Overview
James Hardie's Innovation Forum Committee (IFC) is an R&D-led initiative designed to accelerate innovation by enabling employees to generate, test, and scale ideas that deliver measurable business impact. Established in 2022 and formalized in 2023, IFC has evolved into a global operating model that connects R&D teams across North America, Europe, and ANZ, while embedding AI and digital innovation directly into day-to-day work and advancing James Hardie's purpose of Building a Better Future for All™.
The initiative has already generated an estimated $5.1M–$7.3M in annual cost avoidance, eliminated approximately $500,000 in annual external costs, and enabled AI-guided lab workflows that deliver up to 50% faster execution. In recognition of its efforts, James Hardie was named a winner of the 2026 InnoLead Impact Awards.
The Opportunity
As James Hardie continued to advance its purpose of Building a Better Future for All™, the company sought to create a structured way for employees to generate, develop, and scale ideas that could deliver business value. The opportunity was to connect R&D teams across regions, create dedicated space for experimentation, and establish a repeatable path for turning promising concepts into business outcomes.
To support these goals, James Hardie established the Innovation Forum Committee (IFC), a grassroots, R&D-led initiative that has evolved into a structured framework for innovation and AI-driven problem solving.
"The Innovation Forum Committee is a powerful example of what happens when our teams come together with curiosity, courage, and a shared commitment to push the boundaries of what’s possible. IFC started as a grassroots idea, and it has grown into a global engine for innovation that is already creating real impact for our business and our customers. I’m incredibly proud of the passion and collaboration that brought us here, and this recognition reinforces that we’re building the right capabilities to shape the future of our industry."
– Joe Liu, Chief Technology Officer, James Hardie
The Solution
To support IFC, James Hardie uses HardieSpace, its innovation management platform powered by HYPE, to engage employees, launch innovation initiatives, capture ideas, and advance high-potential concepts through evaluation and implementation.
At its core, IFC functions as a structured pipeline that moves ideas from early exploration to execution. The model combines dedicated innovation time, global collaboration, and formal integration into James Hardie’s Technology Development Governance framework, ensuring that high-potential ideas are not only surfaced but implemented.
A flagship program within IFC is T.H.I.N.K. (Time for Hardie to Innovate New Keen ideas), which allows R&D employees to dedicate up to 10% of their time to developing new concepts outside traditional project structures. These ideas are pitched during Innovation Forum Day events, where business leaders evaluate, sponsor, and advance the most promising concepts.
Employees gather at James Hardie's Rosehill R&D Innovation Open Day, part of the Innovation Forum Committee's efforts to foster collaboration, experimentation, and employee-driven innovation.
The Results
This model has directly enabled the development and deployment of AI-driven solutions with significant operational and financial impact.
One example is Hardie Hotline, an internally developed AI installation assistant that provides real-time, product-specific guidance to installers. Early performance indicators from more than 5,500 production tests show:
- 87.7% success rate with ~14-second response time
- ~76% reduction in installation-related callbacks
- ~75% reduction in job-site downtime and routine support inquiries
- Estimated $5.1M–$7.3M in annual cost avoidance through reduced rework, improved efficiency, and lower support burden
By giving installers immediate access to consistent, approved guidance at the point of need, Hardie Hotline reduces uncertainty in the field, improves execution consistency, and minimizes costly errors that impact both customer experience and project timelines.
In parallel, IFC activated a Global AI Challenge on HardieSpace to crowdsource practical AI applications across R&D. The initiative drove:
- 37% participation (62 contributors across 167 invitees)
- 53 ideas submitted (2X target)
- 196 peer comments and engagement from 143 users
This resulted in multiple AI solutions advancing into execution, including:
- JH Lab Assistant: AI-guided lab workflows delivering up to 50% faster execution, 30% faster onboarding, and approximately $4,000 productivity gain per user annually
- AI Takeoff Estimator: Reduces a 2–3 day manual blueprint takeoff process to minutes, eliminating approximately $500,000 in annual external costs
- AI Cutting Planner: Improves installation efficiency, reducing time spent measuring and minimizing material waste
Beyond individual solutions, IFC has built enduring AI capability within R&D, enabling ideas to be identified, sponsored, and scaled across the business. Supporting programs such as Innovation Forum Days, Coffee Break Sessions, and Feed the Mind further reinforce adoption and James Hardie’s company values by building skills, enabling cross-functional collaboration, and connecting innovation efforts to real operational challenges.
"As part of the Innovation Forum Committee, I’ve seen firsthand the power of grassroots efforts to drive cultural change. By creating opportunities for collaboration and engagement, we’ve built both confidence and capability in AI and digital tools across our R&D community. More importantly, we’ve unlocked collective intelligence enabling teams to share ideas, learn from one another, and turn those ideas into tangible impact aligned with business priorities."
– Durva Naik, Research Scientist, James Hardie
Business Impact
The result is a scalable, employee-driven innovation model that consistently translates ideas into measurable business outcomes. By embedding AI capability directly within R&D and linking grassroots innovation to formal governance, James Hardie has created a repeatable framework for identifying, validating, and scaling high-impact solutions across the business.
What began as an employee-driven innovation initiative has evolved into a global innovation operating model that strengthens collaboration, accelerates the development of high-impact solutions, and helps teams turn practical ideas into operational and financial results.
Key Questions to Ask Your Employees
Discover the best questions to engage your employees, spark meaningful ideas, and turn workplace insights into impactful innovation.
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