The Adaptability Quotient: The New Competitive Advantage

THE ADAPTABILITY QUOTIENT: THE NEW COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN A WORLD OF CONSTANT CHANGE

The present moment used to be our unimaginable future. Technology has become a layer over every industry, offices are no longer the place where work gets done, and people are looking for more from their jobs than just a salary. Amidst the upheaval, modern leaders face a choice: to continue with business as usual, or use this window of opportunity to forge a new, sustainable model that makes the existing model obsolete.

With all this in mind, Tané Hunter (Co-Founder) and Rebecca Maklad (Chief Executive Officer) from Future Crunch kicked off day two of the Steel Convention with a high energy session that was sponsored by DBM Vircon. The session focused on today’s key quality for individuals and organisations that wish to thrive in a world of constant change.

According to the dynamic duo, the next decade belongs to those who are willing to adopt new ways of thinking. People with a high AQ, or Adaptability Quotient: the ability to thrive in unpredictable environments.

With trademark humour and dynamism, and showcasing the latest research and extraordinary stories from the worlds of technology and neuroscience, this session revealed why today’s best predictor of success is the ability to embrace flexibility and experimentation. According to Tané, "In Melbourne, office occupancy was at 38% in July 2022. Plus, the great resignation is still very real. A recent Microsoft survey of businesses in 31 countries, revealed that 43% of employees are considering changing jobs in the next 12 months. How do we deal with this rapid pace of change?"

"Rapid technological progress makes us feel uncomfortable. When we try to think about the future, we take the changes around us and try to extrapolate these linearly into the future. And, as a result, we're often left with a perception gap. In the short term, we over estimate technological progress and in the long term, we greatly under estimate this progress."

"What forced us to go remote over the last few years was not technological. Rather, it came from the world of biology. Technically, we could have gone remote years ago, but we didn’t because habits are hard to change. Disruptive digital technology and a global pandemic caused unprecedented upheaval—in manufacturing, logistics, media, energy, education. It was years of change crunched into months." "So, while things are a bit crazy at the moment, there are great opportunities. People are more amenable to change than usual because they have had to deal with rapid change over the last couple of years."

"We need to ask ourselves which skills and talents do we need to foster? Which are obsolete?"

"A crucial talent for any organisation in the world is being able to adapt. Adaptability is intrinsic. To be dynamic doesn’t mean you need to make something new or even expensive. It just means you need to recognise what’s in front of you and give it a new purpose."

"More and more, it is not expertise, qualifications, IQ or EQ that are important. It is adaptability—the ability to make a change in real time. It is AQ that determines success over time. Adaptability has nothing to do with age or experience—it's all about your attitude. It's like physical exercise. It is something you can train for. When you do, you get better in your processes."

"We need to adopt the February 29th mindset: February 2020 to March 2020 required very different mindsets, but the two dates were only days apart. When there is a rapidly growing phenomenon that is poorly understood, we tend to react in different modes. With these two modes, even very smart and reasonable people find themselves tending on opposite side of a chasm. The trick is to effortlessly shift along a spectrum of unprecedented change. Can you hold two ideas in your mind at the same time? For the February 29th leader, the answer is yes."

Tané Hunter (Co-Founder, Future Crunch)

Rebecca Maklad (CEO, Future Crunch)

“More and more, it is not expertise, qualifications, IQ or EQ that are important. It is adaptability—the ability to make a change in real time. It is AQ that determines success over time. Adaptability has nothing to do with age or experience— it's all about your attitude. It's like physical exercise. It is something you can train for."

IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH ROBOTIC SOLUTIONS

Phil Commins (Acting Director, Facility for Intelligent Fabrication) provided an overview of the important work being undertaken by the Facility for Intelligent Fabrication at the University of Wollongong. According to Phil, "The University of Wollongong has a real partnership and deep connection with the Australian steel industry. Robotic welding and Industry 4.0 have been a key focus for the University for several decades, and the Facility for Intelligent Fabrication brings together our core capabilities in robotics and our welding research capability (under Professor John Norrish), underpinned by metallurgical research."

