This research is concerned with improving the planning process in large construction projects where the management and planning of the preconstruction planning process itself is a significant and complex task. Preconstruction planning in the construction sector has become a complex task requiring substantial collaboration, with ad-hoc teams (especially from design and construction) created to bring all the project resources involved together in a timely manner, to ensure a construction project is completed effectively and efficiently. This, combined with the iterative nature of the planning process, has challenged even the best companies in the industry. Three major weaknesses in current practice were identified in the research: first, the planning preconstruction planning process is heavily reliant on a planner's experience (i.e. a planner develops a new programme of a preconstruction planning through personal determination of the planning tasks and their precedence, starting afresh at the beginning of each project). For large projects this is not only time consuming but subject to the limitations ohhe planner's knowledge and experience, often resulting in simplistic programmes in which many of the dependencies are ignored. Secondly, guesses (i.e. estimates) are frequently made in the planning process, which neither the initial planner nor the downstream planner will later check. They are usually ignored and left until the execution of the plan, when the problems reveal themselves. Finally, the current techniques for the management of preconstruction planning, such as the critical path method and bar charts, cannot account for the iterative nature of the planning process that requires estimations to be made and work to be redone until a satisfactory so lution is developed. As a result, it may be said that preconstruction planning is currently managed poorly. It can be. argued that if preconstruction planning is to be undertaken effectively, it must be better managed and planned.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ge en fördjupad bild över hur man kan öka kontinuiteten i arbete med sociala aspekter under byggprocessen för husbyggnadsprojekt samt vilka konsekvenser på social hållbarhet det skulle ge. Vidare undersöks möjligheten för att inkludera och beakta sociala aspekter under byggprocessen för husbyggnadsprojekt. Arbetet innehåller även förslag till hur en sådan modell skulle kunna utformas. Ämnet valdes på grund av personligt intresse samt att få studier tidigare genomförts inom området. Det angreppssätt som valts för att undersöka det identifierade problemet är en iterativ metod med intervjuer, fokusgrupp och litteraturgenomgång om vartannat för att utveckla ett framväxande förslag av en modell som kan tillämpas. De empiriska resultaten visar tillsammans med teorin att positiva och negativa sociala konsekvenser inte beaktas utifrån ett processomfattande perspektiv i byggprocessen utan mer stötvis under byggprocessens gång. Det framtagna modellförslaget efterliknar därför metoden för sociala konsekvensbeskrivningar under planprocessen men har anpassats efter byggprocessen. Syftet med modellförslaget är att öka delaktigheten såväl internt som externt, öka flexibiliteten inom sociala frågor samt generera kontinuitet i frågor som berör social hållbarhet i projekten. För att modellförslaget ska skapa incitament för ett ökat beaktande av sociala värden i byggprocessen krävs att den utvecklas till en mer användbar och verklighetsförankarrad produkt. Här skulle förslagsvis ett pilotprojekt vara relevant. Förutom ett verktyg för identifiering av sociala konsekvenser krävs även en förändring av arbetsprocesser. Likt utvecklingen inom den miljömässiga hållbarheten bör den sociala hållbarheten bli en självklar komponent inom samhällsplanering. / The aim of this master´s thesis is to provide an in-depth view of how to increase the continuity of the work of social aspects during the construction process and the impact on social sustainability. Moreover, it will include and take in to account the social aspects of the construction process for house building projects. The thesis also provides suggestions of how such a model can be designed. The topic was chosen partly due to personal interest but also because a lack of empirical studies within the field. The approach selected to investigate the identified problem is an iterative method with interviews, workshops and literature reviews, this in order to develop an emerging draft of a model that could be applied. The empirical results along with the theoretical shows that the positive and negative aspects of social sustainability are not taken into account in the extensive perspective in the building process. The model proposed mimics the method for social impact assessment of the planning process but has been adapted for the building process. The purpose with the proposed model is to increase the participation both internally and externally, increase the flexibility and continuity in building projects and contribute to a greater inclusion and consideration of social issues within the projects. In order for the proposed model to create incentives to increase a greater consideration of social values in the building process, the model need to develop into a more useful and reality-based product. One relevant example could be a pilot-project. Beside a tool for identifying social impact, a change in the working process is also required. Like the development within the environmental sustainability, the social sustainability must become an integral component within urban planning.

