The need for labor in the construction sector is today greater than the supply. As a result, several companies use foreign labor, which constitutes challenges. Previous studies highlight that problems can arise mainly in the categories of cultural differences, communication, security, quality and time.

The purpose of this study is to investigate issues of foreign labor from the perspective of managers. Furthermore, the study aims to highlight positive effects with insourcing, a difference to previous research where the workforce has been external.

The study is conducted through qualitative methodology where review of existing literature has highlighted apparent issues to handle. In addition, semistructured interviews where conducted with the case company management team to investigate experienced issues as well as the impact of the insourcing strategy. The analysis and discussion of the interviews results in a list of improvement suggestions for companies using foreign labor. A general conclusion is that insourcing is beneficial to construction companies using foreign labor, as it provides continuity and improved opportunity for development and guidance. Furthermore, the education and development of the workers is easier to follow up.

This degree project is about sustainable low-cost housing in Ethiopia with a focus on CSSB-technology, which is one method of constructing houses. The project allowed me to visit Ethiopia during seven weeks in 2010, to observe, gather information and to perform tests regarding the specific subject. It is a sub-project to a larger research project initiated in 2002 at Halmstad University in an attempt to introduce low-cost housing technologies for the Kambaata Region in Ethiopia. The aim of the research project has been to develop and test new, sustainable, low-cost building technologies intended for the population, with regard to local traditions, needs and affordability.

There has been recently a growing attention towards the potential benefits of building information modelling (BIM) in construction business processes from both academia and industry practitioners. While prior research has emphasised that there is a link between the proficiency of construction companies to use BIM and the realisation of BIM benefits, little evidence exists to capture this relationship. The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which prior BIM experiences influence the perception of industry experts on potential BIM benefits. The influence of years of BIM experience on the discernment of BIM potential benefits was examined through a survey of Australian building contractors. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that BIM experience was a significant factor in the realisation of potential BIM benefits. The results suggest that an increase in years of BIM experience foster a better understanding of BIM benefits, which consequently can lead to a more inspiring movement towards the adoption of BIM by construction organisations. The main contribution of this article is to increase awareness towards the adoption and implementation of BIM by making a link between BIM proficiency and an increased perception of BIM potential benefits in construction organisations. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Absorptive capacity (AC) is a theoretical construct that measures the capacity of an organisation to absorb knowledge from external sources to sustain competitive advantage. Information dispersion makes it difficult for project-based organisations (PBOs) to absorb new ideas. The current study uses AC theory to examine how the use of building information modelling (BIM) affects the capacity of building contractors to absorb new information and become more competitive. A desktop study of secondary sources was undertaken to assess if there is a potential link between BIM and contractor AC. This revealed that the potential benefits of BIM’s technical features are motivated through its functional attributes. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to clarify the underlying relationship of a cluster of variables. The results of EFA led to the confirmed three categories for BIM functional attributes, including: (1) integration, (2) comprehensibility, and (3) transparency. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the latent relationship between BIM functional attributes and contractor AC. The regression analysis of survey data, which was gathered from 56 building contractors in Queensland, Australia, showed that the transparency function of BIM functional attributes significantly correlated with acquisition and transformation dimensions of contractor AC. The study confirms a link between BIM and contractor AC, providing further evidence of the importance of BIM in sustaining the competitive advantage of project-based organisations. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Purpose: The implementation and control processes of project planning and scheduling involve a wide range of methods and tools. Despite the development and modification and integration of the project management theory with newer scheduling approaches in particular, practitioners’ views on the efficiency and effectiveness of these methods and tools differ. This situation can be attributed in part to a lack of understanding of the most appropriate basis for implementing these methods and tools. This study, therefore, aims to overcome this deficiency by conceptualizing and adopting a taxonomy of planning and scheduling methods.

Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a review and discourse analysis of the literature covering a large number of theoretical and empirical studies. The underlying theories of various planning and scheduling methods were analyzed with respect to the taxonomy criteria adopted in the study.

Findings: Using the taxonomy, the key characteristics of planning and scheduling methods considered in this study were identified and interpreted. These included concepts and theories; key features; suitability and usability; and benefits and limitations. Overall, the findings suggest that project managers should consider taxonomy as a support tool for selecting and prioritizing the most appropriate method or combination of methods for managing their projects. Recommendations include the need for more advanced or multi-dimensional taxonomies to cope with the diversity of project type and size.

