The 90’s saw significant change in the design and construction industry with the widespread adoption of computer aided design and methods of construction that are now commonplace..
The point is that scale is a complex but critical issue if you are concerned with multiple factors – profitability, economic agility, sustainability, system reliability.We cannot just keep doing what we have always done or following over-simplistic thinking.
The technological advances of the last 50 years have allowed us to be able to model scenarios from millisecond by millisecond to decade by decade.This allows us to control processes at both ends of the scale – from an oil refinery to a micro robot.This is a time when we need to learn from nature and think hard about scale..
Going back to the rise of mammals or Homo sapiens, a change in scale is an adaptation to a transforming environment.This is arguably exactly where we are today with industrialisation – the ground is shifting quickly, fissures are opening up, lethal challenge and paths to opportunity are open to us like they were to our ancestors in the Rift Valley.
We need to be at the right scale to survive and prosper.. More in my next Blog….
Professor John Dyson spent more than 25 years at GlaxoSmithKline, eventually ending his career as VP, Head of Capital Strategy and Design, where he focussed on developing a long-term strategic approach to asset management..An effective master plan gives the client clarity, understanding and tools for improvement.. A Design to Value master plan is not simply a design, or a set of drawings or visuals for a site.
It is a means to understand current processes and activities, and plan for their development in what may be a changing and unpredictable environment, with multiple stakeholders and agendas..The very process of creating such a plan – gathering all the relevant information and data and presenting it back to clients in a structured way – is in itself a highly productive exercise, allowing people to pull back from the detail of day-to-day operations, and take a more holistic view of what they are doing.
Many activities, processes and sites develop organically over time, meaning that the big picture can become confused or even lost altogether.Agreeing what needs to be done can be a challenge in itself, as it can be hard even to know where to start.. Design to Value master planning is a highly collaborative process, customised to the client’s specific situation and requirements, which aims to create sufficient understanding from which to decide what, how and when to improve – and why.
(Editor: Affordable Lamps)