Recommendations for Business

The BRITE 2004 Innovation Survey report makes 10 recommendations for property and construction businesses wishing to improve their innovation performance:

 

1)	Enhance in-house skills by providing training programs and employing new graduates, rather than relying on recruiting experienced employees.
2)	Use more innovations to reduce clients’ costs.
3)	Actively monitor developments internationally, and in related industries.
4)	Have formal systems to (i) include lessons from previous projects in work processes and (ii) encourage staff to share ideas.
5)	Formally evaluate the effectiveness of advanced technologies and practices.
6)	Invest in Research & Development, possibly using the R&D Tax Concession and/or Australian Research Council Linkage Grants to subsidise costs.
7)	Increase links with universities and other research institutions.
8)	Implement a broader range of the technology, knowledge and human resources strategies below.
9)	Consult more of the sources of ideas on innovation below.
10)	Implement a broader range of the advanced practices below.

 

Recommendation 8 - Technology, knowledge and human resources strategies

Technology strategies

• enhancing your business's technical capabilities;
• introducing new technologies;
• investing in research and development (R&D);
• participating in the development of industry standards and practices; and
• protecting your business's intellectual property.

Knowledge strategies

• we have robust relationships with key organisations in the industry;
• we actively monitor international best practice in our field;
• we actively monitor advances in related industries that might be applicable to our business;
• we have a formal system for transferring project learnings into our continuous business processes;
• when we make changes, we measure how well the changes have worked;
• we reward staff for maintaining networking linkages with strategically useful industry participants; and
• we have a formal system to encourage staff to share ideas.

Human Resource strategies

• actively encouraging your employees to seek out improvements and share ideas;
• recruiting experienced employees;
• recruiting new graduates;
• participating in apprenticeship programs;
• providing or supporting training programs for your employees; and
• use of multi-skilled teams.

Recommendation 9 - Sources of Ideas on Innovation

• in-house staff;
• professional or trade associations;
• conferences/workshops;
• previous projects;
• clients or customers;
• journals/magazines;
• suppliers;
• technical support providers;
• competitors;
• consultants;
• overseas sources;
• research institutions;
• trade contractors; and
• main contractors.

Recommendation 10 - Advanced Practices

Organisational practices

• long-term collaborative arrangements with other businesses;
• quality certification (eg ISO 9000);
• staff training budget;
• written evaluation of new ideas in order to develop options for your business;
• documentation of technological/organisational improvements developed by your business; and
• written strategic plan.

Computerised practices

• computer networks (LAN or WAN);
• web site;
• computerised systems for estimating, inventory control, modelling, asset analysis, project management, etc;
• 3-D CAD;
• computerised asset analysis (eg. HDM4);
• computerised project management;
• digital photography;
• office-to-site video links or video conferencing;
• on-line-remote-construction-management; and
• intelligent systems.

Contracts practices

• alliance contracts;
• risk-sharing/performance-incentive contracts;
• design and construct contracts;
• design/build/fund/operate (DBFO) contracts or public-private partnerships (PPPs);
• managing contractor; and
• partnering on projects, or other relationship forms of contract.