Across the Table: Innovation

Innovation in North American laboratory infrastructure/furniture needs a jump start. Science and research methods continue to evolve, but laboratory infrastructure/furniture doesn’t. Lab planners ask me why there isn’t more innovation. The answer is construction in North America is typically a commodity market. We say other things matter, but we still make decisions based on price.  Innovators don’t get rewarded. 

If a manufacturer innovates, they take it to lab planners. If a lab planner likes it, they may specify it.  Often, they will also approve two “or equal” products to ensure three bidders. Except the “or equal” products are not equal! Those two companies do not have the R&D and marketing expenses necessary for innovation, so their costs are lower and their products don’t do what the innovative product does.  One of those other two companies will be low on bid day and the client won’t benefit from the innovation. That’s the lesson North American manufacturers have learned – it doesn’t pay to innovate when specifiers only care about price.

For innovation, lab planners currently look to Europe. There, manufacturers service customer projects directly. The manufacturer is closer to the customer and more responsive to evolving customer needs, as the lab science evolves. Manufacturers innovate per direct customer requests. At the Achema conference in Frankfurt, there were many products and features in laboratory infrastructure/furniture not available in North America but developed as a direct result of customers requesting those products or features.

The European business model is service-based because the manufacturer is closer to the customer.  It is important to deliver products on time to the job site, to fix shortage/breakage issues expeditiously, and to respond to innovation requests. As long as they provide good service (e.g., good and timely product installation, assistance in designing labs), the customer will typically always buy from the same manufacturer, even for bid/tender projects, because they value the service provided.  The manufacturer realizes if they don’t develop the requested new features, they risk losing the customer not just for a single project but likely for life because their competitors also provide excellent service.

Public construction projects here have purchasing rules focused on low prices. Typically, though, there is an exception in those rules for new/patented items as long as there are measurable benefits to the owner. The challenge is that many specifiers don’t learn the rules that allow them to use new, innovative items. This stifles manufacturer innovation.

Importing innovations is one solution to provide new laboratory infrastructure/furniture support for customers. Jump-starting innovation in North America is another. One way to encourage innovation is to reward innovators with proprietary specifications. Another is to recognize them. Unfortunately, there are no award systems with which to recognize innovations. Perhaps it is time to recognize innovators much as we have long recognized sustainable manufacturers. Perhaps a publication or trade association connected to laboratory infrastructure/furniture will create a recognition system or competition to bring innovation back to the North American laboratory market.

Dave can be reached at dwithee@alum.mit.edu or 920-737-8477.

All opinions expressed in Across The Table with Dave Withee are exclusive to the author and are not reflective of Lab Design News.