Originality/value: The results of the study allow project managers to improve their current practices by utilizing taxonomy when considering the implementation of planning and scheduling methods. Moreover, taxonomy can be considered as a tool to promote learning on the part of those less experienced in planning and scheduling. Taxonomy can be considered as an initial platform for further research in this area. © 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

In Sweden, castings occur all year round, similar to all other countries in the world.However, since Sweden have fairly low temperatures in most months of the year, winter casting becomes a hot topic to talk about. Winter casting is largely followed by many measures to prevent early freezing in mature concrete. A critical success factor during the construction phase is to take off the formwork at the adequate strength and at the right time. The concrete must reach adequate strength without additives otherwise the formwork is left standing longer than required, which has a major impact on the schedule and budget. Therefore, companies and contractors strive to complete this task in an orderly manner to minimize construction time and design costs. The study’s great emphasis is to scrutinize and compare the forecasted simulations byprogram PPB against measured values of temperature development and strength growth that was measured in the concrete from the casting time up to a few days later. The comparison will test how effective PPB is to forecast the heat evolution in concrete after casting, especially during the winter.The methods used to achieve the result are:A temperature register from the thermocouples that measures the heat evolution in concrete.Forecasting of construction elements that have the same properties and conditions as in reality.Literature studies that describe the methodology for this necessity. Results of the work indicate promising success for the program after multipleconformities between measurement values and simulations. Additionalrecommendations and documentations were provided for better results.

Rebar carpet is an innovation that favors the working environment of the rebar workers and saves time. Reinforcement workers today are a vulnerable group. Heavy lifts and backbreaking postures are a part of their everyday work. It is already established that work with rebar carpets is both time-saving, economically beneficial and from a working environment point of view better than traditional reinforcement work. Despite all benefits it is used in rather few projects today.

The purpose of this study is to identify how the construction industry embraces new innovations related to in situ concrete with post-tensioned reinforcement. The goals are to find out how designers, contractors and manufacturers are working to adopt rebar carpets in the construction process and to shed light on, factors affecting the adoption.

The study is based on semi-structured interviews with designers, contractors and a representative of a rebar manufacturing company.

Designers and contractors have not, generally speaking, been actively working to adopt rebar carpet. The governing factors for the use of rebar carpets is the designers and contractors knowledge and previous experience of rebar carpet. The contractors who have previous experience of rebar carpet can imagine using rebar carpet again and contractors with no previous experience believe that they need more knowledge of rebar carpet before they dare to try. Design engineers who have designed for rebar carpet before has it in mind when they design other projects. Designers who have no previous experience of rebar carpet demand more knowledge about how they can facilitate the use of rebar carpet.

This study explores the use of Re-Con Zero aggregates (RCZ-aggregates), a material made from recycled concrete and a two-component powder product, as an alternative to traditional virgin aggregates material in concrete production. The primary purpose of the study is to contribute to a more sustainable and circular concrete industry, where surplus or excess  concrete does not become a waste problem but a valuable resource. The study aims to fill a knowledge gap regarding how RCZ-aggregates impacts the fresh and hardened properties of concrete.

The study investigates whether RCZ-​​aggregates can match the performance of traditional aggregates materials with respect to key concrete properties such as density, water absorption, and other mechanical properties like slump, air content, and compressive strength.

Experimental methods included tests to compare between concrete mixes with traditional aggregates and those containing RCZ-aggregates. These tests measured the density and water absorption of RCZ-aggregates, as well as slump and air content at different times (0, 30, and 60 minutes) and compressive strength at various curing times (1, 7, and 28 days) for all mixes.

The results from these tests showed that concrete made with RCZ-aggregates generally had higher water absorption and lower density compared to traditional mixes. Despite these material-induced differences, the concrete with RCZ-aggregates achieved compressive strength values that were similarly within the range of a normally distributed material at all tested times. This demonstrates that RCZ-aggregates is considered suitable in terms of compressive strength.

The conclusions from the study underscore that RCZ-aggregates , made from residual concrete, is a fully functioning alternative to virgin aggregates material in concrete, with good compressive strength. However, there are clear differences in slump, where the behavior of the concrete varies depending on whether it is mixed with newly produced or saturated RCZ-aggregates. The study also reveals that both newly produced and saturated RCZ-aggregates affect the air content of concrete differently compared to concrete made with virgin aggregates material.

The construction industry has of recent been blamed for lack of innovation. Lack of innovation in the industry is believed to be responsible for the decreasing or stagnant levels of productivity in comparison with other industries. This paper reviews the major barriers and enables to innovation in general. Propositions were made about the factors that affect innovation in the construction industry which were then formulated into a questionnaire. A survey was made on building contractors in Uganda, a developing country, targeting those with financial strength, large in size, and with high capacity to carry out big projects. The identified factors were then ranked and correlated. The level of training in science, engineering and technical education, and the level of research and development at the industry level are looked at as the greatest innovation enablers in building that will drive forward labour productivity. The size of the domestic market and the level of security are the worst innovation barriers that lead to low productivity in the building industry in Uganda. Contractors, policy makers and the government should address the identified factors in order to improve productivity.

