BOOK Moving Ideas Into Practice 2006

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Icon.Net Pty Ltd 2006

Office: Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation

9th Floor, Level 9, QUT Gardens Point2 George Street, Brisbane, Qld, 4000 AustraliaTelephone: +61 7 3864 1393

Email: [email protected]: www.construction-innovation.info

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First published 2006 by Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation, forIcon.Net Pty Ltd.

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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Clients driving construction innovation: mapping the terrain.

Bibliography.ISBN 1-7410712-8-3

1. Construction industry - Technological innovations. 2. Construction industry - Technological innovations -Australia. 3. Civil engineering - Technological innovations. 4. Civil engineering - Technological innovations -Australia. I. Brown, Kerry. II. Hampson, Keith D. (Keith Douglas). III. Brandon, Peter S. IV. Cooperative ResearchCentre for Construction Innovation (Australia).

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Contents

CONTRIBUTORS vii

FOREWORD xvii

CIB TASK FORCE 58: CLIENTS AND CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION xviii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xix

PART 1 CLIENTS DRIVING CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION

Chapter 1 Moving Ideas into PracticeKerry Brown and Keith Hampson 2

Chapter 2 Should Clients Drive Innovation? Mind, Method and MotivationPeter Brandon 5

Chapter 3 Adopting Innovation: Building Information Models in the FinnishReal Estate and Construct ion ClusterArto Kiviniemi 15

PART 2 MEETING CLIENTS NEEDS

Chapter 4 Industr ialising Residential Construction for Small to Medium SizeUS Home BuildersThomas Mills, Ron Wakefield, Michael OBrien 25

Chapter 5 Ensuring Value for Money: A Value Management Approach toManage Multiple Stakeholders in the Briefing ProcessGeoffrey Shen 32

Chapter 6 The Clients Role in Driving an Appropriate Project CultureLeading to Innovative Performance Outcomes: In Contexts ofAustralia and ChinaJian Zuo, David Ness and George Zillante 43

PART 3 PROCUREMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Chapter 7 Rebalancing Risk and RewardsJim Doyle 55

Chapter 8 Client Capabili ties and Capital Works Procurement Policies:A Comparat ive Analysis of Australian JurisdictionsCraig Furneaux, Kerry Brown, Don Allan, Neil Abel, SheenaMcConville, Stephen McFallan, Kerry London and John Burgess 62

Chapter 9 Cost of Tendering: Adding Cost without Value?John Dalrymple, Lionel Boxer and Warren Staples 72

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Chapter 10 Clients Building Product Eco-Prof iling Needs

Delwyn Jones, Phillipa Watson, Peter Scuderi and Pene Mitchell 80

Chapter 11 Difficulties in Defining Product Sustainability

Shane West 90

Chapter 12 Developing a Methodology for Effecting Sustained Bui ldingDesign Innovation in the Construction Procurement ProcessMartina Murphy, George Heaney and Srinath Perera 99

PART 4 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVINGEFFICIENCIES

Chapter 13 Automating Code Checking For Building Designs: DesignCheckLan Ding, Robin Drogemuller, Mike Rosenman, David Marchant and

John Gero 113

Chapter 14 Early-Design Stage Parametric Building DevelopmentJohn Crawford, Robin Drogemuller and Gerardo Trinidad 127

Chapter 15 Comparing Distance Collaborative Design ing Using Digital InkSketching and 3D Models in Virtual EnvironmentsMary Lou Maher, Zafer Bilda, Figen Gul, Yinghsiu Huang and DavidMarchant 133

Chapter 16 Towards a Loosely Wired Design Optimisation ToolWei Peng and John Gero 143

Chapter 17 Ontology-Based Demand Support Systems for UrbanDevelopmentHans Schevers, Dajon Veldman, Fanny Boulaire andRobin Drogemuller 149

Chapter 18 Wayfinding Swarm Creatures Finding Paths IndoorsJi Soo Yoon and Mary Lou Maher 156

PART 5 PERFORMANCE BASED BUILDING

Chapter 19 Performance-Based Building R&D Roadmap Towards EuropesVision 2030 for ConstructionGreg Foliente 163

Chapter 20 Performance-Based Procurement PracticesSelwyn Tucker 175

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Chapter 21 Performance Based Building Design Process PeBBu DomainAgenda and Future Development NeedsLam Pham, Peter Boxhall and Dik Spekkink 182

Chapter 22 Project Diagnostics: A Cure for Poorly Performing

Construction ProjectsDaniyal Mian and Adrian Morey 191

PART 6 CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY

Chapter 23 Safety Culture, Safety Atti tudes and Market Force Influences onConstruction Site SafetyHerbert Biggs, Vaughn Sheahan, Donald Dingsdag and Dean Cipolla 201

Chapter 24 Changing Safety Behaviour in the Construction Industry,Using Enforcement and Education as the Stick and the Carrot to

Improve Safety CultureDonald Dingsdag, Herbert Biggs and Vaughn Sheahan 214

Chapter 25 Managing Employees Work-Life Balance: The Impact ofManagement on Individual Well-Being and ProductivityLisa Bradley, Caroline Bailey, Helen Lingard and Kerry Brown 220

Chapter 26 Support ing the Design OHS Process:A Knowledge-Based System for Risk ManagementHelen Lingard, Andrew Stranieri and Nick Blismas 225

Chapter 27 Developing a Code of Practice for Construction OHS:A Research AgendaJanet Pillay, Michael Charles, Rachel Ryan and Tim Fleming 235

PART 7 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Chapter 28 Facil ities Management in Italy: Between Traditional andInnovative ApproachesLorenzo Bellicini and Alessia Salaris 247

Chapter 29 Facil ities Management Service Quality Indicators: BenefitingSupplier and CustomerHermen Jan van Ree and Peter McLennan 251

Chapter 30 Facil ities Management as the Catalyst to Accelerate theEvolutionary Changes in Workplace ArchitectureAgustin Chevez, Guillermo Aranda-Mena and Peter Edwards 260

PART 8 INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 31 Government Policy and Promoting Collaboration in the Australian

Construction IndustryNeal Ryan, Michael Charles and Keith Hampson 267

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Chapter 32 Public Policies and Innovation in the Construction Industry

Kristian Widn 275

Chapter 33 Measuring the Technical Competence of Repeat Publ ic Sector

Construction ClientsKaren Manley and Stephen McFallan 281

Chapter 34 Understanding the Innovation-Adopt ion Process ofConstruction ClientsAndreas Hartmann, Geert Dewulf and Isabelle Reymen 288

Chapter 35 Barriers to Construct ion Automation and RoboticsImplementation in Australia and JapanRohana Mahbub and Matthew Humphreys 295

Chapter 36 Improving Technology Transfer in the Construction IndustryDavid Thorpe and Neal Ryan 303

Chapter 37 Economic, Social and Cultural Impediments and Drivers for theAdoption of e-Business Innovat ions wi thin the Industrial Structure ofthe Construction SectorKerry London and Nathaniel Bavinton 313

PART 9 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION FOR THE FUTURE

Chapter 38 Leaving Todays Future of Bui lding BehindMartin Fischer 338

Chapter 39 Fibre Composite Innovations in Australias Construct ionIndustryGerard van Erp, Craig Cattell and Da Huang 341

PART 10 MOVING IDEAS INTO PRACTICE

Chapter 40 Key Lessons and ConclusionsKeith Hampson, Kerry Brown and Peter Brandon 350

INDEX 354

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Contributors

Neil AbelNeil Abel is the Principal Policy and Systems Officer for Corporate Risk Management, in the Strategic Procurement

Division at Brisbane City Council. He is the Project Manager for eTendering implementation in Council. Neil is alsoa member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, Australian Institute of Project Management andAustralian Business Economists. His research interests include electronic commerce systems, the application ofstrategic procurement approaches to the construction and engineering industry and procurement economics.

Don AllanDon Allan is the Director of the Building Policy Unit of the Queensland Department of Public Works. In thiscapacity he is responsible for building policy and advice, government and industry relationships and industry

supplier base development. Don is also a member of the CRC Governing Board and is Deputy Program Director,Program A: Business and Industry Development.

