Page 14 - AAA JULY-AUGUST 2012 Online Magazine

FEATURE INNOVATION

which is great if your workforce is opportunities,” he says. this he says, is ABOVE LEFT Students at Pratt &
full of potential nobel prize-winners not just a “good idea” that offers good Pr Whitney’s facility at the University
or James Dysons. But as most human and annual report copy, but something of Conneticut examine a cutaway
turbofan engine
resource departments will agree, most that brings rewards. it means that the
aren’t. in which case some infrastructure company as a whole becomes more ABOVE RIGHT Dr Alan Epstein,
or systemic organisation needs to be put efficient at delivering services to the VP of Science and Technology at
in place to make sure that new ideas will clients, adds new business, and improves Pratt & Whitney
flower – and don’t wilt. revenue per hour.
“innovation requires nurturing. likewise at eurocopter, where
it is behaviour-driven and requires the company asserts that innovation
a group effort to achieve the best is not simply a buzzword but a way
results,” explains naguib Mohd nor, of life. “Fostering innovation and
coo at strand aerospace Malaysia. his entrepreneurship is a top priority
company, which works on many asian for us,” says norbert Ducrot, senior
manufacturing analysis and critical executive VP, asia-Pacific, eurocopter.
structural component design for airbus “we continuously emphasise the need
and other major names, sees itself as to develop new business offerings and
a holistic entity where constant process to reinvent value proposition to our
analysis and critical thinking about those customers.” that obviously makes sense
processes are not just possible - but are if it brings in extra business, but how to
expected from the staff. “our in-house make that happen? Ducrot asserts the
training emphasises critical thinking best approach is to engage in what he
that empowers our engineers to act on describes as “action learning” where

If you don’t have
CHIPPING SHIPS
Singapore’s Rolls-Royce is particularly proud that two employees the best people the
from the Advanced Technology Centre at the Rolls-Royce Seletar rest will leave
Campus won the Sir Henry Royce Award for Technical Innovation
and Engineering Excellence. Their innovative and pioneering work in
developing a system for automating the previously highly labour-and - Thierry Baril, Executive Vice
time-intensive process of polishing ship propulsion parts won them President, Human Resources, Airbus
the award in the face of international competition.

14 ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS JULY / AUGUST 2012 WWW.ASIANAIRLINES-AIRPORTS.COM