OEC launches program and podcast to speed up the open innovation

The initiative aims to foster the search for creative solutions to broaden productivity and ESG actions in the heavy construction sector. The first podcast’s edition will be aired on July 4^th, disclosed through the OEC profiles on social media

OEC launches this Monday, July 4^th, its open innovation program, OEC IN. The news comes along with the launch of a podcast, named Conexão OEC “OEC Connection”, which will reunite specialists in the area to tell their stories of challenge, success, and mishap in the innovation world, and whenever possible, with the heavy construction in the background, the business area of the company, which sees great opportunities and possibilities resulting from “construtech” operations and other startups in this market.

OEC IN and Conexão OEC were conceived after more than six months of intense work by the construction company’s engineers and specialists, together with external partners, to format the new thesis of innovation of OEC, a work that counted on the support from Altative, a consultancy specialized in innovation and communication that took action in the conception, among other cases, of InovaBra Habitat, the Bradesco Bank’s innovation ecosystem, where OEC is present with two fixed positions. Claudio Cardoso, founder of Altavive, with a post-doctorate in Communication from USP, and retired full professor from the Federal University of Bahia, will be the curator and host of the podcast Conexão OEC, which will offer the program’s audience contact with themes that are a trend in innovation, new technologies, digital transformation, and experiences never told before, lived in great works. Initially, the program will have a monthly periodicity with the content available on the OEC channels on Spotify and Youtube.

The first episode will be aired on July 4^th, Monday. With the theme “A new look at innovation”, it will bring a chat with the Civil Engineer Carlos Hermanny Filho, ex-director of Engineering, Innovation and Sustainability of OEC, a specialist with more than 40 years of experience in the sector. Currently, Hermanny is a consultant and supports OEC in the management and follow-up of the pipeline of opportunities of the construction company, assessoring the creation of studies and proposals. His long and successful journey at the company started in 1985, at CBPO, a company acquired by the group Novonor. Among other accomplishments, he was responsible for coordinating the corporate support in engineering, contract administration, quality assurance, risk management, and knowledge management in more than 120 contracts, in 15 countries. It is exactly this rich experience in sites and project development, under the innovation perspective, that the first Conexão OEC will focus on.

OEC IN

The OEC’s institutional program aims to conceive solutions for the challenges faced on the company’s sites and offices. It was structured based on four aspects: developing an internal culture directed to mobilization and engagement; connecting OEC to the open innovation ecosystem; offering technical support in processes of technological update, knowledge management, and digital transformation; and positioning OEC as the protagonist that fosters and integrates innovation in its operation area.

According to Daniel Lepikson, leader of the OEC’s Innovation area, the program was conceived from a clear purpose. “Though we have already presented several innovative actions in our projects, and some of them, by the way, led us to be the client’s choice, we hadn’t had so far an institutional program to foster those initiatives in an empirical way and with an influence method and judicial consideration, mobilizing the open innovation ecosystem. With OEC IN, in addition to stimulating our teams to seek new methodologies, technologies, materials, and processes, we will provide the custody and dissemination of this information, broadening its application on sites”, he affirms. Lepkison is Mechanical and Civil Engineer, Master and Doctor of Civil Engineering from the USP Polytechnic School, where he was a professor for four years. He integrated the team of calculator engineers at the German company sbp – schlaich bergermann partner, in Stuttgart.

New model

OEC IN is born with a fixed coordination group, which is responsible for articulating priorities with the other company’s areas and acting as a facilitator in the development of innovation challenges and solutions for spotted opportunities. Once an opportunity is seen, Work Groups “GTs” are formed – temporary structures that are spontaneously organized, inspired in the concept of “agile desks.” They are small multidisciplinary teams integrated by people with different abilities, collaborative work, and a common purpose. These GTs last for the necessary period of time up to the referral and delivery of the intended solution.

The Innovation Committee, in turn, is the program’s directive structure. Formed by leaders and representatives of corporate areas, it performs the roles of assessment and prioritization of projects, mobilizing the necessary technical and financial resources.

Winner case

OEC has always been recognized for its capacity to develop constructive and innovative methodologies. Recently, it received the InovaInfra award, offered by the magazine O Empreiteiro, for a solution implemented in the laying of carbon-steel tubes in the construction of the new Supply System of Montes Claros, executed for the Sanitation Company of Minas Gerais -Copasa. The new methodology developed by OEC increased the productivity in 28% and provided a reduction of 19% for the costs of tube laying in the construction, overpassing the performance of conventional methods, which allowed the achievement of the landmark of 1.27 km of water main laid in just one work shift.