Recent years has seen a significant drive away from traditional procurement routes with contractors finding themselves with an increasing responsibility for control of design - a process they have had little experience in managing. They now have to adapt accordingly. The learning curve is steep, not least because many projects must now be delivered fast track while co-ordinating increasingly complex fabric and content of buildings without a platform of accepted good practice to manage the design process. This is a major factor preventing the UK construction industry from delivering projects on time, to budget and to the specified quality. There is a need to educate an increasing number of people in design management techniques to equip them to manage today's fast moving and demanding projects. However, many current design management tools are insufficiently developed for industry application. Therefore, to improve design management in the industry, current techniques must be modified to align them with the needs of the modern design manager. This research has developed and tested a training initiative aimed at improving design management practice within a major UK Design and Construct Contractor. It comprises a Design Management Handbook, Design Management Training, Team Support and Project Monitoring. The Design Management Handbook is the core of the training initiative. It addresses critical aspects of design management practice and provides design management tools. Training provides guidance to project teams on the tools and practices. In Team Support project teams are supported in the implementation of the new practices and tools to help embed new ways of working in company practice. Project Monitoring establishes the impact of the new practices on project performance to demonstrate that they are working and thus reinforce change. To establish the training initiative's effectiveness and key findings, the impact of the initiative on design management performance has been explored. The research has established which practices and tools were used, which were not, as well as an understanding the applicability and performance of each Handbook practice and tool. From this, barriers to implementing new design management tools in industry were identified and strategies developed in order to overcome such barriers.

In recent years, the construction industry has been compelled to explore all possible options for improving the delivery of their products and services. Clients are now expecting a better service and projects that meet their requirements more closely. This has challenged the industry to become more efficient, integrated and more attractive, with benefits for its potential workforce and for society as a whole. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are an enabler to facilitate the improvements required for modernisation. However, due to the geographically dispersed and nomadic nature of the construction industry's workforce, many people are prevented from efficiently and effectively using the ICT tools adopted to date. Mobile technologies providing the 'last mile' connection to the point-of activity could be the missing link to help address the ongoing drive for process improvement. Although this has been a well-researched area, several barriers to mainstream adoption still exist: including a perceived lack of suitable devices; a perceived lack of computer literacy; and the perceived high cost. Through extensive industry involvement, this research has taken the theoretical idea that mobile IT use in the construction industry would be beneficial, a step further; demonstrating by means of a state of the art assessment, usability trials, case studies and demonstration projects that the barriers to mainstream adoption can be overcome. The findings of this work have been presented in four peer-reviewed papers. An ongoing dissemination programme is expected to encourage further adoption.

A constante mudança nos meios de trabalho ocorre devido a evolução tecnológica e industrial. Entretanto, com o advento de tais inovações, dificilmente o trabalhador da indústria não é submetido aos mais variados riscos ocupacionais resultantes dos processos produtivos. Diante deste contexto, o presente estudo teve como objetivo principal avaliar os níveis de vibração e de ruído aos quais os trabalhadores de uma empresa do setor da construção civil, especializada na manutenção e reformas de pisos industriais, estavam expostos durante suas jornadas de trabalho em duas frentes de trabalho. As medições foram realizadas em locais e dias distintos nos municípios de Curitiba e de São José dos Pinhais, ambos no estado do Paraná. Para a avaliação da vibração ocupacional, utilizou-se um acelerômetro junto ao trabalhador e um sensor triaxial acoplado na empunhadura dos equipamentos objeto de estudo, que foram duas diferentes fresadoras de piso. Posteriormente os dados foram processados e comparados com o novo texto do Anexo no 08 da Norma Regulamentadora NR-15, apresentado para consulta pública pelo Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego entre os meses de janeiro e fevereiro de 2014. Já para a medição do ruído utilizou-se um dosímetro de ruído junto ao trabalhador, cujo resultado final possibilitou a comparação com o Anexo no 01 da mesma Norma Regulamentadora. Os resultados finais indicaram níveis de exposição excessivos, superiores aos limites de tolerância determinados pela Legislação, tanto para vibração quanto para o ruído, gerando insalubridade para os trabalhadores expostos, em todos os locais onde foram realizadas as medições. / The constant change in the means of work is done by technological and industrial developments. However, with the advent of such innovations, hardly the work of the industry is not subject to a variety of occupational hazards resulting from production processes. Given this context, the present study aimed to monitor the working hours of the employees of a company in the construction industry, specializing in industrial floor maintenance and renovations, as exposure of vibration and noise on two fronts work in the cities of Curitiba - PR and São José dos Pinhais – PR. The program took place in two locations and on different days. The workday adopted by the company is six hours daily. For the evaluation of vibration, we used accelerometer with the worker and coupled to the handle of the equipment object of study, a mill floor, triaxial sensor subsequently the data were processed and compared with the new text of Annex No. 08, NR 15, submitted for public consultation by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the months of January and February 2014. As for noise measurement used a dosimeter with the worker, whose final results enabled comparison with the regulatory norm 15 - Annex No. 01. The final results indicate excessive exposure to the tolerance specified by the legislation, both vibration and sound pressure level, featuring unhealthy at all locations where measurements were performed.