"The Facility was established in 2018 through a formal partnership between TAFE NSW, University of Wollongong and Weld Australia. It has a strong industry focus, and partners with industry on all R&D, translating research and what happens in the lab into commercialised outcomes for industry."

Phil went on to provide an overview of Industry 4.0 and its impact on welding, including concepts such as real-time monitoring, automation via robotics and cobotics, and the use of augmented and virtual reality for path planning and weld sequencing.

DE-RISKING DELIVERY BY INTEGRATING DESIGN & DETAILING

David Dawson (Global General Manager Industrial, DBM Vircon) addressed three key concepts during his presentation: What is collaborative project delivery? How does it work? and Why is it important right now?

According to David, "The idea of collaborative design and detailing is to merge and integrate the work between engineering and detailing. It enables the commencement of the shop detailing process much earlier. Design integration helps bridge the gap between design and construction. Collaborative early engagement methodologies help ensure scheduling certainty in a relatively short span of time."

"While engineering designs focus on life safety requirements and develop novel approaches while creating analysis models, Design Integration analyses project intricacies to resolve issues like accessibility, constructability and erectability—reducing costs, slashing project timeframes and ensuring scheduling certainty all while producing a fabrication ready model with detailed, easy to understand data."

"In a market where there are limited resources, high costs and ever tightening schedules, it is essential that project teams find ways to work together more collaboratively," said David.

INFRABUILD INNOVATION: INTRODUCTION TO TRACEABILITY

Sharmy Francis (Manager Innovation, InfraBuild) delivered an overview of InfraBuild's approach to traceability. According to Sharmy, "We are using data to link all aspects of the business for our clients. Traceability should really be the centre of everything we do - it drives quality. Traceability is the ability to follow material from the beginning of the supply chain, right to the very end. It enhances safety and trust, improves our ability to respond to customer needs, and improves operational efficiency. InfraBuild is on a traceability journey. We're moving from administrative controls to engineering controls, combining tried and trusted solutions with brand new technology, and developing solutions to future-proof our traceability." InfraBuild has focused on three key areas of traceability: • Billet marking, which enhances product confidence and eliminates opportunities for grade mixes to occur • Installation of a robotic bundle tagging system at the Sydney rolling mill to improve the robustness of tag (and associated data) delivery to customers • RFID enabled bundle tags that improve real time visibility and operational efficiency during manufacture, warehousing and transport

Phil Commins (Acting Director, Facility for Intelligent Fabrication)

David Dawson (Global General Manager Industrial, DBM Vircon)

SUSTAINABILITY TRENDS AND FUTURE INSIGHTS FOR MATERIALS

Davina Rooney (Chief Executive Officer, Green Building Council of Australia) kicked off her presentation with a look at the implications of megatrends in property. Buildings are responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions, and 50% of global material use. According to Davina, "The build environment is both a large part of the climate challenge and solution. We now have global calls to action: by 2030, all new buildings must be highly efficient and fully powered by renewables, and have a 40% reduction in embodied carbon. By 2050, any remaining emissions that cannot be eliminated must be neutralised."

All Green Star rating tools released from 2020 include credits that seek to reward the use of products that meet the criteria in GBCA's Responsible Products Framework. The vision of the Framework is to drive the supply chain to deliver transparent, healthy, low-impact, and net zero carbon products. "GBCA is giving more points than ever before in materials across the Green Star series—there is a requirement for reduced embodied carbon emissions at the four star level, and this substantively increases across the star rating scale. Your sector—steel—is going to be popular. There is a huge amount of work and engagement happening in this space, but without steel, we won't have the heartbeat of the program in the right place. We’re trying to get materials right at the heart of the sustainability agenda."

RESPONSIBLESTEEL

Paul Maleska (Senior Supply Chain Manager – Global Steel, Lendlease) delivered an overview of the steel industry’s first global standard and program: Responsiblesteel. "Responsiblesteel is committed to driving sustainable solutions across the industry to maximise steel’s contribution to a sustainable society. It provides a multi-stakeholder forum that builds trust and achieves consensus, driving positive change through recognition and use of responsible steel. Both users and producers are looking to prove that their material is responsible. Responsiblesteel helps deliver on this. Responsiblesteel sets out 13 principles and 370 associated requirements for which steel makers are audited. It’s the tool through which to maximise steel's contribution to a sustainable society, encompassing governance, social and environmental principles," said Paul.

