Buro Happold is an open-learning organisation that attaches a great deal of importance to gaining and sharing knowledge. Lessons learnt from projects, conferences and professional meetings are disseminated through in-house presentations, talks and site visits, as well as through the company’s intranet.
At all levels we encourage debate and discussion, making Buro Happold a stimulating ideas factory where we continually improve on what we do.
Central to the practice’s body of knowledge is the Design and Technology Board (DTB), which was set up in 2004 to nurture and develop our intellectual assets in terms of product, design and service development.
The DTB delivers this by providing guidance and leadership for a number of implementation vehicles:
Discipline Development Groups – which are discipline specific and perform the task of supporting knowledge sharing within and across disciplines.
RDI – Research, Development and Innovation, the practice’s research effort.
Market sector groups – which develop an understanding of key drivers
Regional groups – which develop local knowledge.
The DTB also manages a series of Director Design Reviews of the work being undertaken by each group. This process gives senior staff the opportunity to give valuable input to design projects and ensures that the quality of our work continues to meet the aspirations and needs of our clients, utilising, whenever possible, the latest technology.
Buro Happold holds an annual Group Leader Convention which aims to inform senior managers of strategic developments within the business. It is an opportunity for the most senior tiers of the business to take time out together and provides a platform for the sharing of views and ideas.
We adopt a continual improvement cycle to ensure that we constantly learn from our experience. Close-out interviews and internal debriefs are held when projects complete and information shared amongst teams. We also value and act upon the results of customer feedback sessions, which are another regular feature in the learning process. Each is considered an essential element to the improvement cycle.
Information technology, through our intranet called Magellan, is an important tool for the rapid dissemination of intelligence based data and easy access to it. Magellan offers design guides, project information, relationship management, details of new initiatives, productivity tools and training. Office libraries also offer a source of up-to-date design standards, industry news and reference documents.
Research Development and Innovation
Buro Happold is committed to developing new techniques, technologies and services, and to maintaining our position at the leading edge of design. This is conducted through our Research, Development and Innovation group.
Annually 1% of turnover is re-invested in RDI activities. We believe this investment means that we are better placed to serve our clients and customers and helps us to deliver added value to our project work.
The remit of the RDI group is wide. Their activities are carried out across all disciplines and sectors that we serve. Some RDI projects are carried out internally, by front line staff using their experience of project delivery to identify gaps in knowledge or tools that would improve our service offering. They then conduct the work required to find an appropriate solution.
Other research initiatives call for the involvement of external experts and sources. We regularly take part in collaborative research with industry partners, universities, research organisations or public bodies. Typically, these include:
Jointly funded research through the DTI Partners in Innovation scheme
Support for university research funded by EPSRC
Sponsorship of students on a variety of courses including PhD and EngD
Joint ventures with universities or other like-minded organisation
Research for industry
New Ventures
Periodically, the research that we undertake grows into a new venture for the practice, helping to secure the future of Buro Happold in particular and the industry at large. By incorporating our new ventures into the business it enables us to offer an improved range of specialisms and a greater, more integrated understanding of engineering. Each year 1.5% of the practice’s turnover is spent on developing new ventures such as CoSA Solutions, engineering sustainability and most recently, SDAR (Software Development, Analysis and Research).