Message
to the National Seminar on Global Trends in Concrete-Steel Composite
Structures Design and Construction, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
The
Business of Civil Engineering
Dr.
Amartya Kumar Bhattacharya
BCE
(Hons.) ( Jadavpur ), MTech ( Civil ) ( IIT Kharagpur ), PhD ( Civil
) ( IIT Kharagpur ), Cert.MTERM ( AIT Bangkok ), CEng(I), FIE,
FACCE(I), FISH, FIWRS, FIPHE, FIAH, FAE, MIGS, MIGS – Kolkata
Chapter, MIGS – Chennai Chapter, MISTE, MAHI, MISCA, MIAHS, MISTAM,
MNSFMFP, MIIBE, MICI, MIEES, MCITP, MISRS, MISRMTT, MAGGS, MCSI,
MIAENG, MMBSI, MBMSM
Chairman
and Managing Director,
MultiSpectra
Consultants,
23,
Biplabi Ambika Chakraborty Sarani,
Kolkata
– 700029, West Bengal, INDIA.
Vice
President (East),
Association
of Consulting Civil Engineers (India).
E-mail:
dramartyakumar@gmail.com
Website:
www.multispectraconsultants.com
The
concept of design and construction of concrete-steel composite
structures is not too innovative. We have the concept of steel
I-sections encased in concrete being used as beams under special
circumstances. However, mixing concrete elements and steel elements
innovatively to form a structure is still ongoing process and new
ideas are being implemented routinely. In a sense, there is no end to
this sort of innovation and however much new concepts might be
implemented, there is always scope for further innovation.
Since
the ongoing innovation in mixed concrete and steel structures falls
under under the ambit of innovation, let us look a little closely at
the concepts of innovation within the overall ambit of innovation in
the business of Civil Engineering. We start by looking at the sources
of innovation. Only sources of innovation relevant to the business of
Civil Engineering are considered herein.
A.
Source: Incongruities.
1.
Incongruous Economic Realities;
2.
The Incongruity between Reality and the Assumptions about It;
3.
The Incongruity between Perceived and Actual Customer Values and
Expectations.
B.
Source: Process Need.
Successful
Innovations based on Process Needs require five basic criteria:
-
A self-contained process;
-
One 'weak' or 'missing' link;
-
A clear definition of the objective;
-
A clear specification for the solution;
-
Widespread realisation that 'there ought to be a better way', that
is, high receptivity.
C.
Source: New Knowledge.
The
Primary Characteristic of Knowledge-Based Innovation is that it has
the Longest Lead Time of All Innovations. Knowledge-Based Innovation
Requires
1.
Careful Analysis of All the Necessary Factors;
2.
Clear Focus on the Strategic Position;
3.
Need to Practice Entrepreneurial Management.
Certainly
1.
Innovation is Work;
2.
To Succeed, Innovators must Build on their Strengths;
3.
Innovation has an Effect on Economy and Society.
Finally,
Strategy is an Innovation when it creates a Customer by
1.
Creating Utility;
2.
Pricing - particularly relevant to the business of Civil Engineering;
3.
Adaptation to the Customer's Social and Economic Reality;
4.
Delivering What Represents True Value to the Customer -again, this is
particularly relevant to the business of Civil Engineering.
Innovative
development implies development in a manner that is well thought-out,
that does not harm the environment, that can be sustained without the
need to radically alter the development strategy due to insufficient
thought-input during the process of formulating the development
strategy and that is marked by wisdom in chalking out all steps of
the development process.
In
this context, the theme of this seminar - National Seminar on Global
Trends in Concrete-Steel Composite Structures Design and Construction
- is apt.
I
wish the National Seminar on Global Trends in Concrete-Steel
Composite Structures Design and Construction all success.
©
MultiSpectra Consultants, 2019.
