Innovation and research has somewhat eluded the Canadian construction industry as a whole and Pierre Boucher looks forward to creating a culture shift in these areas as the founding president of Canadian Construction Innovations (CCInnovations).
"I think the time has come for us to take the lead role," he said.
"In the past people had to find a way to become more productive, to create new ways of doing things, but now they have somewhere to look to and say ‘we have this challenge, we need to address it, can you help?’ They’ll have a voice and we will be able to help out."
CCInnovations is an industry-led initiative created after the federal government shifted its approach to research funding, saying industry needs to lead the way.
"We see things changing at a pace and in a way never seen before because the world is getting smaller; globalization and international competition is seen now in Canada. People come in with different ways of doing things and perhaps have access to systemic processes in their own countries to adopt technology and a faster pace, so it creates a new environment in which the industry has to respond to," he said.
Boucher noted that there have been past attempts from Canadian Construction Association (CCA) members to push the innovation agenda. Also, CCA’s recent industry summit identified research and innovation as a top priority. The industry’s challenges that could benefit from research and innovation cover a broad spectrum, including, productivity, profitability, globalization and procurement models.
Boucher has worked for the CCA for over 20 years, most recently as its chief operating officer. He also played a lead role in establishing the Institute for BIM in Canada (IBC).
"When you spend 20 years in this construction industry at the CCA level and have an opportunity to mingle with the quality people that you see around the table and there’s all kinds of discussions — whether it’s procurement challenges, HR issue, all the way to technological challenges and so on — you learn so much that I thought I’d put that to use in a more pragmatic way," he said.
Boucher has always been interested in new products and innovations and jumped at the opportunity to be able to be a part of CCInnovations.
"I’ve always been amazed to see new products, new processes, new design," he said. "Over the years, whether it was the first electronic plansroom, the invent of the Internet, the BIM Institute, it’s been a passion for me."
Defence Construction Canada (DCC) was the first owner support of CCInnovations, highlighting an important relationship as the industry evolves.
"Over the past couple of years Public Works and DCC have said in their view, owners expect more for the money they spend in construction and they want more," said Boucher.
He pointed to the possibility of changing procurement processes, adopting technologies and getting rid of silos as examples of what owners could expect from the industry as it undergoes this culture change.
"It’s by achieving little things one at a time that you achieve big things and that’s what we intend to do. You start small, but by doing the right things one at a time, I think we’ll yield some successes," he said.
As industry brings forward challenges that could benefit from research and innovation, CCInnovations will bring together networks of expertise inside and outside of the industry and tap into various resources to respond to the need.
"As we develop those networks, as we develop those relationships and connect with the industry at a level perhaps never seen before. It will not take too long before we are able to identify some key projects where we will be able to enable some level of research to be commercialized in the industry."
CCInnovations will continue to grow with Boucher at the helm and the organization expects to be more visible to the public starting this fall.
Boucher started his position Aug. 4.
Follow Kelly Lapointe on Twitter @DCNKelly.
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