Work environment problems associated with reinforcement work at constructions sites are often great and difficult. This applies especially to the ergonomic situation. The situation is particularly difficult in connection with reinforcement in horizontal structural elements such as slabs and foundation slabs on the ground, where several of the most difficult load factors occur. Since about 15 years there is an innovation (rollout bar carpets) available on the Swedish market. This innovation can many times be used at these structural elements and gives both time savings and working environmental benefits. Despite this the innovation has been and is adopted rather seldom. The reasons for this have been studied through semi structured interviews with with design-engineers, site-managers, workers and persons working at a reinforcement manufacturing company. The main results from the study are as follows: i) Rollout bar carpets have a potential of improving both work environment and time consumption on site. However, this may not be enough in itself to achieve a general adoption of the technology. ii) The implementation and adoption of innovations in construction may be more complex than the novelty of the innovation may suggest. This is due to the contextual delimitations of a project-based industry and the different roles in the construction process.

During the last decade there has been intense discussion in Sweden about industrialization in construction. The discussion has focused on industrialization in connection with erection of multi dwelling houses. It has been argued that industrialization is a key factor as regards obtaining affordable high-quality dwellings. During the last ten years some new industrialization concepts have been developed and tested. Even though some concepts have failed others have been more successful and are under further development. Industrialization is a reality within the Swedish construction sector and can be assumed to play an important role in the future as regards obtaining affordable high-quality dwellings. In this paper success factors related to four industrialized building concepts/methods are described and discussed. The review is based on available literature relating to each of the concepts/methods/producers, from which it was possible to ascertain success and failure factors.

The construction sector is often accused of being inefficient, conservative and noninnovative, although some commentators have suggested that the construction sector is not backward, it is merely different to other industries. One of these differences is the uniqueness of construction projects, which are determined by the characteristics of the site, interaction of project participants (also partly site specific) and the relationship between contractors and building product producers (which changes from one project to another). These factors are known to colour construction innovation. Previous research into the Swedish construction sector has identified a significant gap between the building product producers who are 'product focused' and the contractors who are 'project focused', with concerns expressed about effectiveness of communication between two. The findings of previous research imply, both implicitly and explicitly, that this gap may be hindering innovation within the construction sector. This appears to have implications for those concerned with construction, the building users and society as a whole. In this paper the authors provide an extensive review of the literature and research findings from which a number of unique insights are offered. The reasons for the gap between producers and contractors are discussed and a number of innovative measures are proposed that may help to bridge the gap, and hence improve innovation systems. The paper concludes with some practical findings for producers and contractors as well as some thoughts on where future research should be targeted.

In facilities management, decisions regarding how and when maintenance and rebuilding are to be carried out are made on a regular basis. Typically, there is a compromise regarding cost, usability and the possibility of exploring new options. Many case studies indicate that a large number of these decisions are based on simple models and that they are not adequately investigated. This is a problem, especially in cases of public procurement, where a high level of transparency in decision making is desired. There is a need for a proper decision basis in order to build a society that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. A working method is proposed as a tool for the integration of costs and benefits in decision making on investments in sustainable re-building. The guideline gives an overview as to why, when and how impact assessments and project appraisals can be conducted on different levels on a scale from tactical decisions to strategic decisions. The proposed method can be used to prioritise actions that need attention and to decide which preventive measures are the most efficient from an economic point of view. This paper explores the practical application of the guideline and presents an economic analysis and valuation in sustainable rebuilding management. Finally, the prerequisites for impact assessment and project appraisal and how they can be used and accepted by the users and decision-makers are discussed.

Rapporten är en förstudie om det framtida platsbyggandet och belyser de produktionsförutsättningar som gör att mänskliga och maskinella resurser utnyttjas bättre än idag. Fokus är såväl på ny teknik och nya metoder som samverkan, ICT och arbetsorganisation. Resultaten bygger på litteraturstudier samt intervjuer med företrädare för byggsektorn.I rapporten beskrivs också byggandet i ett historiskt utvecklingsperspektiv för att på så sätt sätta in visionerna i sitt rätta sammanhang.

