Construction companies are increasingly being challenged to transfer and use new technology. However, little investigation has been undertaken on technology transfer from the perspective of the small construction company. A contribution to this underdeveloped area is based on results from an interview survey of seven small UK construction companies. The results stress that the technology which small construction companies tend to transfer more successfully is that which can contribute to the business in a quick, tangible fashion, and which can fit into existing organizational capabilities. Any technology that is too far removed from this ‘comfort zone’ is seen to require too much investment and to contain too much risk, and thus tends to be intuitively and swiftly sifted out. This is in marked contrast to the relevant literature that depicts large companies operating in more complex networks, drawing upon them for new tacit and explicit technologies that support more long-term, formal technology strategies, and which often complement some form of specialized internal research and development capability. The implication for policy is that any technology transfer initiatives need to appreciate and actively manage the different motivations and capabilities of small and large construction companies to absorb and use new technology. Les entreprises de construction sont de plus en plus appelées à résoudre des questions de transfert et d'utilisation de technologies nouvelles. En revanche, on s'est peu intéressé au point de vue des petites entreprises de ce secteur sur les transferts de technologies. Cette contribution à ce secteur peu développé repose sur les résultats d'une enquête menée en Grande Bretagne auprès de sept petites entreprises de construction. Il en ressort que les technologies que les petites entreprises ont tendance à transférer le mieux sont celles qui peuvent contribuer au développement rapide et tangible des affaires et qui peuvent s'intégrer dans une structure organisationnelle existante. Toute technologie qui s'écarte de trop de cette ‘zone de confort’ est considérée comme nécessitant un investissement trop lourd et présenter trop de risques et a donc tendance à être intuitivement et rapidement mise à l'écart. Cette constatation est en complète opposition avec la littérature qui décrit de grandes entreprises opérant dans le cadre de réseaux plus complexes, attirant vers elles de nouvelles technologies tacites et explicites, compatibles avec des stratégies technologiques officielles à plus long terme et qui, souvent, complètent des formes de recherche interne spécialisée et de capacité de développement. L'implication politique est que toute initiative de transfert de technologie nécessite d'évaluer et de gérer activement les différentes motivations et capacités des petites et grandes entreprises de construction dans leur aptitude à absorber et utiliser de nouvelles technologies.

Findings were drawn from an 18 month research project involving in‐depth case study and action research fieldwork with seven small construction companies to understand the role and significance of innovation for them. A key finding of the work has been the importance of the role of effective technology transfer in the innovation process. The “organizational factors of innovation” model is presented as an analytical and prescriptive tool to assist small construction firms to understand better and manage the technology transfer process. The utility and application of the model is illustrated with a case study.

The UK national health sector has been receiving the praise of many countries and it was used as the framework for delivering healthcare internationally. However, in the last few years it has failed to meet the expectations and performance standards as they are perceived by the healthcare stakeholders in a number of fronts. Recently, the UK government has announced major investments in all areas of healthcare delivery from medical and healthcare services to significant changes in the way infrastructure projects are procured, managed and maintained. This paper introduces the vision for delivering the healthcare of the future in relation to the built and human environment. In particular it introduces a major programme, which is currently underway at the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation (SCRI) in the built and human environment, at the University of Salford. In particular the programme is looking to provide a multidimensional consideration of all issues relating to delivering healthcare. Finally, an implementation/change process is introduced on how such changes can take place in a consistent and appropriate manner.

Research and innovation in the built environment is increasingly taking on an inter-disciplinary nature. The built environment industry and professional practice have long adopted multi and interdisciplinary practices. The application of IT in Construction is moving beyond the automation and replication of discrete mono and multi-disciplinary tasks to replicate and model the improved interdisciplinary processes of modem design and construction practice. A major long-term research project underway at the University of Salford seeks to develop IT modelling capability to support the design of buildings and facilities that are buildable, maintainable, operable, sustainable, accessible, and have properties of acoustic, thermal and business support performance that are of a high standard. Such an IT modelling tool has been the dream of the research community for a long time. Recent advances in technology are beginning to make such a modelling tool feasible.Some of the key problems with its further research and development, and with its ultimate implementation, will be the challenges of multiple research and built environment stakeholders sharing a common vision, language and sense of trust. This paper explores these challenges as a set of research issues that underpin the development of appropriate technology to support realisable advances in construction process improvements.

The construction sector is under growing pressure to increase productivity and improve quality, most notably in reports by Latham (1994, Constructing the Team, HMSO, London) and Egan (1998, Rethinking Construction, HMSO, London). A major problem for construction companies is the lack of project predictability. One method of increasing predictability and delivering increased customer value is through the systematic management of construction processes. However, the industry has no methodological mechanism to assess process capability and prioritise process improvements. Standardized Process Improvement for Construction Enterprises (SPICE) is a research project that is attempting to develop a stepwise process improvement framework for the construction industry, utilizing experience from the software industry, and in particular the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which has resulted in significant productivity improvements in the software industry. This paper introduces SPICE concepts and presents the results from two case studies conducted on design and build projects. These studies have provided further in‐sight into the relevance and accuracy of the framework, as well as its value for the construction sector.

The construction industry has witnessed serious efforts in the last few years through the consideration of the adoption of new procurement systems and production/manufacturing philosophies. However, process maps which can help organisations map their processes into some meaningful structure are still lacking. The product (building) is still the main focus in construction. In the manufacturing industry, most large organisations have process maps which can assist them in ensuring the delivery of products on time, within budget and to the right quality while capturing the best process practices. In construction, there had been some efforts to devise process maps such as the RIBA plan of work in the UK. This paper presents a process map based on principles used in the manufacturing industry. Knowledge was elicited from experts through a series of workshops and case studies. The results of some of these case studies, which have been used to assess the practicality of implementing this process map on real life projects, are presented. Finally, the IT required to support and enable the effective implementation of the process map is briefly described.