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The Business Side of (Mechanical) Technology InnovationAndrew.maxwell@lassonde.yorku.ca

How engineers impact their environment

Andrew MaxwellDirectorBergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology

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The Business Side of (Mechanical) Technology InnovationAndrew.maxwell@lassonde.yorku.ca

Technology Assessment

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What business, societal and environmental factors should you consider during technology development?5What does the technology do?Where does it do this better than alternatives?Who would value this?Who would be motivated to adopt this technology (first)? What are costs and benefits of technology adoption?What other factors would affect the adoption decision?

1. What does the technology do?6

How does it work?What functions can you carry out with this technology?How would you measure technology performance?Safety Reliability ComplianceConvenience Capital cost AvailabilityOperating cost Compliance ThroughputQuality Environmental lifecycle Cycle time

2. Where is this better than competitive solutions?7

Which of these performance indicators matter in a specific application?Identify how performance advantage would be useful for applicationSafety Reliability ComplianceConvenience Capital cost AvailabilityOperating cost Compliance ThroughputQuality Environmental lifecycle Cycle time

3. Who would value each of these functions?8Which of these performance indicators matter for a specific customer?Identify how performance advantage would benefit customerSafety Reliability ComplianceConvenience Capital cost AvailabilityOperating cost Compliance ThroughputQuality Environmental lifecycle Cycle time

4. Who would be motivated to adopt this technology?9The motivation to adopt is a function of the value proposition The value proposition is the benefits minus the costsTo increase the value proposition, either:Increase the perceived benefits, or Reduce the perceived costs How do you quantify perceived benefits and perceived costs?How does the competitive environment influence willingness to adopt?If the solution is a pain killer (not vitamin) is it easier/harder to gain adoption?

Maxwells three laws of innovation inertia There is a natural tendency for organizations to keep doing what theyre doing and resist changes. In the absence of a force, they will continue to do what theyve always done.Larger organizations require more force to change what they are doing than smaller organizations. For every force there is a reaction force that is equal in size, but opposite in direction. When someone exerts a force on an organization, he or she gets pushed back in the opposite direction equally hard.

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What other factors affect the adoption decision?11Missing component from adoption equation, are the perceived risks:What are the technology risks?What are the implementation risks?What are the environmental risks?What are the business risks?What are the societal risks?

a) What are the technology risks?12Technical Performance (cycle time, power, efficiency)ReliabilityQualityPhysical dimensionsTechnology readiness

Originally developed by NASA in the 1980sLevel 9 : Operational use of deliverableLevel 8 : Actual deliverable qualified through test and demonstrationLevel 7 : Final development version of deliverable - demonstrated in operationLevel 6 : Representative of the deliverable - demonstrated in relevant environments Level 5 : Key elements demonstrated in relevant environments Level 4 : Key elements demonstrated in laboratory environments Level 3 : Concept demonstrated analytically or experimentally Level 2 : Concept and/or application formulated Level 1 : Basic principles observed and reportedTechnology Readiness Levelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_readiness_levelhttp://www.nstda.or.th/nstda-km/92-km-knowledge/2770-technology-readiness-levels-

b) What are implementation risks?14ComplexityCompatibilityTrainingCurrent practiceOperational constraints

c) What are environmental risks?15Manufacturing impactUse impactLife-cycle impactSafetyOperator impact

d) What are business risks?16Financial performance (costs, efficiency)UptimeReputation Service, support, training Relationships

e) What are societal risks?17Economic impact for producer Economic impact for userHuman impact for userCommunity impact of business on local regionSocio-economic impact

Technology Assessment is an integral part of innovation18Novel technologies inherently face barriers to adoption Understanding complex technology adoption issues: increases likelihood a technology will be deployedIncrease likelihood of achieving commercial successInform the technology development roadmap SpecificationsFunctionalityFormat

Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology19We operate at the interface of:Technology and BusinessSociety and LawEnvironment and PracticeTo apply technology to:Solve global challengesCreate wealthEmpower individuals, communities and societies

Andrew.maxwell@lassonde.yorku.ca BRG 215 BEST Labhttp://www.slideshare.net/AndrewMaxwellPhD/technology-assessment-66764076