the collaborative processes in developing, managing and disseminating applied research; profile a number of its key outcomes to date; and discuss the future of applied research in Australia in the context of its Construction 2020 national initiative, its ...

Innovation process in the construction sector

The world in which we live is in a continuous and accelerated change that has led, over time, to the emergence of real industrial revolutions. The new third revolution, which mankind has known, has been characterized by the emergence of new dominant industrial branches and a change in management activities, increasingly oriented towards better management of technological resources and innovation activity. In the context of an increasingly evolving trend of innovative business development, companies have to find solutions that allow them to adapt to the changes that characterize the current environment. In the conditions of increasing competition on the construction market, "survival" and the evolution of this market is possible only when there are efforts, including financial ones, sufficient to create high quality services that can fully satisfy the customer needs and loyalty them. The aim of this paper is to present the researcher approach on innovation in the engineering field of civil engineering. A bibliometric analysis of the literature was performed to highlight the particularities of the innovation process in the construction industry.