Guillermo Aranda-MenaDr Guillermo Aranda-Mena is a Research Fellow and Lecturer in the School of Property, Construction and Project

Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Guillermos research interests include workplacearchitecture, organisational psychology, Internet project collaboration, multimedia training technologies,interoperability in building modelling and e-business adoption in AEC/FM.

Carol ine BaileyCaroline Bailey is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Management, Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane, Australia. Caroline has trained and worked as organisational psychologist in Britain and Australia, in bothacademic and practitioner roles. She specialises in employee selection, performance management and development.

Nathaniel BavintonNathaniel Bavinton is a researcher in the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle,Australia. Nathaniels research focuses on the adoption of reflexive capabilities, internationalisation of Australian

construction design firms, sustainable e-business environments of construction supply chains and the role ofinvestment, exchange and accumulation of non-economic capital in international project performance.

Lorenzo BelliciniLorenzo Bellicini is a Professor of Urban Economics and Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture, Romes ThirdUniversity. Professor Bellicini is also a Technical Manager and member of the Board of Directors of Cresme, theleading research institute in Italy for the construction sector. He is Cresme's representative for the Euroconstructnetwork (19 research institutes specialising in economic analyses of the construction sector in Europe) and provides

consultancy services to the Municipality of Rome's Special Town Planning Scheme Service Directorate, StudiesDepartment of the Chamber of Deputies, Ministries and Regions and Municipalities. Professor Bellicini is also an

external member of the Istat (Italian National Statistical Institute) working group on the construction sector. Hisresearch interests focus on innovation in the Italian construction sector.

Herbert BiggsDr Herbert Biggs is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University ofTechnology, Brisbane, Australia. Herbert is also a senior research consultant to CARRS-Q and has an extensivebackground in organisational psychology and rehabilitation counselling. His research interests includeorganisational change, occupational stress, rehabilitation counselling, therapeutic models in the counselling process,

competency attainment in driving tasks, fatigue and vigilance in industrial settings and occupational health andsafety in the construction sector.

Zafer Bi ldaZafer Bilda is a doctorate student at the University of Sydney, Australia. Zafer is the recipient of an InternationalPostgraduate Research Award and a Fullbright scholarship. His research focuses on the role of sketching and mentalimagery in individual design process and design thinking in traditional/digital collaborative environments.

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Nick BlismasDr Nick Blismas is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Property, Construction and Project Management, at RMITUniversity, Melbourne, Australia. Nicks research interests include the multi-project nature and programmetypologies of the construction industry, off-site production in construction, the application of RAPID prototyping

and manufacturing technologies in the construction sector, occupational health and safety, knowledge managementand lean construction.

Fanny BoulaireFanny Boulaire is a Computer Programmer for the Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology division of theCSIRO. Fannys research has focused on ontology based demand support systems and their role in urbandevelopment.

Lionel BoxerDr Lionel Boxer is a Management Consultant for Intergon and sessional Lecturer and research fellow in the Centrefor Management Quality Research, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Lionels research interests include

consulting in productivity improvement, sustainability, quality management and leadership, conference and trainingplanning and coaching of managers in new roles.

Peter BoxhallPeter Boxhall is the Coordinator of the Australian Performance Based Building Network (Aus-PeBBu), within theManufacturing and Infrastructure Technology division of the CSIRO.

Lisa BradleyAssociate Professor Lisa Bradley is based in the School of Management, Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane, Australia. Lisas research focuses on employee selection, gender in the workplace, performance appraisal,

research methodology, workplace communication and work life balance.

Peter BrandonProfessor Peter Brandon is the Director of the Thinking Laboratory at the University of Salford, UK. He is also theDirector of Strategic Programmes in the School of Construction and Property Management, and University Orator.

Professor Brandon has played a significant role in UK Construction Research Policy and chairs the Ross PrioryGroup which includes all the major research organisations in the UK. He founded 'Construct IT', the UK NationalCentre for Construction IT (which won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education). Professor Brandons

research interests range from construction economics and management, information and knowledge-based systemsfor construction and sustainable development

Kerry BrownProfessor Kerry Brown is the Director of Research in the Faculty of Business, Queensland University ofTechnology, Brisbane Australia. Professor Browns research is concentrated in areas of change management,networks, work-life balance, gender and careers in the public sector, public management and policy, government-community relations and public sector employment relations. She is a member of the editorial board of the

International Journal of Small Business and Globalisation and the Queensland Editor of Public Administration

Today.

John BurgessJohn Burgess is the Director of the Employment Studies Centre at Newcastle Business School, University ofNewcastle, Australia. John is also an Associate Professor in the School of Business and Management, University of

Newcastle. His research interests include non-standard employment, gender and work, labour market policy andworkplace bargaining.

Craig CattellCraig Cattell is an Engineer for the Centre Fibre Composites Design and Development at the University of SouthernQueensland, Australia. Craig experience in the construction industry encompasses areas of structural analysis, FiniteElement analysis of fibre composite structures and materials and process development.

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Michael CharlesDr Michael Charles is a Lecturer in the School of Management, Queensland University of Technology, BrisbaneAustralia. Michael is involved in Program A of the CRC CI: Business and Industry Development. His researchinterests include public policy, contracted services, risk and crisis management, organisational change, construction

supply chains and history.

Agustin ChevezAgustin Chevez is a doctoral student at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and an Architect by trade. Hisresearch focuses on technological change and the built environment.

Dean CipollaDean Cipolla is the Group Safety Manager at John Holland Group, Melbourne, Australia. Deans research interestspertain to areas of occupational health and safety, construction site safety culture and the role of management inconstruction safety.

John CrawfordJohn Crawford is the Director of Allor Consulting. He has been employed as a Principal Scientist with the IntegratedDesign and Construction team at CSIRO Highett. John has also been heavily involved in several research projects

for the AEC design professions concerning On-Line Remote Construction Management (ORCM), High-bandwidthCollaborative Design, Wayfinding in the Built Environment and Parametric Modelling.

John DalrympleProfessor John Dalrymple is the Director of the Centre for Management Quality Research, RMIT University,Melbourne, Australia. His research concentrates of quality measurement, public and private sector comparisons,SMEs and international competitiveness.

Geert DewulfGeert Dewulf is a Professor of Planning and Development and Head of Department of Construction Managementand Engineering, University of Twente, Netherlands. Geert is the President of the Scientific Committee of

PSIBouw, the Dutch Rethinking Construction Consortium and a program leader of the Netherlands Research School

Integral Design of Structures. He is a member of various scientific advisory committees at Imperial College,Greenwich University, Sintef Norway, TSM Business School, and Helsinki University of Technology. ProfessorDewulfs research interests include interactive planning processes and participatory design management, publicprivate partnerships and corporate real estate management.

Lan DingDr Lan Ding is a Research Scientist for the CSIRO and a Project Leader for the CRC-CI. Her research expertise are

in the areas of automated code compliance checking, object-oriented database and rule base, building informationmodelling and IFC, virtual environment, multi-agent system application, evolutionary systems and artificial

intelligence in design and facilities management. In 2005, Lan was acknowledged as one of 16 Fresh Innovators.

Donald Dingsdag

Dr Don Dingsdag is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences. Don has extensive experience inoccupational health and safety, industrial relations and human resource management. He has conceptualised,developed and delivered over 80 OHS adult education and training modules across four universities in areas of OHSlaw, occupational health practice, safety management, risk assessment/management, auditing, and safety systems.Don works closely with the NSW Supreme and District Courts to conduct investigations, research and develop

expert witness reports for common law workplace injury and public injury claims and conduct factual investigationsfor plaintiff and defendant matters. Dons research focuses on operational management roles in the manufacturingand retailing sectors, OHS policy development, risk management and behavioural competencies and trainingstrategies in the coalmining, energy, construction and public transport industries.

Jim DoyleJim Doyle is a partner at Doyles Construction Lawyers. Jim specialises in advising and representing major players inthe engineering, construction and development industries. He is particularly interested in project structuring,

documentation and contract management. Jim is also a qualified and experienced engineer, economist and lawyer.

