Wavin Academy: An inspiring example of design thinking

The launch of the first Wavin Academy is featured in the book as an inspiring example of design thinking. The idea was born in October 2013, on a construction site in Amsterdam. Richard van Delden, Executive Director of Supply Chain and Operations at Wavin, was having a conversation with a plumber. He said that his customers, the general contractors, wanted the best-quality pipes possible. However, they were not familiar with Wavin.

After several discussions with plumbers, it became apparent that they were very interested in working with Wavin to deliver better quality to their customers. These conversations got Richard thinking. At that time, Wavin was struggling with a loss of market share in Turkey. To win back the ground they had lost, Wavin Turkey wanted to build a new factory near Istanbul, the largest area for distribution. The idea was to regain market share by ensuring cheaper production and competitive prices.
Following the plumbers' comments, Richard thought to himself: "How would that work in Turkey? Isn't there another way?"

Who are our customers?

Together with former CFO Andrés Capdepón, Richard decided not to immediately invest in a new factory but instead to examine exactly who Wavin's Turkish customers were. Did they really only want a few cheaper pipes? Richard sent a team of employees from Wavin Turkey to several constructions sites. He and Andrés joined them, with the aim of observing their customers at work.

Within a week, the team had collected a wealth of new insight. They found that equipment and materials were often being used incorrectly, and they saw who their customers really were. Not the general contractors, but the plumbers! And the plumbers were not looking for cheaper pipes — they wanted to be able to work smarter and, by doing so, deliver higher quality to their customers. They wanted to be more competitive, not by offering lower prices but by gaining more knowledge. This was the eureka moment for Wavin: To design a better business, you must start with the customer!

These insights led to the company implementing a new and totally different idea. The new factory, which was set to cost 60 million euros, was out. Instead, the first Wavin Academy was opened in 2014 in Adana, Turkey, for a couple of hundred thousand euros. Since the Academy opened, plumbers have been receiving free training on how to use various materials and tools at the Academy. Wavin staff also benefit by learning from the plumbers, and relationships have been growing stronger ever since.

Design a better business

Since then, design thinking has been at the heart of the business for Wavin. It was a bold move, but it resulted in the best business model. Design thinking always follows an unconventional approach, and the book "Design a Better Business" is the new Bible for such an approach.

In his book, Patrick Van der Pijl argues that you should be prepared to think like a designer. People who think in this way have more chance of developing a better business, according to Van der Pijl, a business that puts people first and links design tools, processes and applications together. The subtitle of the book, "New tools, skills and mindset for strategy and innovation," clearly illustrates the importance of this concept.

If you focus on people and make the right connections, Van der Pijl believes that you are better positioned to harness the opportunities that arise from uncertainty and therefore you will develop a better business. With design thinking, problems are approached from a variety of perspectives – to make it easier to develop new solutions.

In short: Start with the customer, spend time with them in their own working environment, ask questions and then listen!

Design a Better Business has been available in bookstores since September and may also be purchased online.

Wavin Academy in Turkey after two years

It’s been over two years since the Wavin Academy in Adana, Turkey first opened in May 2014 and they just celebrated their 10,000th visitor! Connecting customers with innovation is what the Academy is all about and so far the Academy has accomplished its goals and exceeded all expectations. In one of next blog posts we will show you more about the success of the Wavin Academy, two years after that first idea popped up on the construction site in Amsterdam...

The Project

The Sydney Metro Northwest project is the first fully-automated metro rail system in Australia and will deliver eight new railway stations, 4,000 commuter car parks and a new high frequency single deck train system to Sydney’s growing North West- a region with the highest car ownership levels per household in Australia. Trains will operate every four minutes in the peak with at least 15 trains an hour. This $1.15 billion Tunnel and Station Civil Works contract will see the construction of twin 15km tunnels between Bella Vista and Epping. These twin tunnels will be the longest rail tunnels ever built in Australia. 

Bella Vista: concrete beams installed
Concrete beams being lifted at Bella Vista Station

Rouse Hill design- Street view

Challenges

The Project Schedule was Fast Tracked as the NSW Government wanted the Project to be completed under budget & under time.
Therefore; the supply of the Wavin 250mm HDPE Pipe & Fabricated Fittings was critical in achieving the completion of Stage 1 of the Rouse Hill Project. (Rainwater/Storm-water Package)

How Wavin helped

Wavin NSW worked closely with the Central Plumbing Project Management Design Team, to organize Supply of the Large Bore HDPE as required, to achieve the new Fast Track Program/Schedule.

The Wavin PE Soil and Waste Systems were selected, due to Polyethylene being Highly Resistant to Chemicals, making this the ideal choice for the Industrial Environment at Rouse Hill.

Wavin NSW prefabricated the HDPE Soil and Waste Large Bore Fittings for Central Plumbing, to save Installation time on site & to reduce the risk of onsite Butt Welding in a dusty environment (Off-site jointing in clean conditions ensures the highest quality of joint every time. Prefabricated butt welding is particularly efficient when preparing short and complex sections).

Wavin NSW, with the assistance of Mike North & the Wavin Head Office Team in Victoria, also organized for the Wavin Moulded 250mm Expansion Couplings required for the Stainless Steel Downpipes on the Project, to be imported into Australia to meet the new Fast Track Schedule. To date, Wavin Australia has met all dates of supply.

It is worth noting, Wavin Aust & NSW have negotiated to supply the North West Rail Link Project (Central Plumbing) with the additional (Extras) Prefabricated HDPE Soil and Waste Large Bore Pipe & Fittings, above & beyond the Original Project Quote & Numbers/Volumes.
(Supply of the Extras will begin in Feb 2017).

Their results

Due to Wavin Aust & NSW organizing all the Prefabricated HDPE Soil and Waste Large Bore Fittings in full & on time, Central Plumbing were able to meet all Targets set by the New Fast Track Schedule by the Builder - John Holland

The Regional Headquarters for the Western Pacific, located in Manila, Philippines, represents World Health Organization in the Asia Pacific. The office acts as the health conscience of the Asia Pacific Region.

In 2009, the original office building was extensively damaged by the historic strong typhoon Ketsana (known as “Ondoy” in the Philippines).   A plan was made to rehabilitate, renovate and improve the building and its facilities which involved the installation of a new roof drainage system that can withstand intense rainfall of over 400mm in 24 hours (Typhoon Ketsana, at its peak, was documented to have released 455mm of rainfall in 24 hours!).

Wavin QuickStream Siphonic System was the only choice by the lead designer and consultant, Meinhardt Philippines, Inc. for the new roof drainage requirements for this renovation project which was done in 2016.  The design had a roof area of 2,400 square meters, and mandated a flow rate of 168 liters per second capacity.   The roof drainage was designed with the help of the Wavin QuickStream Siphonic Software to ensure optimum performance for the whole system.

Taking the lead in this project is Wavin’s Philippine partner for QS Siphonic System:  Unitec Pipe Manufacturing Corporation.

You can visit the website here