Interface management (IM) in its many forms (physical, contractual and organisational) has not received the management research it warrants in the construction sector. Offsite bathroom construction is seen as a sector of offsite construction that can aid the interface problems that are common in construction. However, interface problems that occur when using offsite bathrooms are considered to be as detrimental, if not more to the overall process when compared to traditional bathroom construction. This research will focus on organisational IM, through research into the relevant process and people factors required to mitigate potential IM problems in the offsite bathroom process. A literature review of IM, offsite construction and traditional construction was conducted which identified 16 factors that could have an influence on the organisational IM of offsite bathroom construction. A further literature review was carried out for each factor to establish its connectivity to the holistic process of the IM of offsite bathrooms. A proforma was constructed which gathered quantitative and qualitative data from 82 interviewees, associated with eight case study projects. The methodology adopted was based on the pragmatism philosophical stance, which concurs with a mixed method approach to the collection and analysis of the data. The quantitative data was analysed using frequency tables and the Wilcoxon sign rank test. The quantitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis identified nine of the 16 factors as main contributors to the IM of offsite bathroom construction. These nine factors consisted of six process factors: procurement, design management, supply chain management, health and safety, tolerance and quality. Three people factors were: communication, client/design team and the role of the project manager. A conceptual model was constructed to encapsulate each of the nine factors and their sub-factors. Important findings from the research identified the procurement route as both an enabler and a constraint, depending on its ability to allow early input from the main contractor and manufacturer to the uptake of offsite bathrooms. The cross-cutting importance of the people factors to the successful implementation of the process factors identified the importance of the main contractor maintaining supervision of the manufacturer and the interface problems created from incomplete design. Further analyses of all the findings identified communication and the role of the project manager as the two most influential factors, with early and informal communication and strong leadership from the project manager relevant to all factors that affect the successful IM of offsite bathroom construction.

The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how the work with Knowledge Management (KM) is performed in the Swedish construction process of condominiums/rental apartments. This in order to develop a conceptual framework of the influence of culture, collaboration and trust on KM (tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, the KM process, and knowledge sharing and transfer) in the Swedish construction process of condominiums/rental apartments.The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how the work with Knowledge Management (KM) is performed in the Swedish construction process of condominiums/rental apartments. This in order to develop a conceptual framework of the influence of culture, collaboration and trust on KM (tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, the KM process, and knowledge sharing and transfer) in the Swedish construction process of condominiums/rental apartments. The theoretical framework consists of classical KM theories in order to develop a knowledge base for the concept of KM. The classical KM theories are presented together with more recent theories concerning KM. Influencing factors such as culture, collaboration and trust are added to the theoretical framework in relation to KM in order to present the human factors of KM (non-IT KM). There has also been a focus on knowledge sharing and transfer since they are of great importance in the specific research context of this study.  The findings was that culture, collaboration and trust have a strong impact on the way the different parties work with KM. Therefore, these concepts are found to be essential for enabling an effective KM, especially knowledge sharing and transfer. The parties do not have an extensive formal KM strategy that includes technological parts. Nor do they have a formal strategy that deals with culture, collaboration and trust and therefore they rely on the relationships and the human factor.

Mega construction projects are complex undertakings. The complexity is increased during a construction boom in a city such as Dubai where more than 80% of material and labour resources are imported. The complexities inherent in mega construction projects include uncertainty and interdependencies, which affect project management performance at the operational level where most of the problems occur. Understanding these processes, how they interrelate and how to overcome the complexities is crucial for increasing the chances of project management success. This research contributed to construction project management theory and practice by using a highly inductive exploratory qualitative approach for capturing formal and informal processes in mega construction projects in Dubai. A dynamic model depicting the complementary formal and informal processes is developed showing formal and informal processes and how they interrelate to reduce complexity. Guidelines on how and when to use specific processes are provided as a framework for the model. This framework may be used to help develop communication processes in future complex projects to increase chances of project management success. The research was conducted by exploring two case study projects fitting the characteristics of mega construction projects. Both case study projects were of values above 1.5 Billion US Dollars and were similar in scope with elements including amusement parks, retail areas, hotels, extensive infrastructure and large landscape areas. Both case study projects were of an experimental character, considered an engineering achievement, complex, and thereby, difficult to control. The research data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 83 project staff from both case study projects. Rich picture diagrams of the organization and processes were made from data collected during the interviews and case study project documents. The analysis was performed in three phases where the results from each phase were built upon cumulatively. The first phase examined what the most crucial critical success factors (CSFs) were in the case study projects. These were revealed to be communication, top management support and effective change management. In the second phase each CSF was analyzed where it was found it that the majority of important communication modes were informal and were was most effective in reducing complexity. Furthermore, it was found that the characteristics of the client were crucial in both case study projects. The third phase involved development of the dynamic hybrid model from the rich picture diagrams created showing the interplay between formal and informal processes. It was found that informal processes are ad-hoc and chaotic in nature and controlled by individuals in the project. Development of guidelines for the positive use of informal processes was required. From the analysis it was found that the characteristics of client staff and individuals in the case study projects provided the main guidelines for effective use of the hybrid model. The research provides insights into the formal and informal processes and the reduction and management of complexity inherent in mega construction projects. Current research in managing complexity is from the perspective of the formal process where the informal processes are neglected, despite research and practice indicating their importance in construction projects. The research presents a systemic dynamic model of the processes for mega construction projects revealing that formal and informal processes are required and are complementary. Guidelines for the successful use of the model provide a framework for its application in practice. This shows how it can be used to inform understanding of processes in the context of the research. The model and guidelines were validated via discussions with practitioners experienced in construction of mega projects. Future work should expand the findings to applications of the model in practice for management of complex projects. The model may be used by practitioners to act as a guide in how to manage construction processes to consciously overcome the inherent complexities to achieve project management objectives. This tool may also be used to inform clients of the inherent complexities and the level of informality required to overcome them. IT/IS practitioners may use the model and framework to understand the complexities in construction, and thereby, develop systems that are practically applied in construction projects. Researchers in the field may build upon the model and findings to increase knowledge regarding construction processes, particularly informal processes.