Planning and scheduling are considered as one of the most difficult but most important processes from perspectives of project management. These processes involve implementation of a widerange of planning methods used by different organizations with various levels of planning knowledge. The planning methods for scheduling can be classified as traditional methods (e.g. line of balance, Gantt chart and critical path) and modern methods (e.g. last planner and critical chain). Over time these methods had advanced from paper based to computer based. However, some project planners still prefer using the traditional methods despite other new alternatives. Users of those methods have different perspectives about the efficiency and effectiveness of the different planning methods used to manage different projects. Evidences from the secondary data found from extensive literatures have been used to assess the planning and scheduling methods mentioned above. A taxonomy describing each of the method in terms of their theories, key features, application areas, benefits and limitations is presented. The preliminary outcome of this paper may provide a tool to aid organizations in selecting and prioritizing the most appropriate methods to be developed and implemented in planning and scheduling of their projects. It also initializes a theoretical base for more rapid taxonomy studies on the use of different planning and scheduling approaches. As an overall, the present paper reminds practitioners of common ground about its important insights on how such taxonomy studies have potential to make scope of those methods and tools clearer, especially when they compare among them within the same application contexts.

The construction market has, as a result of the crisis in Europe been uncertain in recent years. During the year 2013, the construction will be stabilized, in particular Finland. The geographical proximity between Sweden and Finland and similarities in cultures and climates makes Finland a coveted market for many Swedish companies.

Differences in national regulations and guidelines, which are produced by the authorities in different countries, are examples of barriers that may hamper the process, including for Swedish villa suppliers, to establish themselves on the Finnish market. It may be useful when facing a new export drive, to look up what similarities and differences there are between the countries building codes, to prevent mistakes and unnecessary costs to the project work.

In Sweden there are 299 000 working in the construction industry. The construction industry is one of the industries where most accidents occur every year. During the last ten years there have been 111 death accidents in the construction industry and 48 of them were falling accidents. That means, in average, one death accident every month.

Falling accidents gives serious injuries to the persons who are affected by them. It is anticipated that this report will investigate the factors beyond the falling accidents and also to present proposals that can decrease the number of falling accidents in the future.

To secure a healthy and safe construction site it is of great importance that both the employers and the employees cooperate towards the same goal. A good work environment will benefit both the employer, the project will be finished in time with a good profit margin, and the employees will be satisfied to everyday come to a secure construction site.

The result of this report indicate that it’s very important to plan the work before executing it ,so that everyone involved knows what they are going to do. This, together with, better management from the company’s directors to the employees will reduce the risk for accidents to occur.

Implementation of BIM in the construction industry relies on sufficient knowledge and skills about BIM in order to gain momentum and success. Thorough understanding of the possibilities as well as challenges related to the application of BIM constitutes essential drivers for the adoption of BIM among all the industry actors throughout the construction process. Thus, there is a need for supply of knowledge and skills about BIM and its implications on the organisation, communication, management, business models etc. in construction. Accordingly, universities play an important role as a knowledge and skills supplier that helps to provide the necessary conditions for the implementation of BIM in the construction industry. This study investigates how the curricula of engineering and architectural teaching programs at Swedish universities and university colleges have responded to the apparent and increasing demand for BIM competences in industry. The study relies on a survey of 10 universities and 8 university colleges that provide engineering and architectural teaching programs at a master’s and/or a bachelor’s level. The findings show that bachelor’s engineering programs at university colleges generally have adopted BIM into the curricula to a somewhat larger extent compared to engineering programs at a master’s level. The BIM-adoption in architectural programs is, however, significantly limited. Further, the degree of BIM-adoption differs significantly between the respective teaching programs. Only few universities have adopted BIM as an integrated subject in courses that deal with general construction related issues. The predominant approach is to implement BIM-subjects as discrete teaching modules, i.e. stand-alone courses, rather than as a cross disciplinary aspect implemented in a number of the existing courses. Besides, a considerate mismatch is identified between the technical characteristics of the BIM curricula at universities and the process-oriented approach to BIM represented by the industry. Thus, the universities would benefit from a closer collaboration with the industry in BIM-related matters and they need to take on a strategic approach to BIM at an overall university or program level in order to avoid isolated BIM initiatives at a single course level.

Recent studies depict the general need to increase and improve innovation in the construction industry. Innovation processes are traditionally described and analysed either on a macro level or a micro level. Production in construction is basically project oriented, as opposed to manufacturing industries for which most of these theories are developed. It is not fully sufficient to study innovation from a micro or a macro level due to the effects of the project orientation and the large number of actors in the construction industry. The objective of this paper is to present a model of the construction innovation systems from a sector systems approach. The study rests upon findings in the area of innovation systems in general and construction innovation systems in particular on one hand and construction sector systems analysis on the other. This paper presents arguments for the development of activity based innovation systems at a construction sector level.

