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
| Jul 11, 2013
Lawsuit challenges modular apartment project in New York City
A plan to build pre-fab apartment buildings at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been challenged by a lawsuit filed by the Plumbing Foundation in Manhattan Supreme Court.
| Jul 10, 2013
World's best new skyscrapers [slideshow]
The Bow in Calgary and CCTV Headquarters in Beijing are among the world's best new high-rise projects, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
High-rise Construction | Jul 9, 2013
5 innovations in high-rise building design
KONE's carbon-fiber hoisting technology and the Broad Group's prefab construction process are among the breakthroughs named 2013 Innovation Award winners by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
Sponsored | | Jun 30, 2013
Get your 'Early Bird' entry in for BD+C 30th Annual Reconstruction Awards
The deadline is for BD+C's 30th Annual Reconstruction Awards is July 19, but if you get me a draft of your entry by July 12 (earlier if possible, please!), we'll read it and give you feedback and suggestions that could help you win. We'll give you enough time to rework your entry in time to meet the deadline. We do this "Early Bird" service to help you put together the best possible entry - one that will answer any questions our distinguished jury members may come up with. However, we must emphasize that the BD+C Reconstruction Awards program is a juried competition, so there are no guarantees you'll win. We're just trying to improve your odds. Building Design+Construction is the only publication in its field to recognize the importance of reconstruction in all its forms - historic preservation, adaptive reuse, renovation, fitouts, and reconstruction with addition. And we've been doing it for 30 years. Incidentally, reconstruction accounts for 30-35% of all revenue for AEC firms, so it's a key component of the US/Canada design and construction industry. Send your draft entry to: rcassidy@sgcmail.com. And good luck!
| Jun 28, 2013
Calculating the ROI of building enclosure commissioning
A researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory calls building enclosure commissioning “the single-most cost-effective strategy for reducing energy, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings today.”
| Jun 28, 2013
A brief history of windows in America
Historic window experts from Hoffmann Architects look back at the origin of windows in the U.S.
| Jun 28, 2013
Building owners cite BIM/VDC as 'most exciting trend' in facilities management, says Mortenson report
A recent survey of more than 60 building owners and facility management professionals by Mortenson Construction shows that BIM/VDC is top of mind among owner professionals.
| Jun 27, 2013
Thermal, solar control designs can impact cooling loads by 200%, heating loads by 30%
Underestimating thermal bridging can greatly undermine a building’s performance contributing to heating load variances of up to 30% and cooling load variances of up to 200%, says the MMM Group.
| Jun 20, 2013
Virtual meetings enhance design of University at Buffalo Medical School
HOK designers in New York, St. Louis and Atlanta are using virtual meetings with their University at Buffalo (UB) client team to improve the design process for UB’s new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
| Jun 14, 2013
Purdue, industry partners test light steel framing for seismic safety
A partnership of leading earthquake engineering researchers from top U.S. and Canadian universities and design professionals from the steel industry have begun the final phase of a three-year project to increase the seismic safety of buildings that use lightweight cold-formed steel for their primary beams and columns.
