ideas*

Entries and case studies tagged with “innovation”:

Viewing entries (that's blogs, case studies and pages) tagged with “innovation”:

13 April, 2010 ideas* Engineering Awards September marked an important month for ideas* with the two projects entered in the 2009 Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards both receiving awards. The diversity of the projects entered reflects the broad experience base we bring to our client’s projects.The Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards are a prestigious showcase of leading edge, innovative engineering projects and products being developed and delivered by Victorian engineers. To view the 2009 Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards Booklet click hereAlex Fraser Group – Construction Material Recycling PlantThe first of the winning entries was a concrete recycling plant designed by ideas* for Alex Fraser Group. The project received a High Commendation in the category of Industrial Development and Manufacturing.Working collaboratively with the Alex Fraser Group project and production teams, ideas* provided the engineering and detail design for their new state of the art Construction Material Recycling Facility. Located in Laverton, the plant is capable of processing up to 600 tonnes per hour of concrete and other building materials.The facility now leads the world in construction material recycling efficiency, helping Alex Fraser Group achieve their target of recycling 40 million tonnes of waste by 2014 and saving the CO₂ gas equivalent of taking 46,000 cars off the road for one year.To view the Alex Fraser Group case study click hereFuture SparkThe second of the winning entries was Future Spark which received a Chairman’s Recognition Award. The Future Spark project was inspired by an unsuccessful overseas attempt to power a rock concert by human effort alone. ideas* undertook research and development, design and construction of a mobile facility for generating electricity by human effort. The Futurespark trailer was then used to power the 2009 Earth Hour Concert at Federation Square, Melbourne.The scope of work undertaken by ideas* also included the event planning, marketing and public management required to recruit cyclists for the event. The trailer is now used as an interactive educational tool at schools across Melbourne, teaching kids the value of the energy they use on a day to day basis.To view the Future Spark case study click here
28 March, 2010 ideas* and Leadership Thanks to all those who turned out to hear me speak at Engineers Australia’s 2010 Engineering Expo held at the Exhibition Centre.I had been asked to give my thoughts on Leadership and outline some of the initiatives we have undertaken at ideas*. It was a good opportunity to step back and review what we are doing. What my experience has continually reinforced is that most organisations have fundamental barriers to innovation, and that combining efficiency with innovation is inherently difficult.Our most important role as leaders is removing these obstacles, setting up appropriate structures that allow us to be innovative and efficient and enabling change to happen.
4 February, 2010 Linchpin - Engineering and Artistry Although key agents of change engineers generally keep a low profile, does Seth Godin have the answer with his latest book Linchpin?Engineers and businesses are not surprisingly incredibly risk adverse. Employees are generally punished for failures and rewarded for consistent (yet mundane) work and attention to detail. Not exactly conducive to bold innovation. Businesses spend an inordinate amount of time limiting accountability and risk. Projects get divided up between the client, architect, structural engineer, detailer, manufacturer, installer and project manager with strict boundaries between each. Again not an ideal environment for collaboration and innovation.The businesses who will succeed in the future are those that can overcome these structural limitations. Critical will be the ability to combine systematic, left brain thinking with creative and social skills. Change will not come from following established methodologies inside industry standard structures. Although traditional engineering tools will remain important, we need to connect and engage across traditional boundaries, embrace artistry and be proactive.Most importantly we must acknowledge our ingrained resistance to stuffing up, to being laughed at by others. This is what prevents us from standing out and doing truly meaningful work.
25 January, 2010 Innovation Elasticity Why are some companies better able to develop innovative products and business models while the majority remain stuck in the pack. At do_matic Ryan Jacoby raises the concept of innovation elasticity, how far companies are willing or able to stretch across any of their business dimensions.“At some point during an innovation project you ought to wake up in the middle of the night, eyes wide open, screaming into the void: “We’re thinking of doing what?”“Although scary to you and your neighbors, this is a great moment. If you aren’t waking up in the middle of the night, you might not be pushing hard enough. The trick is to embrace that fluttering feeling and to understand the situation. If you don’t, you risk incrementalizing or even killing some really great ideas.”Unfortunately most Australian companies appear structured around risk minimisation rather than innovation.
28 October, 2009 Future Farming As an engineer who was raised on a Dairy Farm this article appeals to me. From Wired Science;Self-Steered Tractors and UAVs: Future Farming Is (Finally) Now.
22 October, 2009 CAD and Disruptive Innovation The engineering design process has evolved rapidly as new technology has evolved from drawing boards to electronic drawings to 3D modelling and digital prototyping.What we have recognised in our evolution is that the power of 3D modelling can actually inhibit the design process, especially during the creative stages of the process. While we are heavy users of 3D software (in particular Autodesk Inventor) we have taken a step back with our conceptual work and use a number of ‘lower end tools’ such as Google Sketchup and AutoCAD LT along with our pens and notepads more suitable to free form thinking.So it was with interest that this morning I saw the release of Project Cooper from Autodesk, a light easy to use 2D sketching tool. It appears that the CAD marketplace is experiencing Clayton Christensen’s idea of ‘disruptive innovation’ where a product fulfills an unsatisfied market demand where consumers don’t require the full feature set or performance of currently avaliable products.
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Last updated 31st March 08

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