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Robin DrogemullerRobin Drogemuller is the Team Leader for the Integrated Design and Construction Systems team in the CSIRODivision of Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology. He is also the Director of the Information andCommunications Technology Platform for the CRC CI. Robin is a visiting professor at the University of Salford

(UK). Robins research interests include ontology based demand support systems, urban development, automatedcode checking, CAD and design systems.

Peter EdwardsPeter Edwards is an Associate Professor in the School of Property, Design and Project Management, RMITUniversity, Melbourne, Australia. He is also the Program Director for Construction Management. Peters researchfocuses on sustainable construction and client risk management perceptions and attitudes for decision making inconstruction projects.

Martin FischerMartin Fischer is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering within the Construction

Engineering and Management Program and Director of the Centre for Integrated Facility Engineering, University ofStanford, USA. He is also a visiting Professor to the School of Construction and Property Management, Universityof Salford, UK. Martin has been a leader in the application of building information modelling for design and

construction of facilities and has pioneered the application and further development of 4D modelling forconstructability improvement and construction planning and management.

Tim FlemingTim Fleming is the Health, Safety, Quality and Environmental Manager in the telecommunications and power

divisions of John Holland. Tim has over 15 years experience in the mining, construction and emergency servicefields. He is the leader of a project focussed on the implementation of one of the first Safety Case projects forcatastrophic risk management within the mining industry. Tim is also the project leader for the CRC CI SaferConstruction project and is a member of the John Holland National Fall Prevention Work Group. His researchinterests include safety in design, fall prevention and safety leadership.

Greg FolienteDr Greg Foliente is a Principal Research Scientist and joint science leader of the Urban Systems Integration

Capability at CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Greg is the coordinatorof CIB Working Commission W60 (Performance Concept in Building and Construction) and Program Director ofthe Australian Performance Based Building (Aus-PeBBu) Network (2003-2006) - linking Australian research andindustry with a parallel program in Europe. His research interests include construction innovation, sustainable

buildings and cities, infrastructure and asset management, risk and reliability analysis, service life prediction andscenario modelling. Greg has also been the recipient of numerous prestigious international research and fellowship

awards including the 1997 George Marra Award of Excellence (SWST, USA) and the 2003 James Croes Medal(American Society of Civil Engineers).

Craig FurneauxCraig Furneaux is a Research Fellow in the School of Management, Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane, Australia. Craig has extensive experience in building organisational capabilities, training, curriculum

design and development, and management consulting. More recently he has engaged in a number of researchprojects that analyse public policy, particularly the impact of public policy on organisations and industries. Craig is

also interested in research in economic sociology, organisational learning and networks.

John GeroJohn Gero is Professor of Design Science, Co-Director of the Key Centre for Design Computing and Cognition and

Associate Dean of Research at the University of Sydney, Australia. His research is concerned with situated designagents, computational models of creative design, visual reasoning, evolutionary systems in design and cognitivemodels of design. Professor Gero has also been the recipient of many excellence awards including the HarknessFellowship, two Fulbright Fellowships, two SRC Fellowships and various named chairs.

Figen Gul

Figen Gul is a doctoral student and Lecturer at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research interests includethe use of virtual-world technology in the construction industry, human design behaviour and collaborative design.

Figen is also a practicing architect who has designed many residential buildings in Sydney and overseas.

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Keith HampsonDr Keith Hampson is the CEO of the CRC for Construction Innovationwith responsibilities for crafting a blend ofcommercial and public good outcomes on behalf of industry, government and research centres across Australia. DrHampson retains expertise in the areas of innovation, strategic technology management, construction information

technology, construction project procurement strategies and advanced construction techniques.

Andreas HartmannAndreas Hartmann is an Associate Professor in the School of Construction Management and Engineering,University of Twente, Netherlands. In 2004, Andreas was awarded the Construction Management Award by theSwiss Federal Institute of Technology. His research interests include construction innovation patterns and processes,influences on construction innovation behaviour, intra and inter organisational solutions fostering innovations inconstruction, evolution of cooperation in construction, influences of social networks on cooperative behavior inconstruction, learning and cooperation, integrated solutions and sustainability, influences of integrated solutions on

building performance and organisational effectiveness and conditions of delivering integrated solutions.

George HeaneyGeorge Heaney is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Built Environment at the University of Ulster. His researchexpertise are in areas of construction management, facilities management and continuing professional development

in the built environment.

Da HuangDa Huang is a Composite Structures Engineer in the Pro Vice-Chancellors Office (Research) for Fibre CompositesDesign and Development at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. Das research focuses on innovationin fibre composites and its application to construction.

Yinghsiu HuangYinghsiu Huang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Digital Design, MingDao University, Taiwan.

Yinghsius research is focused on architecture, particularly virtual environments and collaborative processes.

Matthew Humphreys

Dr Matthew Humphreys is a Lecturer in the School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane, Australia. His research concentrates on fibre composites, advanced civil engineering and constructionmaterials, construction materials, structures, finite element analysis and sustainability

Delwyn JonesDelwyn Jones is the Principal Scientific Officer for Built Environment Research, Queensland Department of PublicWorks and Research Leader for the CRC CI. In 1997 and 1998, Delwyn won the prestigious Banksia Environment

Award and in 2000 was awarded the Australian Facilities Managers Association Research Award. Her researchcentres on supply chain eco-profiling.

Ar to KiviniemiProfessor Arto Kiviniemi is a chief research scientist of ICT for the Build Environment at the VTT Technical

Research Centre of Finland. Professor Kiviniemi leads the Building Informatics research team and is a member of aStrategic Technology Steering Group for Technologies in Community at VTT.

Helen LingardAssociate Professor Helen Lingard is based in the School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMITUniversity, Melbourne, Australia. Helen has been employed as an Area Occupational Health and Safety Adviser for

Costain Building and Civil Engineering (Hong Kong), during which time she worked on major infrastructureprojects, including the Hong Kong international airport and the Tsing Ma Bridge. Helen also has extensive researchand consulting experience in the fields of occupational health and safety and human resource management,specialising in the construction sector.

Kerry London

Kerry London is an Associate Professor and Postgraduate Director in the School of Architecture and BuiltEnvironment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Kerry is also the Director of the Centre for InterdisciplinaryBuilt Environment Research within the same university. She was recently awarded the Chartered Institute of

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Building (CIOB) award for research excellence for her research into supply chain economics. Kerrys researchexpertise also extend to design management, supply chain management and e-business.

Rohana MahbubRohana Mahbub is a doctoral student in the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Queensland Universityof Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Rohana has lectured at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia and has been an

active participant in the Canadian Government Scholarship and Fellowship Programme. Her research interestsinclude Construction Robotics, Building Automation and Assembly, Innovative Construction Methods andEducation in Construction.

Mary Lou MaherMary Lou Maher is a Professor of Design Computing in the Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition at theUniversity of Sydney, Australia. Professor Maher is co-director of the Key Centre of Design Computing and

Cognition and the Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Design Computing. She is part of the InformationVisualisation Group and the IMAGEN program at the National ICT Australia. Her research interests span a broadarea of design computing, specifically virtual environments and representation of design knowledge.

Karen Manley

Dr Karen Manley leads the BRITE Project for the CRC for Construction Innovation. Karen is also a SeniorResearch Fellow in the School of Urban Development, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.Her research interests centre on innovation in knowledge economies. Karen is an economist with over 10 yearsexperience as an academic and private consultant, specialising in the analysis of innovation and industry growth.

David MarchantDavid Marchant is the Global IT Manager for Woods Bagot. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor of Design

Computing in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney and a Board member of the International Alliancefor Interoperability (IAI) Australasian Chapter. David is a member of the Australian Standards IT6/1 Committee, ondata transfer standards, as well as a member of a number of ISO technical committees on digital informationstandards in building and construction. David is a practicing architect with more than 10 years experience in writingsoftware for the field.