Building with volume element is relatively new and has started to increase more and more. The regulations that exist to regulate and determine how the transports of volume elements are to be conducted are diffuse and not very well adjusted to address the issues with transporting volume elements. Today there are a number of instances that a company has to turn to in order to get a somewhat different view, what regulations say and interpret it in order to know what applies and not applies regarding the transportation of volume elements. regulations. The rules that are in place make it tough for the volume element producing companies to develop and continue to be active on the market. New stricter laws regarding environment safe building leads to the volume elements getting larger which makes it even harder to transport them from a law and rules point of view.

This case study compares the function and framework of a building from 1898 with the requirements regarding sustainability and strength when building today. The purpose of this study is to get a better understanding of the requirements by investigating a building that was built without them.

The requirements on a new building’s sustainability are today applied to old buildings that undergo extensive renovation. Two measurements to ensure high sustainability are primary energy and the heat transfer coefficient. A well-insulated building has a low heat transfer coefficient and will require less energy to heat and therefore be more energy efficient and more sustainable.

Calculations have been made to determine the strength of the roof and the walls according to the Eurocodes and the nationally determined parameters, EKS. The primary energy and heat transfer coefficient has been calculated and compared to the mandatory provisions, Boverkets byggregler, BBR.

The result shows that the framework is strong enough to take care of the loads it is exposed to. Most of the requirements regarding sustainability fail to be met. Although in conclusion it should be possible to meet some, if not all, the requirements with further renovation without harming the cultural value of the building.

With the housing shortage in Sweden today, effective solutions to the problems that arise are required. One of the issues in almost every construction project is change orders which often causes additional work and could negative impacts on the project such as reduced productivity; it could cause rework which could affect the working environment and increase the project cost. This report will review an alternative method of managing change work called “TvåTågsPrincipen” (TTP). What characterizes the method is that you produce in two teams, a production team that strives for continuous production, and a second team that comes in afterward as the production has passed from a moment or building component to carry out all changes and additions.  After several interviews with people within construction following conclusions were drawn: the method can bring both positive and negative effects to a project, and both are important to keep in mind. Examples of positive impacts could be accordingly: higher productivity, better working environment and lower costs. Incorrect use of the method could result in larger change orders, greater environmental impact and more material usage.

The construction industry is currently known for projects often being delayed. Since planning is very important for the whole building project, it is very important that this is done correctly. More time should be put to plan the different projects so that the project should go on as smooth and efficient as possible. By using improved planning methods, you can contribute to a more efficient production on the construction site with less disturbances and corrections of errors.

The purpose with this study is to compare the two planning methods, Critical Path and Line of Balance, and compare its strengths and weaknesses with each other. Hopefully, this study also contributes to development opportunities in planning in the construction sector. The result of the study has shown that Critical Path is a well-developed method that is best suited to non- repetitive projects such as construction of villas, schools and other unique projects. Line of Balance is better suited to projects with repetitive activities, for example construction of highways or the production of high-rise buildings. 

This project is a part of the master thesis for the course Energy smart innovation in the built environment at Halmstad University. This project is done to check the feasibility of VAWT on replacing traditional horizontal axis windmills, costly offshore windmills, and other renewables. As Micro VAWT are smaller, they can be placed where traditional windmills will not be. To stress the point, these can be placed in places like traffic islands and open garden areas.  Lots of such projects are currently ongoing in different parts of the world. Sweden is lagging in this technology diffusion. We concluded that VAWM couldn't alone be used to replace traditional HAWTs or be enough to reach the full renewable target. They can be used in conjunction with HAWT to boost production and efficiency, and we also found other similar uses for VAWM. A business model is suggested so as for the optimal diffusion of VAWT. Our proposal of a micro VAWT of 1.8 million was able to produce 1.41TWh.We found that it was not possible to achieve with VAWT alone.

In the autumn of 2020, a new law was passed which means that it became mandatory to sort waste into six fractions and to register the removal of hazardous waste in a system. The fractions are wood, minerals, metal, glass, plastic and plaster and in addition to these, combustible and hazardous waste must be sorted separately. It was mainly the EU member states that decided this as the countries need better waste management. The Swedish government has also been involved in developing this at a national level. One goal of the new law is to create cleaner waste streams. The report addresses previous research on waste management and logistics management. Three of Serneke's construction projects in Vänersborg were visited. This resulted in the law not having such a large impact on reality as without the projects already having a good adaptation to the new requirements. In order to have better waste management and more efficient logistics management in future projects, good planning is primarily required in both the design and production phases. It is good to learn from the projects of that time and see what can continue to be used and what can be improved.