Studien som har genomförts utgör en analys av vad byggentreprenörer värdesätter hos underentreprenörer i processen från utlysning till utfört arbete. Syftet med studien är att genom intervjuer av byggentreprenörer få kunskap om vad de värdesätter hos underentreprenörer under hela processen. På så sätt kan underentreprenörer få vetskap om förbättringsmöjligheter i processen. En kvalitativ undersökning har genomförts i vilken sekundärdata har samlats in genom vetenskapliga artiklar och böcker och primärdata har samlats in genom intervjuer med åtta byggentreprenörer. En semistrukturerad intervjumall har tagits fram där intervjuarna kan ställa följdfrågor och intervjupersonerna får möjlighet att reflektera. Intervjumallen är utformad utifrån studiens syfte och fakta avseende byggindustrins marknad som har samlats in genom vetenskapliga artiklar. Intervjuerna har påvisat olika faktorer och aktiviteter som är värdeskapande i processen. Då byggentreprenörer väljer vilka underentreprenörer de ska lämna anbudsförfrågan till är det främst relationen som är viktig. Relationen påverkas av personkemi och tidigare erfarenheter av samarbete och kvalitet. Vid hög konkurrens blir priset en viktigare faktor, då lämnar byggentreprenörer anbudsförfrågan till fler underentreprenörer för att få ett så lågt anbud som möjligt. Anbudet bör vara tydligt utformat där det framgår vad underentreprenören har räknat på. Många byggentreprenörer anser det värdeskapande att underentreprenörer utnyttjar den spetskompetens de besitter och kommer med förbättringsförslag i anbudet. Förslaget kan gynna alla parter i kedjan; beställare, byggentreprenör och underentreprenör. Då byggentreprenörer väljer vilken underentreprenör de ska anställa är priset alltid en betydande faktor. Dock är priset inte alltid avgörande. Hur samarbetet har fungerat i tidigare projekt kan vara minst lika viktigt, om inte viktigare. I produktionsfasen värdesätts kommunikation. Genom god kommunikation mellan inblandade parter kan missförstånd minskas och processer effektiviseras. På så sätt kan underentreprenörer leverera rätt kvalitet i rätt tid och till rätt pris. Engagemang, tillgänglighet, information och återkoppling är värdeskapande i hela processen. Genom att rapportera direkt vid förändringar kan hela projektet förbättras då onödiga kostnader kan undvikas. Vid avslut bör alla dokument lämnas in och utbildningar av hur installationen ska hanteras göras inom avsatt tid. / The purpose of the study is to find out what subcontractors can do to increase customer value in the process from announcement to delivered service. The customer in this study is the building contractor. By giving subcontractors the knowledge of how to improve their process, improvements for the construction industry in general can be made. The study is based on information from interviews with eight building contractors and information from scientific articles. Interviews have claimed that several factors and activities can create customer value. The relation between building- and subcontractors is a significant factor when building contractors choose who they will send an offer request to. In a competitive position the price is more important. In that case the building contractors will send out offer requests to a bigger number of subcontractors, to get the lowest bid possible. The bid should be clearly presented and show what is included. Most building contractors value when subcontractors exploit their expertise and propose improvements in the bid. The proposition could benefit all parties in the supply chain; the client, the building contractor and the subcontractor. The price is always a significant factor but interviews has claimed that it is not always crucial. Experiences of cooperation with the subcontractor in earlier project has proved to be as important. In production communication is important. Through good communication between all parties in a project misunderstandings can be reduced and processes improved. Commitment, accessibility, information and feedback are factors that is important through the entire process from announcement to delivered service. By reporting directly to any changes, the entire project is improved and unnecessary costs can be avoided. Upon completion of a project all documents must be submitted in time.