Sheena McConvilleSheena McConville is the Acting Principal Policy Officer for the Building Policy Unit, Queensland Department ofPublic Works. Sheenas research interests are concentrated in the area of public policy.

Stephen McFallanStephen McFallan is a statistical and modelling researcher with the CSIRO Division of Manufacturing andInfrastructure Technology. His research interests include the sustainable built environment (TBL), the measurementof asset performance and construction innovation. Stephen has significant interest in the development of cost, time,quality and environmental impact measures for use through out the lifecycle of built assets.

Peter McLennanPeter McLennan is a Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Facilities Management at the Bartlett School of

Graduate Studies, University College London, UK. He is an external examiner to the MBA Construction and RealEstate course at the College of Estates Management in Reading and an independent consultant on facility planningand post occupancy evaluation.

Daniyal MianDaniyal Mian is a Senior Project Manager at Arup. He has a bachelor degree in electrical engineering and a mastersdegree in engineering management. Daniyal has extensive experience in design, estimation and project managementof electrical services for construction projects. He has worked in different capacities as a Senior Estimator and

Project Manager in Australia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Pakistan.

Thomas MillsThomas Mills is an Associate Professor of Building Construction at Virginia Tech University, USA. Thomas is a

registered architect who has worked with industry, the state of Virginia, and the federal government in the area ofprocess mapping and efforts to re-engineer current operational processes. He teaches construction-related courses in

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information technology, construction economics and cost management, principles and practices of construction,production process and planning, and a course in advanced construction techniques. He is also a member of theLeadership Committee for the Center for Innovation in Construction Safety and Health at Virginia Tech University.

Penelope MitchellDr Penelope Mitchell is a consultant with the CSIRO in the area of sustainability. Penelopes research interests

focus on sustainable architecture and life cycle assessments.

Adrian MoreyAdrian Morey is a Project Manager at Arup. Within this role, he leads the development and implementation ofproject risk and value management services across Australia. In the course of Adrians 18 years of project

experience, he has been managerially and technically responsible for the successful delivery of major projects andprograms in Australia, the UK, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Bangladesh, Bahrain and Spain.

Martina MurphyMartina Murphy is a Chartered Architect specialising in commercial new build work and the subsequent adoption ofnew technologies and concepts. Martina has worked in the UK, Europe and the Far East. She is the EducationCovenor for the Council of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects and is a representative council member for the

Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland. Martina is also a Lecturer in Design Technology at the School ofArchitecture, University of Ulster, UK.

David NessDr David Ness is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Natural and Built Environments, University of SouthAustralia. David is also a Project Manager with the Infrastructure Division of the South Australian Department forTransport, Energy and Infrastructure. David was the recipient of the 1996 National Asset Management Award.

Michael OBr ienMichael OBrien is a Professor of Building Construction at Virginia Tech University, USA. Professor OBriensresearch interests are concentrated in the development of software that instructs builders, architects and otherconstruction parties about the process of building safer structures.

Wei PengWei Peng is a PhD researcher in the Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition, University of Sydney. Weisresearch focuses on building computational models that enable design tools to learn by their use. His researchinterests include situated learning agents, computer-aided design tools, design optimisation, ICT and constructionprocesses, design decision support systems, machine learning, data mining and business intelligent systems. Wei isthe recipient of a CRC CI PhD scholarship and was awarded a prize for Best Scholars Paper at the 2006 CRC CIConference: Moving Ideas into Practice.

Srinath PereraDr Srinath Perera is a Lecturer in the School of Built Environment, University of Ulster, UK. Srinath is also theHonourary Secretary for the Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka. His research interests include technology,

sustainability, innovation and construction procurement.

Lam PhamLam Pham is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology and aFellow of the Institution of Engineers. He retired from the position of Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO at the endof 2005 and is now working as a Consultant and sessional Lecturer in Sustainable Construction at Swinburne

University of Technology. His current activities include the development of linkages with Asia, internationalharmonisation of codes and standards, performance-based criteria for building construction and ecologically

sustainable construction. He has been working in performance-based design and regulation for the last 10 years.

Janet PillayJanet Pillay is a Senior Research Officer on a CRC CI project titled Safer Construction. The project focuses on

improving health and safety performance in the Australian construction industry through the introduction of avoluntary code of practice for occupational health and safety. Janet also teaches in the School of Management,

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Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include public sector contractingout, networks and workplace health and safety.

Isabelle ReymenIsabelle Reymen is an Assistant Professor in Design Management in the Faculty of Engineering Technology,Department of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Twente. Isabelles research interests

include design structures and processes, innovation adoption processes, communication, and teams in constructionand uncertainty management.

Michael RosenmanDr Michael Rosenman is Senior Lecturer in the Key Centre of Design Computing and Cognition within theUniversity of Sydney, Australia. His research interests include knowledge-based design, product and conceptualmodelling, evolutionary systems in design, design creativity and collaborative design.

Neal RyanProfessor Neal Ryan is the Head of the School of Management at the Queensland University of Technology,Brisbane, Australia. He is also Director of Program A (Business and Industry Development) of the CRC CI.Professor Ryan has published extensively and has presented numerous papers in the areas of public policy,

organisational change, knowledge management, procurement and outsourcing, in addition to science and technologypolicy.

Rachel RyanRachel Ryan is a Journalist and Researcher who has worked in a range of print, radio and web outlets. Her mostrecent work has been on a CRC CI project titled Safer Construction. The project focuses on improving health andsafety in the Australian construction industry through the introduction of a voluntary code of practice foroccupational health and safety. Rachels research interests also include public policy and social and environmental

issues.

Alessia SalarisAlessia Salaris is based in the Technical Secretariat department at the CRESME Research Centre, Italy. Alessiaswork is currently focused on the governance of local territories.

Hans ScheversHans Schevers is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology division ofthe CSIRO. His research interests include urban development, integrated software systems, web ontology language,design systems and 3D modelling.

Peter ScuderiPeter Scuderi is the Development Manager for the CRC CI. Peter is a Board Director for the International Alliance

for Interoperability and was awarded the 2005 Project Management Achievement Award.

Vaughn Sheahan

Vaughn Sheahan is a Research Assistant on a CRC CI project titled Construction Site Safety Culture. The projectfocuses on developing a competency framework that provides a consistent basis for industry to begin to improve thecapability of key head contractor staff to drive safety improvements and a positive safety culture. Vaughns research

interests also focus broadly in the area of psychology.

Geoffrey ShenProfessor Geoffrey Shen is an active researcher in value management and related fields. He is a member of the

Institute of Value Management in the UK and a founding council member of the Hong Kong Institute of ValueManagement (HKIVM). He has been serving the HKIVM as the Secretary, Councillor, Editor, and Member of theExecutive Committee since its formation in 1995. As a certified Value Management Facilitator (List A) recognisedby the Hong Kong Government, he has professionally facilitated a large number of value management andpartnering workshops for a variety of large client organisations in both the public and private sectors in Hong Kong.Professor Shen is also the Vice-President of the China Association of Value Engineering and Vice-President of the

Value Engineering Institute of China Association for Tertiary Education.

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Dik SpekkinkDik Spekkink is the Managing Director of Spekkink Consultancy and Research, Woudrichem, the Netherlands. Heis an architect by trade. Diks research interests include quality management in building design and engineering,building process innovation, ICT policy in the building and infrastructure sectors (improvement of co-operation and

communication in the building process) and occupational safety and health coordination in design and construction.

Warren StaplesWarren Staples is a Researcher within the Centre for Management Quality Research, RMIT University, Australia.His research is concentrated in the area of service quality and corporate responsibility in call centres.

Andrew StranieriDr Andrew Stranieri is the Managing Director of JustSys Pty Ltd. Andrew is interested in developing web-basedsupport systems that model decision-making reasoning. He has over ten years experience in knowledge modelling

and management research.

David ThorpeDr David Thorpe is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Technology Management at the University of Southern

Queensland. His research interests include innovation and technology management, life cycle infrastructure

development and management, project and contract management and delivery processes and engineering education.David has also held various positions in Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Department of Main Roads.