This report summarises the work undertaken in the CREDIT project and proposals for how to implement the CREDIT framework. It is the final part of the Nordic/Baltic project CREDIT: Construction and Real Estate – Developing Indicators for Transparency. The report presents the objectives and the research model for CREDIT followed by a summary of the results of CREDIT Reports 2, 3, 4 and 5. The conclusive part of the report presents national recommendations of how to implement the CREDIT framework in the Nordic/Baltic countries Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia and Lithuania.

ICT-tools is increasingly being used by the construction industry to streamline the production and simplify the dissemination of information. When implementing ICT-tools, the industry challenges the outcome with its many factors. Despite existing guidelines regarding implementation, there is a tendency to not utilize ICT-tools since it is not considered applicable by the industry. The case study focusses on the planning before implementation of ICT-tools, in order to find out what these attitudes depend on and how to handle them.

The purpose is to see how the process before implementation can look like, highlight key factors that are typical for construction and find solutions to them.

The method is a combination of a case study and a literature study. The report follows a classic construction company when it is planning implementation of an ICT-tool. The authors evaluate the work with a constant comparative and ethnographic participant observation, where behaviour patterns are analysed. Observed patterns are divided into four themes by the authors which is discussed and leads to the conclusion that the structure and information flows are not clear in the construction industry. Finally, the authors present an activity schedule, in order to facilitate planning of implementation. It primarily permeates notes that instruct clarity and consistently preparatory activities.

This thesis examines the approach to addressing climate issues in construction sites, focusing on the Pålsjöäng project in Helsingborg, which has a strong climate focus. The study aims to establish how work with a lowered climate impact is being integrated into construction practices, using the project as an example of active efforts towards low carbon footprint. Structured interviews with various professionals working in the project provide empirical data that is analyzed and compared with the theoretical framework, highlighting what distinguishes Pålsjöäng from traditional construction practices. Results indicate that the construction industry is breaking out of traditional practices and routines and emphasizes the significance of experience feedback in developing solutions for upcoming challenges. The report stresses the responsibility of leading industry players in guiding the construction industry towards low carbon practices and setting expectations from the beginning of the procurement process to facilitate meaningful change. Overall, the report provides insights and lessons learned on how work with sustainability issues in construction sites occurs, and how active progress can be made to reduce carbon footprint.

Key concepts identified; sustainable development construction, implementation construction, knowledge transfer construction, and contract impact construction.

Collaborative approaches to infrastructure procurement are increasingly popular around the world due to their potential to provide improved project performance compared with more traditional approaches. The problem is that project outcomes continue to be unpredictable. Previous research has shown that this is the case regardless of whether the chosen procurement approach is based on price or non price selection of the project team. This is a major choice that clients make, but the presented research shows that governance choices for project execution are more important. This is significant because clients tend to focus more on procurement choices and typically do not differentiate governance based on those choices. This needs to change, and the authors show that optimal governance configurations vary on the basis of the chosen type of team configuration. For example, three specific governance arrangements for workshops are highlighted for single teams, and two specific governance arrangements for risk/reward sharing are highlighted for multiple teams. This study identifies governance actions that are associated with superior time and cost outcomes on collaborative infrastructure projects in Australia run by experienced public-sector clients under the two procurement scenarios. Based on a survey of 320 senior managers, independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare the application of governance actions among three distinct groups of projects, based on type of team selection and type of project outcome. The study provides evidence of the most effective approaches to project governance in a country that is a world leader. The results provide much needed recommendations for improved project performance based on large-scale quantitative analysis, which before now has not existed. Overall, the study recommends more attention be paid to noncontractual governance under both approaches to team selection, although the specific actions recommended vary. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.

The purpose of this study is to show the technical building requirements for modern arenas inSweden. The study will also create an understanding of how the requirements affect theSwedish football arenas which are affected by the regulations valid from 2014. As one of theSwedish football arenas there is Örjans Vall located in Halmstad. The aim of this study is todevelop alternative solutions regarding the technical problems Örjans Vall is facing 2014,when the new arena requirements for “Svensk elitfotboll” are taken into use. The solutions aremeant to be seen as suggestions which can inspire and guide the future planning for themodernization of Örjans Vall.In order to present a suggestion with technical building solutions the study contains differentphases. The first phase is an evaluation of the arena requirements and criteria, with focus onthe technical building requirements, which are of importance when creating solutions forÖrjans Vall. The second phase is a review of the arena situation in Sweden. The last phase isan evaluation of Örjans Vall made towards the previous evaluation of the requirements andcriteria as the basis.The evaluation of Örjans Vall shows which technical building defects the football arena have.A rebuild and expansion of Örjans Vall is essential and needs to take place before 2014 unlessan exemption is issued. When all the parts in a complete suggestion should be consideredfollows a discussion where each area is treated separately. All areas will then form the basisof a complete suggestion for how a future Örjans Vall could be designed. The basis for thediscussions are simple solutions were practical suggestions are presented. In the areas where asimple solution does not exist, other arenas in Sweden will be considered to inspire theproposal.The solutions include the defects in different areas but also renovations and extensions of thebleachers where the main defects are shown. The report presents four alternative renovationsand extensions of the bleachers where an overall proposal is developed to meet the spectatorinterests.

