When the chips (and profits) are down, innovation steps up.
Across the Australian construction and engineering environment, that is exactly the hand being played.
Scaffolding and form work organisations are stepping up with a more professional approach as regulators and industry bodies demand a sharper, more compliant commitment to projects.
Scaffolding industry provider Bill Hutton, of FortisEM, said although an industry code of practice was brought into play in 2009, it was only now it was being more adequately policed.
Mr Hutton said as a whole the industry had seen a “big step up” during the past decade, with higher expectations of project submissions and tenders.
“The setting is changing,” he said.
“The scaffolding industry is maturing and we are seeing a far more professional approach to the way companies are tendering, their commitment to safety and the ways we are seeing innovation come to the fore.”
Bigger picture, Australian Diversified Engineering managing director Clive Gray said strong profits in the mining industry of late had impacted the broader industry landscape, with impacts on how businesses operated.
He said businesses in the mining and construction sectors needed to get smart about their operations, stating the sustainable business changes seen as a necessity in periods of downturn could be adopted with a view to longer term benefits.
“Complex and difficult operational issues in mining, can be tackled and solved with innovative solutions,” Mr Gray said.
“The way businesses operate should always focus on the innovative solutions for business problems that will continue to result in a profit.
Mr Gray said the adoption of innovative products to current work procedures is paramount in order to tackle one of the key challenges faced by mining operators in the industry – operational stability.
“The most effective way to ensure operational stability is to reduce the variability in operational processes, which can be achieved by implementing out-of-the box initiatives but the slow adoption, and willing uptake of these continues to be the downfall of companies looking to solve operational concerns,” he said.
“Those in the industry need to rethink how equipment and technology are used; from automation to data analytics and processing, companies that integrate innovative solutions to their current processes will see enhancements in safety, lower costs and increased productivity.”
With the mining and earthmoving industry seeking innovation to help increase productivity, ADE are leading the way in global innovation, developing unique products that improve efficiencies, productivity and safety, and aid in reducing costs for those in the mining and earthmoving industry.
