Mary Hardie

Factors influencing technical innovation in construction SMEs: an Australian perspective

Purpose – The intent of this research is to determine whether any common lessons can be drawn from the experience of individuals who have gone against the trend and delivered successful technical innovations in construction small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approach – A value tree of contributing factors to technical innovation was developed from the literature and tested by surveying established technical innovators using analytic hierarchy process methodology. This approach aimed at capturing the experience of company decision makers who manage to deliver successful change with limited resources.Findings – The results reveal the importance of supportive clients and performance‐based building standards for innovative practice in construction. Significant differences were observed between small and medium‐sized companies and between product and process innovators.Research limitations/implications – In order to avoid a skewed sample, considerable effort was made to ensure that all surv...

Experience with the management of technological innovations within the australian construction industry

The BRITE Project (Building Research Innovation Technology and Environment) was established by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation to encourage and report on innovative developments in the construction industry. Using both case studies and extensive industry surveys the BRITE Project has examined the creation, adoption and diffusion of innovations. A nexus is reported between technological innovations and the adoption of advanced management practices. Indeed the management of the innovation process is found to be critical to the successful implementation of technological innovations. The BRITE Project’s combination of specific detailed case studies with a broad industry-wide survey allows the testing of the hypothesis that organizational and technological innovations are linked from two different perspectives. In both instances, a strong correlation is observed between high technological innovators and the proactive management of organizational knowledge with emphasis on continuing education and training. In contrast, the low innovators surveyed were characterized by a lack of business strategies to improve and monitor performance and by minimal investment in research and development. Technological innovations were found to be significantly more likely to occur in those firms with good profitability and with managers who seek out a broad range of sources for new ideas as well as actively working to capture project learning for ongoing reference. Such ongoing active management involvement fosters the appropriate atmosphere for new technological innovations to occur. The BRITE Project experience highlights the primacy of management skills for the encouragement of ongoing technological advancement within the often conservative construction and engineering sector.

Influences on innovation in small Australian construction businesses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the major influences on innovation delivery in the context of small Australian construction businesses.Design/methodology/approach – An analysis was undertaken of peer‐reviewed journal articles published between 1998 and 2008. Historical background to the current circumstances was included by reference to influential government reports and to literature on the economic theory underpinning the concept of innovation.Findings – The findings suggest that despite the recent trend to more cooperative business arrangements, the ingrained culture of aggressively competitive relations on a building project remains in place. This is particularly evident at the small and sub‐contractor level. Such companies tend to operate with little spare capacity and can be restricted from participation in the benefits of the innovation strategies unless they receive outside assistance.Research limitations/implications – The need for an attitudinal change is described and critica...

Waste Minimisation in Office Refurbishment Projects: An Australian Perspective

The refurbishment of commercial buildings is growing as a percentage of overall construction activity in Australia and this trend is likely to continue. Refurbishment generates a significant waste stream much of which is potentially reusable or recyclable. Despite this potential, several factors are known to unnecessarily inhibit the amount of recycling that actually occurs on renovation projects. In order to identify the reasons causing this reluctance, a process of project monitoring and expert consultation was carried out. Twenty three experts experienced in commercial refurbishment projects and three waste contractors with specific knowledge of construction waste were interviewed. Records of receipts for waste from a case study project reveal three principal factors inhibiting recycling rates: the presence of asbestos in the building; the continued occupation of the building during construction; and the breaking up of a large project into small separate contracts thereby reducing economies of scale. To ascertain the potential for improvement, current rates for reuse and recycling of materials were collected from the experts. The results revealed a considerable variation in practice between companies and indicated key areas which should be targeted to improve performance.

Environmentally driven technical innovation by Australian construction SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether technical innovations by construction industry small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an environmental focus, require any specific circumstances for successful marketplace delivery. Design/methodology/approach – A value tree of significant factors was developed from a literature review. This was tested by a survey of established technical innovators within SMEs in the area of Sydney and environs, using analytic hierarchy process methodology. Findings – The regulatory environment was demonstrated to be much more important to environmental innovators than to others. Conversely the influence of clients and end users was less significant for the environmentally focused innovators. Research limitations/implications – The sample size was necessarily small because the subjects were all peer recognised technical innovators. Analysis of variance was used to identify significant differences between environmentally focused and other innovations am...

Fire and heritage protection in Australian public housing

Purpose – Heritage housing in inner city areas represents a valuable cultural asset that belongs, in part, to the community as a whole. Despite this, the risk of destruction by fire in closely spaced heritage housing has not received a great deal of research attention. The purpose of this paper is to identify potential faults in building fabric that may result in unacceptable fire safety risks to irreplaceable heritage streetscapes. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines a sample of publically administered heritage houses in inner Sydney. A condition survey looks at the occurrence of noted defects, or non-compliances to the current building regulations, in fire separation between attached or closely spaced occupancies. Findings – Fire spread between adjacent buildings is identified as a potential hazard which needs to be addressed in order to ensure both the sustainability of the remaining heritage housing stock and the safety of the occupants. Research limitations/implications – While the surv...