Stephen Good: Innovation is change that unlocks new value

Construction Scotland Innovation Centre's Hamilton facility opens its doors in September. Picture: Contributed

If you’re a business leader, chances are you’ve engaged in the topic. You’ll have read a few articles, maybe attended a conference or two, and held some internal “how do we do more innovation” workshops with your team.

I would not be surprised, however, if the word “innovation” leaves you wanting to throw your smartphone at your smart TV. We often have a tendency to overcomplicate or fear things which we feel we should be doing, but are not quite sure how to approach. Innovation is one of them.

Stephen Good, CEO of Construction Scotland Innovation Centre. Picture: Allan Shedlock

As leader of one of Scotland’s eight innovation centres, I’m aware my sentiment might seem somewhat ironic. But after two years of connecting industry and academia to initiate innovation projects, it’s clear that businesses often “don’t do innovation” because they associate it with risk, uncertainty and cost. The irony of course, in the fast-paced, global world we live in, is that the real risk more likely lies in doing nothing.

So how to define innovation? For me, it is change that unlocks new value. It can be simple improvements to existing processes or the development of entirely new products. It can be evolutionary or revolutionary. By its very nature, innovation should bring about improvements in cost, time or production complexity. In an economy that is reliant on increasing productivity for growth, it is also essential. So how do you innovate? Here are some simple approaches.

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Firstly, look at your people and how you can support them better or give them authority to do their jobs in new ways. People innovate, so ask your team to come up with better solutions to daily challenges. Where opportunity allows, bring in diverse talent.

We recently recruited for six posts and purposely chose a mix of talent who didn’t all have a conventional construction background, individuals with creativity, passion, enthusiasm, intelligence and transferable skills who could bring fresh perspectives. Six weeks in, the team is coming together beautifully.

Secondly, get involved. Collaboration is the bedrock of innovation. In Scotland we are fortunate to have a rich support ecosystem, with organisations such as Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Interface and the eight innovation centres working together to support industry-led innovation. Costs to businesses for accessing support are affordable and flexible, sometimes even entirely free.

From September, the construction industry will have access to CSIC’s state-of-the art prototyping and training facility – The Innovation Factory – at Hamilton International Technology Park. With 35,000 square feet of prototyping and training space, £1.5 million of cutting edge equipment and a calendar of workshops, live projects, training and networking events to encourage cross-industry collaboration, this new hub builds on the growing demand for somewhere industry can “make innovation” as well as “talk innovation”.

Finally, try new ideas. We’re walking the walk with this, in our summer internship programme. Two University of Glasgow students, Josh and Luis, are with us for a 12-week project, applying their knowledge of robotics and augmented reality in a construction context.

Working with leading technology and ambitious construction companies, the outcomes of their work will be open to industry and academia to help drive the change that will unlock new value as the construction industry embraces a digital future. So, although we are indeed using the clichéd robot to innovate, it doesn’t need to be that technical. If in doubt, engage your team, and start.

• Stephen Good is chief executive of Construction Scotland Innovation Centre

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