Gerardo TrinidadDr Gerardo Trinidad is a Research Scientist in the Building, Construction and Engineering Department of the

CSIRO where he specialises in GIS and Databases. Gerardo is also a member of the CIB Taskforce for GISApplications.

Selwyn TuckerDr Selwyn Tucker is a Research Consultant and Leader in the area of Asset Performance and Sustainability in theManufacturing and Infrastructure Technology division of the CSIRO. He has extensive experience in researchleadership and development on a wide range of topics such as greenhouse efficient housing design, analysis of

embodied energy in construction and recycling of building material, energy and operation costs budget levels fornon-residential building, and development of performance indicators for building assets (including a nationalhousing stock condition indicator implemented in the Queensland Department of Housing). Selwyns current work

includes a whole-of-life analysis of infrastructure, sustainable construction, automatic eco-efficiency assessmenttool and construction process performance.

Gerard van ErpGerard van Erp is a Professor in fibre composites at the University of Southern Queensland. He is the ExecutiveDirector of Fibre Composites Design and Development (FCDD), a Centre of Excellence in Engineered FibreComposites at the same university. Professor van Erp is the Research Chair of Fibre Composites for the CompositesInstitute of Australia. He has been recognised as the 2002 IEAUST Queensland Professional Engineer of the Year

and has been awarded the National ATSE Clunies Ross Award for his outstanding contribution to science and its

application for the economic, social and environmental benefit to Australia.

Herman Jan van ReeHermen Jan van Ree is a Senior Research Fellow at the Workplace Innovation Centre at University College London.Dr van Ree is currently developing a model to assess and benchmark service delivery amongst real estateorganisations in addition to generating FM service quality indicators as a means to lower costs of service deliverywhilst simultaneously improving customer satisfaction. Hermen Jan has also worked as a Project Manager andResearcher at the Center for People and Buildings in the Netherlands and, as a Postgraduate Researcher at theCenter for Building Performance and Diagnostics in the United States.

Dajon VeldmanDajon Veldman is the Associate Director of International Urban Design, UrbisJHD, Australia. Dajons research isconcentrated in the field of urban development and design.

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Ron WakefieldProfessor Ron Wakefield is the Head of School in Property, Construction and Property Management at RMITUniverisity, Melbourne, Australia. Professor Wakefield is also the Director of Program C of the CRC CI: Deliveryand Management of Built Assets. His research interests include modelling of systems, simulation of engineering

systems and simulator development, use of operations, research techniques, automation, optimisation of constructionsystems, productivity improvement, project management and visualisation.

Phillipa WatsonPhillipa Watson is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania. Phillipas research examines sustainable housingfor equity and energy efficient outcomes. She has previously been employed as a Designer, an EnvironmentalDesign Consultant and most recently as an Environmental Scientist for CSIRO and the CRC CI, working on theirenvironmental impact assessment tool LCADesign.

Shane WestAssociate Professor Shane West is the Head of School of the Applied Technology Institute, Unitec, Auckland, New

Zealand. He has a research background in indoor environment, ventilation and daylighting with several patents andnew innovative product developments in these fields. Shane has contributed to the debate of making economicsustainability a key component of sustainable building assessment schemes. He is also a member of various design

advisory groups, both nationally and internationally.

Kristian WidnKristian Widn is currently working at the Division of Construction Management at Lund University. He is aDoctoral Student who is in the final stages of his thesis entitled "New Forms of Cooperation that Encourage

Innovation." Kristians research interests focus on issues concerning innovation in construction.

Ji Soo YoonJi Soo is a CRC CI doctoral candidate at the School of Architecture, Design Science and Planning, University ofSydney. His research is aimed at developing virtual guides to assist users to wayfind in dynamic virtual worlds.

George Zillante

George Zillante is an Associate Professor in the School of Natural and Built Environments, Division of InformationTechnology, Engineering and the Environment, University of South Australia. Georges research focus is in the areaof architecture, planning and building. He also chairs the State Government Building Advisory Committee and the

City of Campbelltown Development Assessment Panel. George is also a member of the Development PolicyAdvisory Committee for South Australia and is the Managing Director of a small consultancy.

Jian ZuoJian Zuo is a PhD candidate in the School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia. Jiansresearch focuses on project culture, innovation and construction clients.

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ForewordThis book has been sponsored by the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Construction Innovation.

Construction Innovation is a national research, development and implementation centre focused on theneeds of the property, design, construction and facilities management sectors. It develops and promotes best practice

project delivery, products, resources and services that can guide project teams towards the best procurementapproach for a specific project. Through research and development, the Australian property and construction

industry gains a better understanding of these principles and is better informed in tailoring its delivery of projects togreater alignment of value for all the stakeholders.

The objectives of the CRC are to: Enhance the contribution of long-term scientific and technological research and innovation to Australia's

sustainable economic and social development Enhance the collaboration between researchers, industry and government, and to improve efficiency in the use

of intellectual and research resources Create and commercially exploit tools, technologies and management systems to deliver innovative and

sustainable constructed assets to further the financial, environmental and social benefit to the constructionindustry and the community.

The mission of the CRC is to: Deliver tools, technologies and management systems that will improve the long-term effectiveness,

competitiveness and dynamics of a viable construction industry in the Australian and international contexts.This will be achieved through greater innovation in business processes, strengthened human relations andethical practices, and more effective interactions between industry and its clients

Drive healthy and sustainable constructed assets and optimise the environmental impact of built facilitiesthrough sound conceptual basis for economic, social and environmental accounting of the built environment,virtual building technology to examine performance prior to documentation, construction and use and assessinghuman health and productivity benefits of smart indoor environments

Deliver project value for stakeholders for the whole-of-life, from business need, design and construction,through to ownership, asset management and reuse through improved communication and use of knowledge,increased productivity and value, effective delivery and management of whole-of-life assets.

The strength of Construction Innovation lies in bringing together industry, government and research partnerscommitted to leading Australias property, design, construction and facilities management industry in collaborationand innovation. Across Australia, our CRC has secured the input of almost 400 individuals who are delivering realbenefits for our partners, the industry and our community. Together we are facing the challenge of implementingapplied research outcomes to improve business.

We trust Clients Driving Construction Innovation: Moving ideas into practice will provide you withpowerful evidence-based research to develop and extend your own ideas for sustaining innovation in the building

and construction industry. We commend this book to you.

Mr John McCarthyChair

CRC for Construction Innovation

Dr Keith Hampson

CEOCRC for Construction Innovation

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CIB Task Group 58:

Clients and Construction Innovation

The International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) provides for

international exchange and cooperation in research and innovation in building and construction. The scope of CIBcovers the technical, economic, environmental and organisational aspects of the built environment during all stagesof its life cycle (www.cibworld.nl).

Task Group 58 takes as its critical focus and starting point, innovation driven from a clients perspective.This standpoint explores innovation through a range of client-oriented approaches including interrogatingconstruction knowledge, networking and innovation competencies, devising innovation strategies that are highly

cognisant of the role and orientation of clients and improving take-up, communication and diffusion of existingclient innovations.

The objective is to identify opportunities and barriers to client-driven innovation and to capture ways inwhich client engagement, interactions and actions affect innovation systems and processes. The learnings from theresearch and collaboration of members within this group will extend insights into theoretical models of innovationand inform and improve practice outcomes in relation to the construction innovation process.

This Task Group provides opportunities to meet through special sessions at international conferences andthrough supporting a forum for the on-going collaborative enterprise of the Task Group. This edited book examiningthe role of clients in construction innovation is one of a series of deliverables to assist researchers and industry in

this important process.The coordinators of CIB TG58 are Dr Keith Hampson, CRC for Construction Innovation, Australia and

Professor Peter Brandon, University of Salford, UK. The working groups international activities are also supportedby Professor Kerry Brown, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.

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AcknowledgementsThe publication of this edited volume has been made possible by the efforts of researchers and staff of the

Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation, CIB Task Group 58 and the School of Management,Queensland University of Technology.

The School of Management situated within the Faculty of Business, Queensland University of Technologyhas generously supported the preparation and publication of this book through the provision of research assistanceand associated administration and management tasks.

