Ismail, F; Ruikar, K D; Carrillo, P and Anumba, C J (2009) Technology transfer in construction: Learning from the manufacturing industry. In: Dainty, A R J (ed.) Proceedings of 25th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2009, Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
The construction industry has adopted several techniques from the manufacturing industry; these include lean production and just-in-time delivery methods. This demonstrates learning between industries which may be extended to the area of technology transfer. The opportunities for learning from manufacturing s technology transfer practices are based on the constant transfer of new and partially developed technologies from outside the firm into the product development process and the shared characteristics between the industries. The research described in this paper aims to investigate the approaches to technology transfer in the manufacturing sector that may be applicable to multi-national construction projects. A series of detailed semi-structured interviews with four large manufacturing companies in the UK was conducted. The results suggest that manufacturing and construction have similarity in terms of the drivers for technology transfer and the process of transferring technology. The construction technology being transferred highlight significant similarity within two companies. The transferred technology includes the methods, resources and work tasks. Possible lessons that can be learnt from manufacturing include the development of technology transfer goal, conducting resource planning and development of a transfer programme.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; learning; manufacturing; technology transfer |
| Index terms: | construction technology, technology transfer, resource planning, construction industry, just-in-time, construction project, programme, lean production, manufacturing industry, delivery method, interview, product development process |
| Subjects: | delivery method, project controls, lean logistics, industry analysis, manufacturing engineering, production management, knowledge management, resource management, data collection methods, digital engineering, innovation studies |
| Topics: | Procurement, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Site Management, Time Control, Supply Chain Management, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here