Technology transfer in construction: Learning from the manufacturing industry

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.