The editors would like to especially thank Janet Pillay for her invaluable assistance in organising thesubmission of chapters, book layout, liaising with authors and for approaching her work with such good cheer and

professionalism.Special thanks also to Colleen Foelz and Carole Green, Communications Officer and Business Manager

respectively of the CRC for Construction Innovationfor their efforts in moving this publication forward in a timelyfashion. Peter Scuderi, Development Manager, Louise Adams, Special Projects Officer and Karen Guest,Conference Support Officer of Construction Innovationalso deserve special thanks for their efforts throughout 2006in coordinating the second international conference for the CRC CI, which formed the basis for this publication.

We are also grateful to the chapter contributors whose research forms the basis of this book.We trust that this book contributes to both theory and practice in understanding and promoting the

important role that clients play in construction innovation.

Kerry Brown, Keith Hampson and Peter Brandon

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Part 1Clients Driving Construction Innovation


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CHAPTER 1

Moving Ideas into Practice

Kerry BrownKeith Hampson

INTRODUCTIONTodays international business environment is becoming more competitive each day. The property and constructionindustry is no exception. The construction industry is a multi-faceted industrial sector as its operation ischaracterised by highly fragmented project activities and a wide range of large and small enterprises with varyinglevels of organisational and technological sophistication. Into this complex project-oriented environment is mixed aset of increasingly demanding clients (Barlow 2000). While clients comprise a key relationship in constructiondelivery teams, their role in the process of innovation, particularly in the project environment that includes diverseareas such as property, design construction and facilities management, is not well understood.

It is timely then, to examine the path of innovation and technological advance from the formation of the newidea to actual on-the-ground construction practice and to understand the role of the client in this process. Clients

Driving Construction Innovation: Moving ideas into practice provides a forum for world-leading industrypractitioners and researchers creating the edge in this highly competitive environment to share the results of theirresearch and innovation.

Moving Ideas into Practicebrings together research on clients, designers, constructors and facility managersto focus on delivering cutting-edge research in constructed facilities. It showcases technologies and practicesdeveloped by internationally-renowned practitioners and researchers, and it presents advanced applications ofapplied research for improving industry practice.

MOVING IDEAS INTO PRACTICEMoving Ideas into Practicecanvasses the ways in which ideas are formulated as a precursor to the development ofconstruction-related technologies and industry practices and has a clear focus on advancing the uptake of applied

research to improve construction industry practice and performance. In order to improve industry performance it isimperative to focus on moving ideas into practice thus highlighting key elements of implementing appliedresearch and targeted training. The research studies presented in this edited volume were drawn from internationaland national experts working in the areas of construction technology, management and innovation. Each chapterincluded in this volume was subjected to double-blind peer review of the chapter proposal at the abstract stage anddouble-blind peer review of the completed chapter by experts in the various fields within construction includingengineering, building technology, policy and management.

While the construction sector is a well-established and significant economic sector, it has not fared well ininnovative capacity or output (Seaden and Manseau 2001). In examining the reasons for the poor performancerelating to construction invention, Nam and Tatum (1995) identify construction as suffering from low levels oftechnology adoption, a paucity of innovation and a poor innovation culture. In this way, research identifying barriersand enablers to the shift from ideas to practice establish a rich source of information and provide a sound knowledge

base from which to proceed with developing innovative practice. By taking as its focus the ideas in the construction

arena making their way into the practice of construction firms and other industry stakeholders, this book confrontsthese problems from a new perspective.

STRUCTURE OF THE BOOKThemes identified and examined in detail in this book cover selected areas deemed key contributing factors toensuring clients involved in the innovation process allow a move from ideas generation to implementing those ideasinto practice. Aspects such as: the ways to meet the needs and requirements and, consequently, the aspirations ofclients in order to create innovative practice the role of clients in the construction continuum from procurement andsupply to project completion adoption and use of information and communication technology (ICT) and theongoing management of the facility, are all important considerations. However, the broader regulatory, policy andconstruction industry context in areas such as health and safety, and sustainability and industry development, arealso of consideration in this research.

The book is structured according to nine key themes in investigating the role of construction clients inbringing ideas to fruition. It is divided into ten parts that move across significant issues in the areas of forging newinsights into construction innovation through clients and their role in developing initiatives and implementing these


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new approaches into the construction industry. Each part is introduced by a keynote chapter that sets the scene forthat part and focuses on the large concerns in the specific themes identified.

Part 1: Clients driving construction innovationPart 1 examines the key role of the client in driving innovation in the construction industry. Chapter 2, PeterBrandons keynote chapter, challenges the notion that the clients financial strength is the most important aspect for

fostering and initiating innovation in the construction industry. The chapter unpacks the complex transactions thatmay occur in innovating firms and teams. It cautions that relying on a single large client to facilitate research anddevelopment on a scale that is required for industry-wide innovation is too narrow a conceptualisation of the role ofclients driving innovation. There needs to be greater acknowledgement of the need for a diversity of players and thecollaboration of stakeholders including government, building users, and clusters of contractors and firms within theconstruction industry.

Part 2: Meeting client needsThe second part of the book suggests ways of meeting client requirements and, at the same time, driving innovation.The keynote chapter by Mills, Wakefield and OBrien (Chapter 4) draws on lessons from an innovative buildingconstruction program in the US to demonstrate that research lessons from housing can be translated into a tool fordeveloping innovative processes for better building techniques. The research extracts innovative practices and

processes from industry experts, advisors and builders in large and small firms and then the researchers analyse the

results in order to determine innovative elements and flow these back as useable information to government andbuilding firms to guide future practice.

Part 3: Procurement and risk managementPart 3 focuses on the procurement process from both a policy and methods viewpoint. It investigates ways ofensuring better processes for procuring goods and services, and sets of different procurement policy and decision-making frameworks. The key chapter by Jim Doyle (Chapter 7) provides an overview of the features of theAustralian construction industry and examines how design and construct contracts may be tailored to achieve

better outcomes for all parties.

Part 4: Information and communication technologies improving efficienciesThe fourth part of the book concentrates on the ways in which information and communication technologies (ICTs)

can create greater efficiencies within the construction sector. The chapter contributed by Ding, Drogemuller,Rosenman, Marchant and Gero (Chapter 13) provides insights into the way that ICT can assist with the complicatedtask of checking that construction projects meet the plethora of legislative requirements in the construction industry.

Part 5: Performance-based buildingAspects of performance-based building (PBB) are examined in Part 5. The focus of PBB is on the outcomes of

building performance achieved through elements of processes, products and services. In Chapter 19, the keynotechapter by Greg Foliente, PBB is examined through the efforts to create a global standard of building performance.Foliente brings together research and policy with particular emphasis on the evidence from the European Union todevelop a Research and Development roadmap and vision for performance building.

Part 6: Construction health and safetyHealth and safety issues in the construction industry remain major concerns for regulators, policy-makers and those

working within construction organisations. Chapter 23, by Biggs, Sheahan, Dingsdag and Cipolla examines ways todevelop a safety culture. The authors focus on understanding how to create a construction site in which safety is

paramount through safety culture competency planning. They suggest that safety competency is made up ofleadership behaviours, safety attitudes and beliefs, interpersonal communication skills, and safety knowledge, andfurther that these elements in combination form the basis for safety culture.

Part 7: Facilities managementThe issues addressed in Part 7, facilities management (FM), range from identifying emerging FM frameworks to FMquality measurement to the impact of FM on architecture. The keynote chapter by Bellicini and Saleris explores theevolution of FM in Italy and allows a comparative perspective of FM both over time and internationally. Thischapter (Chapter 28) outlines the shift to integrated FM and details how this approach is facilitated by preciseevaluation criteria and highly specified outsourcing contracts together with a strengthening of human resourcecompetencies.