The construction industry has been heavily criticized in the past few years for its development of productivity compared to the manufacturing industry. In 2009 the Social Care Center developed a report that treated och criticized different errors within the construction industry. For instance competence, construction errors and performance had showned bad results which had to be improved. A common sentence within the building industry is that ”every project is unique”.

Today it’s common for a construction company to have costs for material and services which exceeds two-thirds of the total cost. The greater part of the total costs therefore does not lie within the companies internal organisation, but at the suppliers. Studies showed that external costs will increase in the future.

New working methods from the manufacturing company, like Lean Construction and Partnering are starting to establish more and more in the building industry. The larger companies have learned how to use this new way of working but also the medium sized companies have started to show their interests for these methods that will work in a way of preventing problems, finding solutions and shrinking the costs.

The construction company, Jonab, showed their interest for partnering and through earlier cooperation with Halmstad University it resulted in this final thesis. The scope of this thesis is to investigate with neutral view, Jonab’s business relationship focusing on the suppliers. From the perspective of partnering, we’ve given Jonab an overview over their relationships and recommendations on how to improve it with the use of partnering.

The digital revolution has introduced several tools for structural engineers in the form of computer programs. These computer tools have partly transformed the role of structural engineers from their performing manual calculations to using different computer programs, evaluating the results, and checking codes. 

Advanced computer-based calculation programs are often relied on when dimensioning structural parts. However, these are associated with certain consequences, especially when using black box software, which increases the need for an estimated model. 

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the design of a concrete slab is estimated and how the results of such an estimate calculation relate to the results from computer calculations.

The research method involves three main steps: gathering facts from references to learn how to design a concrete slab; developing a calculation model; and learning how to use PEPS, which is a type of black box software for performing calculations.

In the analysis, PEPS is compared with manual calculations and the following conclusions are drawn based on the results:

The estimate dimensioning of an edge-stiffened concrete slab can be simplified by using the equilibrium equation based on the edge beam. Results from this simplified method will differ from results produced by the computer program. 

Simplified calculations are used to check the reasonableness of the PEPS results: Although PEPS indicates the cause of the bearing capacity of the concrete slab, the program fails to demonstrate how the results are calculated.

This thesis has been developed inassociation with Strängbetong AB, Sweden.

A few years backCementa AB introduced a new type of cement on the Swedish market: Byggcement,which is a Portland Limestone Cement. This type of cement is better for theenvironment and cheaper than Rapid Hardening Cement which is used today at SträngbetongAB.

Strängbetong AB isvery interested in a change of cement in the factory and wants to know what ittakes to make a transition from Rapid Hardening Cement to Byggcement.

This final projectaims at investigating how the workability and strength development are affectedby a transition from the existing cement to Byggcement and how we can change theproperties of the concrete by adding different types of superplasticizers. 

Laboratory and factoryexperiments were made, to investigate the transition.

There is a strong need for a productive and innovative infrastructure sector because of its monetary value and importance for the development of a sustainable society. An increased level of industrialization is often proposed as a way to improve efficiency and productivity in construction projects. In prior literature on industrialized construction, there are however neither many studies addressing more long-term aspects of innovation and sustainability nor studies within the infrastructure context. Organizational theory suggests that firms need to be ambidextrous and focus on both long-term exploration of new knowledge and Technologies and short-term exploitation of current knowledge and technologies, in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, an investigation of how both short-term exploitative performance objectives and long-term explorative development can be addressed when implementing industrialized construction in infrastructure projects was conducted. A case study consisting of four infrastructure projects shows that the main drivers for increased industrialization are of an exploitative nature, focusing on cost savings and increased productivity through more efficient processes. The main barriers to increased industrialization are however related to both explorative and exploitative activities. Hence, by managing the identified barriers and explicitly addressing both exploitation and exploration, industrialized construction can improve both short-term efficiency and long-term innovation and sustainability. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

This report that is written in cooperation with Peab Sverige AB, studies the information and knowledge management from the production support to the production management.

The conclusion of this report is that to have a good and functional information and knowledge management it is necessary that the company has a good way of regain and handling experiences from its projects. The way to do this is to develop the managing system on the production management’s terms. It is also critical to find an easy way for the production management to use the system.

