Innovation is everything, t’s a catalyst for enablement

"The speed of change in the world demands a new approach to construction. Population growth and changing environmental, political and social attitudes are causing many landowners, developers and builders to move away from traditional methods. At FRAMECAD, we look towards modern approaches to construction and for more than 30 years, we have been so excited about innovation in cold formed steel construction to meet these needs."

Mark Taylor, Founder and CEO, FRAMECAD 

What innovation means to FRAMECAD  – and why it’s a constant search

Innovation has been a bit of a buzz word recently. Whether talking about a new idea, product, or method, innovation is about continually pushing to find a better way. It is what drives a business like FRAMECAD to create faster, more effective products or look for ways to solve needs that are currently unmet.

For FRAMECAD,  innovation is everything. It’s a catalyst for enablement – whether enabling clients to construct buildings quickly and safely through an integrated system or supporting communities to achieve a better standard of living. We’ve spent 30 years researching and testing in order to build a platform that people can rely on. 

So how can companies innovate? Here are two of the ways FRAMECAD has done so over the last 30 years:

1. Original research & development – Even through the Global Financial Crisis, FRAMECAD invested heavily in R&D, with more than $40 million committed over the last 30 years. This has ensured that throughout our existence, we’ve been able to fully understand regional environmental constraints. This has ensured our technology is world class and ahead of the curve, and on the cutting edge of the construction industry.

 2. Listen to the customer – Customers are the richest possible source for help when it comes to identifying unmet needs. Because we’re focused entirely on the customer, we’re always looking for continuous improvement. We do this by listening to them, trying to understand different requirements, and consistently improving our products and services to meet these needs.

At FRAMECAD, we aim to deliver the best solutions today for tomorrow’s needs – and we’re impatient to reach the future.

A think global, act local approach

While based in New Zealand, FRAMECAD has always been a global business. Launching originally just in Oceania, we’ve grown to support people in 65 countries, with offices around the world. With such a global company, there’s always a risk that local knowledge and community will fall by the wayside. To counteract that, we’ve always taken a “Think Global, Act Local” approach – and it's working.

Today, our team speak more than 30 languages, work out of 8 offices worldwide, and travel to over 120 countries. This ensures that we fully understand every region in which we operate. 

This global focus comes through in everything we develop from FRAMECAD Structure checking that designs are engineered to comply with local regulations, to coding knowledge of additional environmental design and building constraints and codes into our software.

For example, our understanding of local markets is what has enabled us to carve out a niche in the Middle East. With timber supply proving a significant problem, steel was recommended for construction projects – but few other companies had worked locally. Through our understanding of local standards, regional requirements, language, and service expectations, we’ve been able to have a big impact on the construction industry in that region. 

Why the construction industry can always do better – and how it’s happening

A traditionally conservative industry, construction hasn’t always embraced technology and innovation as well as it could – and many in the sector are resistant to the changes that, from our perspective, seem inevitable.

Over the next decade, the global construction industry is expected to grow, especially in emerging economies of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and India. To take full advantage of this market growth, construction companies must find a way to turn architectural inspiration into commercial reality faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.

With the increasing global demand for high quality, quick-to-construct buildings, traditional methods of construction are becoming obsolete as new, faster, technology-enabled building processes tick all the boxes. It stands to reason that modern methods of construction, such as CFS, are proving to meet the needs of the industry. Why? Because software enabled, design-led methods shift the skill of construction up-stream, producing more accurate designs that then need less skilled labor at the construction end of the process.

Currently the Cold Formed Steel design and build technology FRAMECAD offers is disruptive – but in the coming years, design-led CFS construction and the innovative use of technology will just become a "normal" construction method in the industry.

FRAMECAD Cold Formed Steel (CFS) or Light Gauge Steel (LGS) system uses specialized Computer Aided Engineering design software and a manufacturing process that consists of rolling or pressing steel into workable building outputs at an ambient temperature that can be easily assembled.

Offering improved quality, speed of construction, design flexibility and environmental performance, these modern methods are financially attractive alternatives to slower, resource-heavy traditional construction methods, such as timber, concrete and hot-rolled steel.  Since FRAMECAD’s inception, we’ve spread the word about Cold Formed Steel Construction, believing that every country in the world could benefit from its use in construction.

Over the years, that’s become even more true, with rapid urbanization, increased demand for sustainable housing, and natural disasters destroying buildings all leaving communities with a higher need for efficient, resilient housing that can be built rapidly and withstand the environmental elements.  CFS/LGS construction offers just that! With significantly reduced times to completion, the ability of unskilled laborers to use the system, less waste, and the ability to be built on or off site, the FRAMECAD Cold Formed Steel System is perfect for all communities needing to build in an efficient and resilient way that meets the needs of our environment. 

While few architects or engineers learn how to design effectively with CFS during their training, the FRAMECAD System software has the know-how built in, empowering anyone with CAD skills to create well-engineered designs. The integrated, user-friendly approach of the FRAMECAD Manufacturing System makes CFS construction accessible to a wider audience, meaning that unskilled labor can be brought on, with training and support from the FRAMECAD team.

"There are an enormous number of buildings around the world that were built rapidly and efficiently (and in a positive, accurate and safe way!) that would not exist without Cold Formed Steel construction and the FRAMECAD System. That’s something we’re hugely proud of."

You can read more about how FRAMECAD has re-framed the construction industry last 3o years here.