ABSTRACT
The construction industry is undergoing an important reconfiguration. Former boundaries between manufacturing of building products, design, on-site construction, maintenance and managing existing stock are blurring. Construction spans from primary industries such as gravel or other aggregates, to service sectors such as geotechnical engineering consultants. The manufacturing side as well as the services sector in construction is growing. Construction is a broad industry that encompasses many different sub-sectors as well as a number of public organizations involved in building codes development and regulation of various aspects. A number of changes occurring in construction have an impact on the end product of the construction process. E. S. Slaughter identified on-site builders as key people in introducing innovations in construction. Most studies of innovation have focused on rapidly changing sectors of the economy, such as microelectronics, biotechnology, information technology, software and business services, etc.
