Construction innovation delivers for all

Many contractors and consultants in the construction industry have traditionally been sceptical about the potential benefits of innovation. The BRITE project has explored this issue and documented results in a new guide Innovate now!

Over the past three years, the project surveyed 400 businesses, 14 government organisations, 8 industry associations and 4 universities and selected 12 best-practice case studies. “We are very excited by changing perspectives,” said project leader, Dr Karen Manley. “There seems to be growing interest in innovation as a means of ensuring on-going competitive advantage.”

The BRITE research revealed that scepticism about the value of innovation was misplaced. It showed that 93% of all innovators in the construction industry, achieve higher profits as a result of their efforts, while all of them reap improvement to their reputations and are subsequently likely to be more successful in winning projects.

Clients are keen to work with innovative businesses because of the substantial benefits that can be achieved. The improved prospects for future work provide the incentive for consultants and contractors to search for new ideas.

Innovation benefits

Four of the documented projects were in Queensland, four in New South Wales, two in South Australia and one each in Victoria and Western Australia. They included three sporting stadiums, two bridges, two art galleries, two commercial buildings, two very different roads (a motorway and an access track) and one case of contaminated land.

The size of the project made no difference to the extent of benefits gained. At Cattle Creek Bridge (case study no 6), 50% of the project cost estimate of $1m was saved, while on the National Gallery of Victoria (No 4), 5% of the project cost estimate of $65m was saved.

The table also shows that the range of potential benefits is broad, with the 12 cases of innovation showing savings related to

gas supply

water usage

material supply

material weight

fabrication time

erection time

road transport

traffic management

requests for information

project duration

overall project cost

From iconic building projects, to small road projects, the case studies show that it pays to innovate!

The Innovate now ! guide and contributing case studies, are lodged at www.brite.crcci.info for free download. The guide provides detailed steps for businesses wanting to improve their innovation performance, along with detailed checklists to help businesses develop an innovation program.

More information: k.manley@qut.edu.au

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