Building Innovation

In order to deliver value, maintain competitiveness and remain profitable, construction professionals need to develop their capabilities for managing innovation and technical change. This new book presents a rich historical framework for understanding how to manage contemporary changes. It starts in the Machine Age, showing how a sophisticated set of industries and design processes have evolved to work with new materials, components and systems, culminating in the experiences and skills needed to integrate systems in the Digital Age. The book compares approaches and draws lessons from Europe, Japan and North America. It addresses the role of government policies and professional institutions in supporting innovative approaches aimed at improving performance in construction. It concludes with lessons for the management of technology and innovations in project based firms, assessing skills and forms of business organisations needed to compete in today's dynamic markets.