Inom varje projektorganisation finns det olika individer som ska skapa en produkt av hög kvalitet enligt kundens krav och förväntningar. För att bedriva projekten på ett effektivt sätt med ett bra samarbete har partnering vuxit fram. För att lyckas skapa ett bra samarbete gäller det att motivera och engagera alla inblandade till att arbeta åt samma mål. Beteendet ändras dock inte automatiskt hos människor bara för att de arbetar i ett partnering-projekt. Kontinuerligt arbete krävs för att motivera och engagera individer under hela projektets gång. I den här studien kommer partnering hänvisas till ett arbetssätt för att uppnå samarbete, motivation och engagemang. Skapar projekten en arbetsmiljö som gör att anställda presterar på sin högsta nivå kan det leda till att produktionen blir effektivare. För att yrkesarbetarna ska prestera på sin högsta nivå är det viktigt att motivera och engagera dem under produktionen. Examensarbetets syfte var att undersöka hur yrkesarbetarna motiverades och engagerades och vad i partnering som kunde bidra med att skapa detta hos yrkesarbetarna. Studien har utförts med hjälp av informanter från Skanska, Hus Göteborg.

Faktorer som gjorde att yrkesarbetarna blev motiverade var att de hade kul på jobbet och bra kollegor runt sig i arbetet. Det var också motiverande att vara delaktig och involverad i att skapa produkter med hög kvalitet. Många av informanterna menade att kundens mål och visioner var viktigt för att få möjlighet att skapa en produkt som når upp till förväntningarna. Genom att yrkesarbetarna får fokusera på mål och visioner samt vara med och sätta upp dem kan mer motivation och engagemang skapas. Partnering kan i teorin bidra till att skapa motivation och engagemang men det är upp till varje projektorganisation hur organisationen väljer att implementera samarbetsformen partnering i projektet. I resultatet kan inte något specifikt urskiljas kring vad det är i partnering som motiverar yrkesarbetarna. Det som motiverar yrkesarbetarna kan göras i alla projekt och det är upp till projektorganisationen men också varje anställd att skapa förutsättningar till att skapa en motiverande arbetsmiljö där de anställda upplever tillfredställelse och trivsel.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether construction logistics services are still carried out mostly in an ad hoc manner, or has advanced to a more standardized, strategically implemented practice and to explore different actors' attitudes towards construction logistics. Design/methodology/approach - Unlike previous studies of construction logistics, relying on single or multiple case studies, a survey was designed to deliver a generalizable snapshot of contemporary industry practices and the status of construction logistics. A total of 902 responses from the Swedish construction industry were collected with the help of the industry wide questionnaire. Findings - The results show that construction logistics setups (CLSs) are only used by 14% of the responding organizations, which confirms that construction logistics services are still mostly carried out in an ad hoc manner. This may change considering that respondents with more experience in the industry claim an increased demand for CLSs. The ad hoc approach is less common among contractors than other types of organizations and large organizations. Furthermore, there is a more positive attitude towards the benefits of construction logistics among the respondents from organizations having a standard CLS. Originality/value - This is the first industry wide survey presenting the status of implementation level of standardized logistics services in the construction industry and the attitudes among industry actors towards logistics. © 2024, Anna Fredriksson, Ahmet Anil Sezer and Viktoria Sundquist.

The purpose of this study is to describe how construction companies can use digital models of construction works in community construction and what it provides for advantages and disadvantages as well as risks for companies. The study will also consider obstacles and opportunities that BIM entails, as well as BIM's opportunities for development.

In today's society, the demand for sustainable societies, attractive environments for people to live, work and work in increases. It is through the use of digital models, BIM, that work becomes better and more efficient throughout the work process. Using digital models is an innovation for some companies and a natural way of working for others.

To achieve the purpose of the study, seven construction companies were interviewed, large and medium-sized. To get a clear overview, companies that use BIM and companies that do not use BIM have been interviewed. This is to create a breadth in the selection and empiricism.

The results of the study show that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of using BIM. How companies that use BIM work with it during the construction phases are different and there is no right or wrong way on how the models should be used. The results show that BIM is the future of the construction industry, but that there are things to develop with the models to make the processes more efficient. There are obstacles to why not all construction companies choose to use BIM and the majority answered that it is expensive licenses and that education is required that entails costs.

The cost of transportation has strongly increased in the recent years, transportations which are a major part for the construction companies. Skanska Asphalt which is a part of Skanska Sverige AB has noticed that there are significant cost savings to be made with the purchasing of transports. The transports in this case is about asphalt, where the costs are about 10% of the outsourcing business turnover. The purpose of this thesis is to study the working practice that Skanska Asphalt are using today in controlling and time-writing, for the asphalt transportations. Resulting in recommendations on how to improve the working practice at Skanska Asphalt.

This study was conducted with the help of a number of interviews with Skanska’s employees and with suppliers of transportation to describe the practices which are being used in during the asphalt transportation. In the construction industry, every project is different and varies. For every project there is a production manager in charge from and scheduling to the ordering of transportations. For ordering asphalt transportations it’s common today for the production manager to make calls directly to individual drivers or to the management for the contracted transportation suppliers.