"The program now has over 133 members in total and is growing monthly—it is truly global and diverse. Its members' steel production totals 250 MT per annum—or 12% of global steel production—which is a huge achievement. Leadlease is a member of Responsiblesteel. We have a long history of delivering sustainable outcomes. In 2020, we announced our climate targets, including absolute zero of scopes one, two and three carbon emissions by 2040. Our supply chain and the embodied energy of material in our projects play an incredibly important role in this. We realise that we can’t change the industry alone. So we're working collaboratively with our supply chain partners to transform the industry at scale and pace to tackle climate challenge head on."

UNDERSTANDING THE PATHWAY TO GREEN STEEL

The iron making decarbonisation challenge was the focus of Gretta Stephens' (Chief Executive Climate Change and NZPI, BlueScope) presentation. As Gretta described, BlueScope's recent commitments continue the journey they started some time ago. In 2018, BlueScope set targets of 12% GHG emissions intensity reduction by 2030 for their steelmaking activities; 30% GHG reduction for non-steelmaking activities by 2030; and a net zero goal across all operations by 2050. To support these goals, BlueScope will invest $150 million in climate projects and initiatives over the next five years. "To achieve our 2050 net zero goal, we need to progress key enablers that are shared across multiple sectors and stakeholders, through collaboration and shared expertise," said Gretta.

The five key enablers include: • Evolution of emerging and breakthrough technologies at commercial scale • Access to affordable, firmed renewable energy • Availability of competitively priced hydrogen from renewable sources • Access to appropriate quality and sufficient quantities of raw materials • Policy that supports decarbonisation investment and avoids carbon leakage

Davina Rooney (Chief Executive Officer, Green Building Council of Australia)

Paul Maleska (Senior Supply Chain Manager – Global Steel, Lendlease)

THE ROLE OF MATERIAL EFFICIENCY IN A LOW EMISSION ECONOMY

According to Steve Porter (Head of Sustainability, Innovation and Trade, InfraBuild), "Material efficiency in a low emission economy is a gamechanging challenge for us, but it shouldn't be considered daunting—it's an opportunity."

"People don't demand steel. They demand the services that steel provides. Steel is indispensable for all aspects of the built environment. IEA data shows that built environment accounts for 39% of global emissions so something needs to change. It is incumbent on all of us to contribute to the decarbonisation of the industry. We see two pathways that must be travelled simultaneously to achieve this: manufacturing lower carbon embodied materials, and material efficiency strategies to reduce demand." "InfraBuild has plans and ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030, so we are taking steps to reduce our scope one, two and three emissions. We're looking at our electricity sources, and transitioning to renewable electrons. Actions to reduce steel consumption have to be part of the solution. We need to extend the design life of buildings to reduce the demand for steel moving forward. We also need to improve manufacturing yields and minimise waste...we need to re-use and repurpose everything," said Steve.

Steve Porter (Head of Sustainability, Innovation and Trade, InfraBuild)

STEEL SUSTAINABILITY AUSTRALIA

Michael Dawson (Environmental Sustainability Manager, ASI) introduced Steel Sustainability Australia: a new sustainability certification program that covers the entire steel value chain.

"We live in an era of significant global instability, with regional wars, global pandemics, climate change, supply chain issues, seismic economic cycle shifts and labour shortages. Through this massive change, how does the steel industry best create a sustainable future? Now is the time for the entire steel industry to be bold. Through industry-wide collaboration, sustainability must play a critical role in our future," said Michael.

Steel Sustainability Australia can help the industry achieve this. "A tiered certificate pathway, SSA builds credentials and Green Star credits across five key sustainability principles. It incorporates the new Green Star Responsible Products Framework, as well as carbon and waste reduction considerations. Its tailored ESG measurement mitigates risk and embraces circularity."

The draft Steel Sustainability Australia program has been submitted to GBCA for approval, with public consultation underway. Following approval by GBCA, it is expected that the program will be officially launched in early 2023.

Michael Dawson (Environmental Sustainability Manager, ASI)