Bakgrund: I slutet av 70-talet påbörjades studier om överförbrukning av material i byggproduktionen med FoU-Väst som pådrivare och SBUF som finansiär. Det genomfördes då ett antal “materialspills- projekt” som blev ganska uppmärksammade och som påverkade synen på hur viktigt det är att hantera byggmaterial på rätt sätt. Under de mer än trettio år som gått sedan dess har ett flertal utvecklingsprojekt om byggandets logistik genomförts. Men ämnet är inte uttömt, byggande innebär ständig utveckling och eftersom 50 % av kostnaderna i ett byggprojekt är kostnader för material finns det fortfarande många möjligheter till effektivisering. I detta utvecklingsprojekt har några arbetsplatser studerats samtidigt som samverkan med några byggmaterialleverantörer har undersökts.

Syfte: Det finns ett betydande slöseriet inom byggmaterialhanteringen. Brister i inköps- och materialhanteringsprocessen påverkar i hög grad byggandets effektivitet. Exempel på detta är överproduktion, korrigeringsarbete, onödig förflyttning av material, stora materiallager, väntetid i produktionen och onödiga arbetskraftsförflyttningar. Allt detta rör logistiken på byggarbetsplatsen. Bygglogistik omfattar planering, organisering, koordinering och kontroll av materialflöden från råmaterial tills det att materialet byggts in i den färdiga byggnaden. Syftet med detta projekt har varit att identifiera och förklara faktorer som har betydelse för materialflödeskostnadernas struktur och storlek, och som är möjliga att påverka. Normala byggmaterial har valts ut för praktikfallsstudier – material som är besvärliga ur logistikperspektiv och som har en stor besparingspotential.

Genomförande: Med stöd från SBUF har arbetet utförts av deltagare från PEAB och Högskolan i Halmstad. För att samla in materialet till rapporten gjordes en omfattande litteraturstudie. Vidare gjordes uppföljningar på sju olika husbyggnadsarbetsplatser och intervjuer med sex byggmaterialtillverkare/leverantörer genomfördes.

Resultat: Erfarenheter från tidigare projekt: Det finns alltså en mängd studier gjorda som visar på olika brister i byggandets materialhantering och många menar att med utnyttjande av studiernas rekommendationer borde kostnaderna för material och hantering av material kunna minskas med bortåt 50 %. Den största vinsten kan nås genom att effektivisera hantering och lagring av byggmaterial. Reduktion av materialspill och minskade störningar kan också ge minskade logistikkostnader. Lägsta pris är ofta inte det samma som lägsta totalkostnad. Det fysiska flödet på byggarbetsplatsen kan förbättras genom att försöka skapa tillgång till nödvändigt byggmaterial utan att bygga upp för stora lager. Byggmaterial som lagras länge riskerar att användas till annat, fördärvas eller att stjälas. Byggmaterialterminaler kan i vissa fall vara ett alternativ till lager på byggarbetsplatsen. Många pekar på vikten av långsiktigt samarbete mellan leverantör och entreprenör/projekt. Men denna samverkan försvåras genom att byggarna går från projekt till projekt och att det krävs så många olika byggmaterial. Det kontinuerliga samarbetet och standardisering av kommunikation och produkter blir lidande på grund av detta.Under senare år har det blivit vanligare med import av byggmaterial. Import kan ge billigare priser men risken är att dessa vinster äts upp av ökande logistikkostnader.

Previous research has indicated that poor cooperation has dominated the relationship between building-material manufacturers and contractors in Europe for more than a century. The purpose of this study, based on earlier research by the authors, analysis of data and reference to other studies, is to ascertain whether the previous indication of poor cooperation still applies and whether this, subsequently, affects the development of new construction products, based on the premise that development demands product ideas in order to know what to develop as well as cooperation in order to facilitate this development. Semi structured interviews with ten Swedish and two Danish building-material manufacturers were carried out to investigate the extent to which they cooperate with contractors to develop new products. None of the twelve building-material manufactures were found to cooperate with contractors, but rather with other manufac-turers. Cooperation in the building industry still seems to be poor. The findings show that there is a need for further studies in this area to explore ways in which cooperation can be improved or increased.

A construction project demands large quantities of material, and material therefore endures a big portion of the projects budget. The focus on short-term profitability is therefore a set-back in the effort of the construction industry’s attempt to develop the industry. Construction logistics consists of many processes and activities which are related to each other by complex relationships. Materials are received, moved, etc. creating a pattern of movement on the construction site. Reflecting the reality on site, a study was performed studying the movement of materials connected to activities on site, with the purpose to display the costs of the internal material logistics. The three cases indicate that planning is a key-factor when reducing costs connected to site-logistics. Where to put material, to which activity the material belong, and for what it should be used, are aspects which form the foundation for material-flow and material-cost-flow