It’s mostly common in time-writing to use hand-written notes, but there are also times when the drivers are using PDA for which the transportation management endorses the correctness of drivers information. The major problem is that the charged time for transportation is too high compared to the actual time, because drivers tend to round up the time-writing to the full or half an hour.

Efficiency enhancement within Skanska is important and a proposal for improving working practice that can lead to cost savings is to introduce a different type of tariff. This requires closer cooperation and higher demands on the suppliers of transportation. For this system to work, it’s important to get system support from the suppliers.

With improved internal communication between production managers it’ll result in further efficiency enhancements being found and Skanska will be able to increase the utilization of the asphalt transportation. The planning of the asphalt transportations could improve even further if it had existed any kind of calculation template. If Skanska informs the transportation suppliers in the early stage before the project kicks off with some form of planning calendar with the correct number of vehicles, will make it easier for transportation providers to meet Skanska's transportation needs.

Improving energy efficiency in buildings is essential for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing climate change, and achieving cost savings while enhancing occupant comfort. This study examines the energy performance of Nordiska Folkhögskolan, a Swedish school building, before and after renovation, benefiting from Sweden's advanced energy-efficienttechnologies and supportive policies. Energy consumption data analysis reveals significant reductions in district heating and electricity usage post-renovation, attributed to enhancements in insulation, heating systems, and energy management. Notably, there is a consistent decline in energy consumption, particularly during winter months, emphasizing the effectiveness of holistic approaches to energy-efficient building design and highlighting the importance of targeted energy efficiency measures in reducing heat losses through the building envelope. 

The successful mitigation of energy loss through enhanced insulation and ventilation systems underscores the necessity of comprehensive energy-efficient design strategies. Despite promising outcomes, variations in energy consumption patterns post-renovation require ongoing evaluation and supplementary measures. Recommendations include adopting advanced exterior wall designs, continuous energy monitoring, integrating renewable energy solutions, conducting educational outreach initiatives, and investing in energy-efficient infrastructure. These strategies collectively promote conservation and establish sustainable learning environments, contributing valuable insights into enhancing energy efficiency in school buildings globally. 

Knowledge transfer is a well-researched area within the construction industry, and it´s known thatknowledge transfer is difficult as the construction industry is a project-based industry and projectsrarely look the same. Research has been done on the importance of working with knowledgetransfer in order to keep companies competitive. From the officials’ point of view, there has notbeen as much study on the working methods as the best approaches to have a good disseminationof knowledge in the companies.

The purpose of the report is to see if the changes made by the workplace have contributed to thebetter transfer of knowledge. This is to find out which working methods favor the transfer ofknowledge in project-based companies. To obtain the results, semi-structured interviews wereconducted with eleven respondents who all worked at the same company but had differentpositions to find out exactly what their perceived knowledge transfer was.

The study found that according to the respondents, the working methods that favor project-basedcompanies are simple documentation that must be motivated and demonstrate that it will benefitthe respective employees. Another thing is an open climate favors the conditions for succeeding inknowledge transfer in the company, as it becomes easier to collaborate.

For nearly twenty years people have been talking about Product models, but given that the building industry is so conservative, it is hard to implement new working methods. Product models are these days known as Building Information Modeling, BIM. People often say they work with BIM but they often forget the most important part, the information. A 3D model should be linked with characteristics and information. Information that can be invaluable for the facility manager.

We have a vision that in the best of worlds the facility manager would be able to "walk" into the model and see what kind of installations are inside the wall or in the roof. You should be able to point at an object and gain complete information about operation and maintenance off the installation. You should also be able to gain information such as the name of the product and article number if you have to buy a new one. That’s why in our thesis we want to highlight the possibilities for the facility manager.

In order to have high achievements with BIM, coordination is highly needed. All participants in the construction process have to work together at an early stage; they must have the possibility to affect the stage of inquiry. By having the facility manager connected to the process at an early stage, other members have the opportunity to understand what’s expected from them. In the same way the facility manager will understand if any of the requirements are unreasonable or difficult to solve. Planning must be allowed to cost money. A well planned project can later save a lot of money due to less problems at the building worksite. In a well planned project there will be less changes and less additional work. The key words are Coordination and review.

During the facility management stage there are great opportunities to save money with BIM. The benefits of BIM have been shown and larger facility companies demand a model that work in the facility management stage. The greatest advantages are gained by the visual model that gives a greater understanding and a better base for decisions. There are also great advantages in more effective processes, better quality and better documentation for maintenance, operation, future rebuilding and future sale.

To be able to get a good image of BIM, how it is used today and what expectations there are, we have interviewed facility managers, system manager and BIM experts. We have also researched information in reports and articles.