Recombinant Innovation – about finding a solution from where you would least expect it

Can lessons learned in one industry can assist another industry? It seems so. Keeping with the theme of Open Innovation started in my previous post, I will now explore an example of perhaps one of the most fascinating examples of recombinant innovation. That is the application of Formula One pit stop disciplines to the hand over procedures of intensive care hospital patients during critical and complex surgery. Hard to believe? Well then read on to find out more!

It all started when surgeons at a childrens hospital in London became aware of the similarities between the handover disciplines from the operation theater after a complex heart surgery to the intensive care ward and what they noticed in the pit-stop of a Formula One team during race day. [1]

During the surgical hand over procedure, a bewildering array of technology and support equipment (ventilation, 2-4 monitoring lines, multiple inotropes and vasodilators) is transferred twice, all above the young patient’s head. First from the theater systems to portable equipment, and then from the portable equipment to the intensive care systems and it must all be accomplished within 15 minutes. In addition to this a further difficulty arises from the fact that the theater team during the course of the operation have acquired intimate knowledge of the patient while the intensive care team knows nothing about the patient at the time of transfer. All this information needs to be passed over seamlessly to ensure proper care can be provided to the vulnerable patient. It is this combination of complex, time critical tasks that make this process extremely susceptible to error at a time when the patient is at their most vulnerable. [2]

A Formula 1 pit-stop has been viewed by many experts as an ideal example of how a multi-professional team cooperates as a single unit to effectively and efficiently perform a complex task under extreme time pressure. During the approximately 7 second pit-stop, the crew have to change four tyres, refuel the car and if required, make a number of small adjustments to the set-up of the vehicle.

The similarities between the stresses and objectives of the two scenarios are evident. Not only are there requirements for teamwork and safety but also for split second coordination under decisive leadership and direction for all team members should something go wrong.

By working together with the pit crew of the Ferrari Formula One team and their Race Technical Director Nigel Stepney and applying the established procedures from Formula One, the hospital surgeons were able to significantly improve the hand-over procedure and dramatically reduce the number of information omissions and technical errors.

Below is a diagrammatic comparison between a Formula One pit stop and Open Heart Surgery team member positions. As can be appreciated, the implementation of the Formula One Approach was a resounding success resulting in many young lives being saved.

Who knows in how many other industries there are examples to learned from and applied in many completely different situations? One thing is for certain though, we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the potential that Recombinant Innovation has to offer.

References:

1 – http://www.doorsofperception.com/social-innovation/recombinant-innovation/

2 – Patient handover from surgery to intensive care: using Formula 1 pit-stop and aviation models to improve safety and quality – KEN R. CATCHPOLE PhD, MARC R. DE LEVAL MD, ANGUS MCEWAN FRCA, NICK PIGOTT FRCPCH§, MARTIN J. ELLIOTT MD, FRCS–, ANNETTE MCQUILLAN BSC, CAROL MACDONALD BSC AND ALLAN J . GOLDMAN – Paediatric Anaesthesia 2007 17: 470–478

Open Innovation – a case of overcoming the Not-Sold-Here Syndrome

It can be argued that the Not-Sold-Here Syndrome is perhaps one of the biggest obstacles facing new product development in companies today. Stifling innovation, clipping brilliant new ideas in the bud and restraining progress are just some of the implications of such a mindset. If these prejudices had not been overcome, a number of great products would not have made it off the drawing board. As a case in point is the Smart Car.

Love it or hate, it almost every motorist today has seen an example of the Smart Car on the road. An iconic and extremely fuel efficient two seat micro-car that has come to embody one of the most drastic steps ever taken in automotive history – that of a watch manufacturer setting out to revolutionise the world of motoring.

It all started in the 1980s when Nicolas Hayek, the engineer and industrialist who founded the Swiss watch company, had the brilliant idea to develop a new car using the same type of manufacturing strategies and personalization features he had used for the then incredibly fashionable Swatch watches. However he did not have in mind just any type of car; he felt that the car industry had largely ignored a very popular sector – that of a small and stylish city car that would have the fuel economy of around 3 litres per 100 kilometres with practicality and safety to match. 

Although Swatch Group initially began to develop the car themselves, Nicolas believed that established motor manufacturers would feel threatened by his Swatchmobile, as it was now called, and as a result began to look around for a potential partner. In 1991 an agreement was reached with Volkswagen to share the development of the new project. Not only would this help relieve the cost burden on Swatch but it would also enable the new product to leverage off the automotive manufacturing know-how of Volkswagen as well as eventually benefiting from an established selling and distribution network when the Swatchmobile was eventually brought to market. [1]

Unfortunately this arrangement did not last long. In 1993 a new CEO at Volkswagen brought down the axe on the joint venture in order to develop Volkswagen’s own subcompact car, the Lupo. This was because it was believed by the powers that be to be a better business proposition, featuring four seats and more cargo room. [1]

Thus left in the lurch, Swatch was forced to look around again for another partner. Rejected by BMW, Fiat, General Motors and Renault, it was eventually Mercedes Benz, (then Daimler-Chrysler) with whom Swatch teamed up. Not only did it prove to be the saving grace of the Swatch project and the partnership that eventually brought the car to market, this partnership was a very drastic move on the part of Mercedes, as the company was traditionally known for its C, E and S class luxury saloons and coupes. As one of the most premium brands on the market, venturing into the sub-city car class could be a rather risky move. One can only think how such an idea was opposed in the company’s boardroom by more traditional directors possibly claiming that the car was “not one to be sold here.”

Never the less, the two companies prevailed and the Smart car took the market by storm in late 1998. Still in production today, albeit in only slightly modified form, its popularity has skyrocketed in the face of rising fuel prices and city traffic jams. Involvement in the project even helped channel Mercedes thinking along the lines of developing the successful A-class – which to a degree is a big brother of the tiny Smart. In the end, it proved to be a very smart move by both Swatch and Mercedes.

References:

1 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_%28automobile%29

 http://www.treehugger.com/cars/smart-car-how-smart-is-it.html