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Part 8: Industry developmentThe context in which the construction operates is also an important factor in the ability of the sector to innovate, andthis aspect is examined in Part 8. The public sector may be included as a construction client as it is uniquely placedto influence other actors and, as such, enacts laws and implements policies that affect the operation and performanceof the sector. In Chapter 31, keynote authors Ryan, Charles and Hampson explore the issues confrontinggovernment as a client within the construction industry and test whether the industry development objectives can be

achieved through public policy efforts to promote collaboration in the construction industry. Industry developmenthas an important influencing role on the shape and progress of the construction sector in the areas of technologytransfer and facilitating the adoption of new processes such as e-business and robotics.

Part 9: Sustainable construction for the futureExpansion of the construction industry will significantly add to the global ecological burden through carbonemission, landfill waste and energy consumption. In addition, the life expectancy of existing buildings and/or thecostly maintenance and restoration of iconic buildings require a different approach to construction. In Part 9 MartinFisher explores the future of building in his keynote chapter (Chapter 38) and suggests that integrated processestogether with sophisticated computer modelling and visualisation will establish greater efficiency and sustainabilityin building the constructed landscape.

The book concludes with a summary and analysis of the key lessons from each of the themes and offers someconcluding comments on the challenges for the future.

CONCLUSIONThe research presented in this edited volume both explores the role of clients in various aspects of existinginnovation in the construction and property sector and discusses implications for future practice. It thus paves theway for the possibility of developing a comprehensive knowledge base and extending the productive capacity of thissector. The key themes offer a comprehensive set of evidence-based considerations for moving from the generationof ideas to practical application in the construction sector.

REFERENCESBarlow, J. 2000. Innovation and learning in complex offshore construction projects. Research Policy, 29: 973989.

Nam, C. H. and C. B. Tatum. 1997. Leaders and champions for construction innovation.Construction Managementand Economics, 15: 259270.

Seaden, G. and A. Manseau. 2001. Public policy and construction innovation. Building Research & Information,29(3): 182196.


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CHAPTER 2

Should Clients Drive Innovation?

Mind, Method and MotivationPeter Brandon

INTRODUCTIONIn recent years there has been a growing chorus from all quarters which suggests that the client is the person whocan drive innovation within the construction industry. It has been said so often that it has become a kind of mantraand is barely challenged as a concept. The thinking behind such an assertion is that clients have the financial muscleto make things happen and they can instruct their professional colleagues to act in a certain way. For such a view totake hold there must be more than a grain of truth in the argument but closer inspection reveals a much morecomplex issue than just the financial power to enable innovation to happen.

A number of questions need to be asked alongside the assertion. For example: Why isnt it to theparticipants advantage to seek innovation in their own field and increase their competitiveness? At face value it is,but then why should it need a third party, the client, to make it happen? Another question that can be asked is:Does the client have sufficient expertise to be able to know where innovation is required, what the innovationshould be and how it can be implemented? This raises the question of who the client is when we make such astatement. Do we mean the person, or CEO of the organisation, or do we extend our view of the client to the wholeof the internal organisation? Or further still do we include the professional advisers who act as agents for a projector series of projects? The ability to innovate requires a certain level of knowledge which may not reside in anindividual or single firm but may require an aggregated base of knowledge for innovation to happen.

This might be exemplified by the following diagram which shows the potential for innovation by a client.The variables chosen are two critical ones, namely the degree of complexity of the project and the knowledge andexperience of the client dealing with that kind of project.

Figure 2.1: Potential for Major Innovation by the Client

Figure 2.1 suggests that low experience or knowledge results in a low level of potential innovation whether it is lowor high complexity. It also suggests that the scope for innovation is low even when the complexity is low andexperience is high because the need for innovation may have been reduced. This is open to question when a majortechnology appears and, for example, changes the whole process. It is in the high complexity and high experience

quarter that the potential is increased mainly because the need is often increased and the knowledge is available toknow what needs to be done. These views would probably hold true if clients and their professional agents acting ontheir behalf are also included. There seems to be a necessity to innovate, which is at the root of the potential to drive


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new methods and approaches. It does raise the question of why the professionals do not encourage innovationunless called upon to do so by the client. Partly this must be due to the climate of litigation in the constructionindustry which drives professionals to seek refuge in what is well known. Partly it is because of the pressure which

professionals are under to do their work and the opportunity for reflection is often lost.Another issue is the degree of fragmentation of the industry resulting in a loss of corporate responsibility for

improvement. Often the major potential for innovation arises from a change by all the parties involved and it is not

in the power or in the interest of one individual or firm to change the process to achieve a major breakthrough. Thisis potentially where clients can have an impact if they have the knowledge to be able to address the problem. Theproblem lies in the changes to the structure of the industry developed to cope with increasing complexity ofconstruction projects. Three centuries ago the designer/engineer was responsible for creation and building of the

product. As the work became more sophisticated and financial procedures more complex there has been a higherdegree of fragmentation of the process with specialists taking independent roles within the design/manufacturing

process. The result has been an explosion of management to cope with the complexity of the interfaces betweenthem (Brandon 2005) but in addition it appears to have created more difficulty in getting the project team ofconsultants to undertake corporate innovation. At the heart of this problem is the lack of shared knowledge created

by the interfaces.

MINDOne dictionary definition of mind is: Consciousness considered as residing in the human brain, manifestedespecially in thought, perception, feeling, will, memory, or imagination (The Universal Dictionary 1987).

It can be argued that for any activity that involves innovation the mind must be at the centre of the process.The manifestations above are all critical to any creative or innovative process. All are engaged in translating anexisting situation into a new and improved one. The concepts ofthought, perception, feelingand memoryprovide acontext within which the change can take place. They provide the roots of understanding and knowledge eitherindividually or collectively which means that we do not have to start from first principles every time we trysomething new. On the other hand the willdrives us to do something which is new and provides the motivation forchange, and imagination allows us to think beyond what exists to something which might be. The mind is the

powerful tool by which we progress.For innovation to thrive there must be knowledge which is backed up by intelligent thought, perception of

what is needed, a feeling drawn from experience or instinct and a memory which provides discernment of what isuseful and what is not. Knowledge is at the root and the following discussion addresses the knowledge aspects andits management for innovation.

The knowledge issueKnowledge based innovation is the super star of entrepreneurship. It gets the publicity. It gets the money. It iswhat people normally mean when they talk of innovation (Drucker 1985, 75).

The traditional management activity is supported by a wealth of knowledge and when there are manyspecialisms engaged then it is a major part of the management process to ensure that the transfer of knowledge andits maintenance within the project is undertaken in an effective and efficient manner. Knowledge is at the heart ofthe integration and understanding of the management process. One of the problems in the traditional constructionindustry has been the gradual entropy in the integrity and completeness of knowledge through the development

process leading to clashes between design proposals, litigation among participants and lack of an information legacyfor future analysis resulting in a breakdown of understanding of intent and a record of what happened. This in turncreates an environment in which the desire to go outside the current norms of behaviour (even if the benefits can be

seen) is not encouraged.For example, a thin and simplified slice through the tendering and cost control process reveals a number of

interfaces:


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Figure 2. 2: Knowledge Transfer and Enhancement Through the Design/Manufacture Process

K

The Client Archite ct QS ContractorSupplier/

Subcont.

Site

worker

Requirements Design Estimate Bid Tender

Interprets

Clients

Requirements

Interprets

design and

expands Interprets

design, BQ& market and

expands

As for QS

Interprets,

modifies and

builds

KK KKK K K

Labour

Plant

material

etc

Figure 2.2 shows just a few of the hundreds of interfaces that occur in such a process. At each stage the person orfunction which is next in line interprets what has gone before and then, because of their particular knowledge andskill, will enhance the information available and use it for their own purposes of communicating to the person nextin line. At each abstraction from one person to the next there is selectivity in what is carried forward and thereforethere is a breakdown in the knowledge transfer. There is also an aspect of adaptation in the knowledge asinformation is added or changed to aid the next step in the process. Some knowledge is lost, some is gained. Inorder to understand the scope of what is being communicated, regulations have been developed such as the StandardMethod of Measurement or Standard Building Contract, to make clear, up to a point, what has been done. It is also a

process engaging several media including visual, textual and physical modelling each of which has strengths andweaknesses. At the start, the knowledge about objectives and strategic aims is strong, whereas at the end it is theknowledge about detailed construction or manufacture which is dominant and the original intent and objectives arelost in the detail.