Neste trabalho, são estudados o comportamento da estrutura do concreto, suas características reológicas e os processos que envolvem a construção de edifícios usuais. Procurou-se através de uma análise estrutural e ensaios de fluência, analisar e discutir os processos construtivos e a sua interferência nos esforços finais das estruturas; quer-se com isso, analisar os aspectos relacionados a cargas atuantes na estrutura em uma idade precoce de resistência e uma possível queda da sua resistência ao longo do tempo devido à aceleração dos processos construtivos. / This work deals with the behavior of the concrete in building structures, its reological properties and the procedures involved in the construction process. Making use of structural analysis and creep tests, to analyse and discuss the construction sequence and its role in the final value of the moments and displacements of the systems; it was intended to analyze some aspects related to the loadind of the concrete strutcture in early ages and a possible drop in its strength because of the increasing velocity of the construction process.

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Abstract The development of the construction industry is slower compared to other industries. This implies that there must be improvements in this field. One step to increased effectiveness in construction projects is making the construction process more efficient, therefore resulting in a positive result for both the actual construction project and for the overall branch. The purpose of this study is to identify areas for improvement within the municipal housing company Gavlegårdarna completed construction project, who will then contribute to increased efficiency in their upcoming projects. The work has been performed with the help of two case studies examine construction projects "Fullriggaren" and "The three nursing homes." Opinions about what could have improved the efficiency of these construction projects further have been collected with the help of an interview study among some of the project participants involved in both projects. There have been many studies addressing the topic of how the construction process can be streamlined and similar studies that have been previously conducted. From some of these studies the efficiency factors have taken a theoretical basis in this study. These factors are considered important in efforts to achieve an efficient construction process. Among these factors are: carrying it out right from the beginning, clear objectives, good communication and effective meetings, providing interaction and teamwork and good management of repetitions and experience interchange. The results of this study show that Gavlegårdarnas construction process is fragmented in all of these factors. The shortcomings that emerged are: not to getting tenants in time, unclear responsibilities, unclear objectives, time-consuming discussions at meetings, etc. The outcome of this study also supports previous studies conducted in the area. The study concludes with all of the resulting criticized fragmentations and a proposal of measures that show how Gavlegårdarna can counteract these deficiencies occurring in their future projects.   Keywords: project participants, construction process, efficiency, communication, partnering / Sammanfattning Utvecklingen av byggbranschen går långsammare jämfört med övrig industri. Detta medför att det måste göras förbättringar inom detta område. Ett steg i en ökad effektivisering är att i byggprojekten göra själva byggprocessen mer effektiv, då detta får ett positivt genomslag för både det aktuella byggprojektet och för branschen i stort. Syftet med denna studie är att hitta de förbättringsområden inom det kommunala bostadsbolaget Gavlegårdarnas genomförda byggprojekt, som sedan ska bidra till en ökad effektivisering i deras kommande byggprojekt. Arbetet har utförts genom att med hjälp av två fallstudier undersöka byggprojekten ”Fullriggaren” och ”De tre gruppbostäderna”. Med hjälp av en intervjustudie bland av några av de medverkande aktörerna i de båda projekten har synpunkter samlats in om vad som skulle kunna ha effektiviserat dessa byggprojekt ytterligare. Det har genomförts mängder av studier som behandlar ämnet om hur byggprocessen kan effektiviseras och liknande studier som denna har genomförts tidigare. Ur några av dessa studier har effektiviseringsfaktorer hämtats som teoretiskt underlag i denna studie. Dessa faktorer anses som viktiga i arbetet att uppnå en effektiv byggprocess. Dessa faktorer är: att göra rätt från början, tydliga mål, bra kommunikation och effektiva möten, att skapa samverkan och team och bra hantering av omtag och erfarenhetsöverföring. Resultatet av denna studie visar att Gavlegårdarna visat brister inom samtliga av dessa faktorer. De brister som uppstått handlar t.ex. om att inte få in hyresgäster i tid, otydlig ansvarsfördelning, otydliga mål, tidskrävande diskussioner på möten etc. Därmed visar sig denna studies resultat även stödja de tidigare genomförda studierna inom området. Studien avslutas med att samtliga av de uppkomna bristerna konkretiseras och att förslag ges på hur Gavlegårdarna kan motverka att dessa brister uppstår i deras kommande projekt.    Nyckelord: Byggherre, byggentreprenör, Byggprocess, byggprojekt, effektivisering, kommunikation, partnering

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