For the better part of a decade, we’ve watched AEC firms and real estate owners and developers pluck business practices, technology, and talent from the tech and manufacturing industries—digital workflows, automation, innovation competitions, hackathons, maker culture, Lean operations, technologies like predictive analytics, AI, and immersive reality.
AEC “outsiders” hold prominent positions in large firms, with titles like Chief Data Officer and Chief Innovation Officer. Firms are angel investors, startup backers, and purveyors of custom-built software tools and tech platforms. They are exploring real-world applications for nascent technologies like digital twin, blockchain, and haptics for VR. They are backing or launching increasingly sophisticated offsite construction enterprises.
Indeed, the nation’s leading design and construction firms have embraced innovation culture in a big way—whether through formal structured processes or departments (still rare in our market), or an R&D “tinker” approach (much more common).
As firms begin to adopt the practices and mindset of Silicon Valley tech and advanced manufacturing, it’s fair to ask: Are all of these innovation projects and initiatives working? More to the point: Does your firm track the success rate of its innovation projects?
If you do, and your success rate is 50% or greater, guess what? You are faring much better than many of the tech firms that we collectively hold up on a pedestal as leading innovators. A new survey, conducted by Oracle, of more than 5,000 decision makers across 24 markets in software development and cloud solutions found that less than half of innovation projects ever make it to market. And it is the biggest firms (workforces up to 50,000) and the fastest-growing companies that struggle the most.
Survey respondents cited a host of reasons for the less-than-ideal “hit rate” on innovation projects: poor processes, lack of focus, absentee leadership, an over-commitment on the number of innovation projects, and an insufficient commitment from the business.
Another glaring issue: a lack of clear ownership. Executives (48%) and IT (46%) were identified as the most common owners of projects, but a variety of other functions were identified as champions in near-equal proportions, between 35% and 41%, according to the survey.
“Employees will always be a critical factor in any innovation program, but they need an effective and supporting culture of innovation to be successful,” said Neil Sholay, Oracle’s VP of Innovation. “This starts with a clear vision from leaders and the prioritization and funding of chosen projects.”
While the Oracle report is somewhat of an apples-and-oranges comparison to AEC, the survey findings demonstrate that even the most finely tuned organizations struggle to innovate.
Download the key takeaways of Oracle’s “Having a Successful Innovation Agenda” report at: tinyurl.com/yxathbeg.
Related Stories
| Oct 20, 2013
What you missed at BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland
Not able to attend the inaugural BUILDINGChicago/Greening the Heartland conference and expo this week? Don't worry. The BD+C editorial team has you covered.
| Oct 18, 2013
Meet the winners of BD+C's $5,000 Vision U40 Competition
Fifteen teams competed last week in the first annual Vision U40 Competition at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco. Here are the five winning teams, including the $3,000 grand prize honorees.
| Oct 15, 2013
Sustainable design trends in windows, doors and door hardware [AIA course]
Architects and fenestration experts are looking for windows and doors for their projects that emphasize speed to the project site, a fair price, resilient and sustainable performance, and no callbacks.
| Oct 7, 2013
10 award-winning metal building projects
The FDNY Fireboat Firehouse in New York and the Cirrus Logic Building in Austin, Texas, are among nine projects named winners of the 2013 Chairman’s Award by the Metal Construction Association for outstanding design and construction.
| Sep 24, 2013
8 grand green roofs (and walls)
A dramatic interior green wall at Drexel University and a massive, 4.4-acre vegetated roof at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center in Kansas City are among the projects honored in the 2013 Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence.
| Sep 20, 2013
Perimeter roof edge: The first line of defense in a wind event [AIA course]
Aside from the roof membrane itself, the perimeter roof edge is the most critical component of the roofing system. As such, it warrants more scrutiny when designing a roof system.
| Sep 19, 2013
What we can learn from the world’s greenest buildings
Renowned green building author, Jerry Yudelson, offers five valuable lessons for designers, contractors, and building owners, based on a study of 55 high-performance projects from around the world.
| Sep 19, 2013
Roof renovation tips: Making the choice between overlayment and tear-off
When embarking upon a roofing renovation project, one of the first decisions for the Building Team is whether to tear off and replace the existing roof or to overlay the new roof right on top of the old one. Roofing experts offer guidance on making this assessment.
| Sep 19, 2013
BIM 2.0 and Google Glass: Science fiction or coming attractions for a job site near you?
Todd Wynne of Rogers-O’Brien Construction is one of only 8,000 people around the globe granted a pair of Google Glass for testing. Here's what he's been up to with the technology.
| Sep 17, 2013
World's first 'invisible' tower planned in South Korea
The 1,476-foot-tall structure will showcase Korean cloaking technology that utilizes an LED façade fitted with optical cameras that will display the landscape directly behind the building, thus making it invisible.