For clients to drive innovation this creates a problem. Clients ability to innovate does not extend across thewhole of the process only for those they appoint directly and therefore on which they can impose an innovativeview. At the same time the initial knowledge degrades through the process in terms of concept and upgrades interms of detailed design. Where can innovation be expected from the client in such a process? If knowledge is a keyfeature then it is likely to be in the strategic thinking and process and not in the design detailing or materials. Theincentive for innovation at the detailed level still rests with the firm undertaking the manufacture or assembly andthis is what gives them a potential competitive edge.

For many years the process has been honed to suit the limitations of human brains and limbs. Because wecannot assimilate masses of detailed information we use simplified models because we cannot compute quickly weuse rules of thumb and limit the number of items we measure because we find the information complex we simplifyand allow for this in our contract documents. This process of simplification and limited transfer of knowledge is atthe root of the growth in management as a discipline. Someone has to organise, control and check that there iscompliance and communication, and that there is assessment of the consequences. To aid the management function

process, models have been created (Process Protocol 1995) which are well established and sometimes standardisedfor the industry. However, it is also at the root of the lack of innovation. The processes are fragmented but also themodels we use are accepted by tradition, however weak they may be, and a degree of fossilisation is created aseveryone knows where they stand. Dont rock the boat! The client has to address this inertia if a climate ofinnovation is to be encouraged.


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Knowledge at the root of the innovationThe above discussion has indicated that it is knowledge (often gained through experience) which allows the client to

be proactive in driving innovation. Part of this gaining of knowledge will relate to the way in which the clientscapture, analyse and implement future knowledge and this leads to issues of knowledge management.

As you might expect with a subject which is still in its infancy, the understanding of knowledge managementhas changed over the past twenty years. Snowden (2002) identifies three ages of knowledge management. These

he suggests are: First age (prior to 1995): Information for decision support where the focus is on the appropriate structuring and

flow of information to decision-makers and the computerisation of major business applications leading to atechnology-enabled revolution dominated by the perceived efficiencies of process engineering. However, thisage stuttered to an end when organisations recognised that they might have achieved efficiencies at the costof effectiveness. For example, they had laid off people with experience and natural talents of which they had

been unaware and these attributes were lost to the organisation. Second age (after 1995): The popularisation of the SECI model (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995), with its focus on

the movement of knowledge between tacit and explicit knowledge states through the four processes ofsocialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation. Previously Polanyi (1974) had seen tacit andexplicit knowledge as different but inseparable aspects of knowledge, the de facto use of the SECI model wasdualistic, rather than dialectical. The work of Nonaka and Takeuchi was seeking to contrast a claimed Japaneseidea of oneness with a rational, analytical and Cartesian western tradition within the context of innovation in

manufacturing processes where tacit knowledge is rendered explicit to the degree necessary to enable thatprocess to take place.It did not follow that all the knowledge in the designers heads should or could have beenmade explicit.

Third age (emerging): It appears that some of the basic concepts underpinning knowledge management arebeing challenged to a point where we grow beyond managing knowledge as a thing to also managingknowledge as a flow. This is based on three heuristics namely: Knowledge can only be volunteered it cannotbe conscripted we can always know more than we can tell and we will always tell more than we can writedown and we only know what we need to know when we need to know it. It is recognition of the limitations ofthe second stage but not the abandonment of its practice. (To take an example of a contract, it tries to convey anappropriate level of knowledge to satisfy the agreement between the parties. However, it is also clear fromlitigation that the knowledge contained in the contract documents is not complete and can sometimes bechallenged in the courts. We can never demand or capture all the knowledge in the minds of the participants sowe allow practice and rules and regulations to determine our understanding of what was intended. It is never

complete.)

Increasingly, academics and others are seeing the importance of context to the process of knowledge managementand this raises the issue of culture (Snowden 2002). By recognising the situation in which knowledge is used anddisseminated and how that impacts on both the knowledge delivered and the process chosen, a more fundamentalunderstanding of what is involved in knowledge management and its complexity begins to be addressed.

In fact, as already stated, it is the complexity of the problem which underlies most of the problems found inthe construction industry. A bespoke artefact, built on a unique site in a unique location with a virtual design andconstruction team which is geographically separated, and with major interfaces between specialised knowledge, is

bound to create difficulties. For many years it is remarkable that this has been able to be managed largely throughthe knowledge in the minds of the personnel involved and in their representations in terms of physical models, 2Ddimensional drawings, and text. However, the knowledge that human beings bring to problems can be severelyunderestimated. Simple examples include our ability to call on our life experience to interpret a political cartoon or

an obtuse advertisement. We look at a page and we determine that it is conveying a message. We call upon ourknowledge of communication to interpret the knowledge either by text or visual representation and we analyse it tomake sense. We may have to call on our knowledge of history or current affairs to establish what the particularcontext and meaning of the message is likely to be. We then connect with our sense of justice or the humancondition and we may then activate our muscles and smile or laugh. This suggests it has real meaning for us. It is avast array of knowledge which we take for granted until some malfunction of the brain occurs.

The clients knowledgeIn the context of this chapter we are concerned about the knowledge a client or the client organisation can bring tothe problem of creating new structures or refurbishment of existing structures. We have already discussed the likelydegradation of knowledge of the client as the information being handled becomes more detailed. This suggests thatthe innovation opportunity for clients is more likely to be at the strategic and conceptual level. They are not likely to

be seeking innovation in the design and fixing of the ironmongery! However, they may be interested in the generalperformance of the ironmongery and the way it is procured within the context of the procedures adopted for thewhole project.


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What is it possible to expect a client to know and be able to engage or at least provide the climate for innovation?Two examples might allow us to explore this issue. The first arises from the experience of John Egan when ChiefExecutive of British Airports Authority, and the second is from the experience of Frank Gehry and Partners whoworked with their clients to create an environment of innovation which allowed the type of building requested bythe client to be built.

The BAA example is quite interesting as it was initially driven by Sir John Egan who came from a product

manufacturing plant, Jaguar Cars, to a development authority (BAA the largest Airport Company in the world)and found that the process re-engineering that had been undertaken in the car and other manufacturing sectors overthe past twenty years had completely bypassed the construction industry. The industry was still operating in a waythat a developer of a century ago might recognise. The supply chains were unnecessarily long, the industry was rifewith litigation and the information technology revolution had made little impact. With a highly competent team ofinformed and knowledgeable individuals he addressed the improvement in process which had made such anadvancement elsewhere. The opportunity arose with the construction of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, London, a3.75bn construction program with many buildings which could provide the basis for some experimentation ininnovation. It included the restructuring of airport delivery into seven major teams, rationalisation of the supplychain from many hundreds to around 270 in the first instance, with the intention of driving it down still further, andthe use of 3D visualisation and information models to improve the flow and quality of information and to improve

business to business processes. The latter was introduced because early experience of office building had identifiedmajor extra costs relating to:

lack of spatial coordination poor appreciation of manufacturing and construction tolerances poor management of data, drawings and documents poor management of information flow.

To introduce the 3D modelling, several stages were introduced including establishing data standards, preparation ofthe 3D model integrity, and managing the distribution of information. The benefits from the 3D modelling wereclaimed to be in the order of 10% of the contract sum by avoiding costly reworking and delays. However, the

benefits were in excess of this and included the benefits of visualisation in management and construction as well asgeneral communication, automatic generation of quantities of materials, legacy information on the building as built,and planning, construction-related and specialist contractor coordination through linkage of the model toconstruction management software. Similar advantages have been demonstrated in other buildings such as the SwireBuilding on Westlands Road, Hong Kong.

In terms of industry a large number of leading firms are now using such technologies to enable them toundertake projects which would be almost impossible without them. Perhaps the leader in the field, largely becauseof the nature and complexity of the design and materials used, was the firm of the leading architect Frank Gehry inthe United States. Gehry wanted to combine his skills as sculptor/designer with the new materials that were comingon t

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BOOK Moving Ideas Into Practice 2006