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​This bachelor thesis in construction engineering at the Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University is produced in collaboration with NCC Uppsala with the purpose to give insight about NCC:s current reusage methods of construction materials, and if they could be improved. The greenhouse effect correlates with the overconsumption of our earth's resources, which is taking place in today's modern society. Reports say that the construction industry alone yearly causes about a third of the total waste generation in Sweden, excluding mining waste. Throughout interviews with three different site managers working for NCC, their positive attitude towards increased reusage in their projects was recurrent. But the interviews did also show deficiency regarding instructions and information about the existing recycling channels. Furthermore, the interviews also showed that a lack of resources to implement efficient structures made reuse impossible to any greater extent. In order to create a perception of the potential cost-saving as a result of increased reusage, an observation with an associated cost-saving calculation has been performed. The cost-saving calculation shows a great potential in quantities of recyclable material. On the other hand, the cost savings in the form of reduced waste management fees are very small in this context. Three different development proposals about reuse are presented as the result of this thesis. Firstly, to investigate the instructions and framework for the existing channels for reuse. Secondly through established routines, include reusage as a key point in the daily work. Lastly through co-operation with external companies that are specialized in reusage in the construction industry.

The project-based culture of the construction industry is a challenge to overcome. As a customer, great flexibility is expected with variations in design as needed and design. Being able to meet these expectations and at the same time have efficient flows with as little waste as possible is complex. Productivity is considered to be significantly higher in the manufacturing industry with its developed methods inspired by Lean. One of these methods is to create efficient flows that have been shown to remove some of the built-in waste that may exist and thus create opportunities for increased productivity.   Lättelement AB that this study is done in collaboration with projects and manufactures prefabricated building elements based on the customer's wishes with built-in wood-based light beams purchased from the supplier Masonite Beams. The packages with the wood-based light beams require large spaces in layers and in connection with both the layer and its handling there are unnecessary wastes. Developing flows by applying parts of the Lean principles can be a way to increase productivity and reduce waste. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate opportunities for reduced inventory by exploring the potential of a developed flow of wood-based light beams in the supply chain. The goal is to present a proposal and action plan for an improved flow of wood-based light beams that may be linked to layer and its built-in unnecessary wastes.    This qualitative study has been carried out through observations and interviews to investigate the current situation. Furthermore, representatives from each company have been gathered in a workshop to discuss a future situation.   The results show that it is possible to reduce waste in the form of layer, rework and waiting through developed work in the supply chain between Lättelement AB and the supplier Masonite Beams AB with a focus on the common material and information flow. The study shows that a change in ordering routines through early order reservations with later calls, compatible order files and more project-specific orders can contribute to increased productivity and reduce the built-in unnecessary wastes.   This work thus demonstrates the potential of working with value flow analyses in the supply chain as a relatively simple method in the construction industry to increase productivity.

The increasing use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the construction industry contributes to better communication and collaboration between actors through the building lifecycle. Even if BIM enables better communication among the actors, problems with information exchange seem to still emerge with the usage of different software in projects as one of the most commonly perceived causes. In addition to the variety of different companies and actors involved in a project. This creates a need for a shared open digital platform that provides efficient information exchange, data update, and storage. This paper aims to investigate if a common digital platform is a solution to the communication and collaboration problems in the industry, and to verify the hypothesis according to which BIM could function as a digital platform for the sector. Actors view of a common platform, i.e., if BIM can be the common platform or evolve into a digital platform ecosystem is presented and was investigated through 33 semi-structured interviews. The respondents agreed that there are issues due to the usage of different software products and platforms, which in the end affect the information exchange. Openness between actors is needed in a project, what's challenging is the question of ownership, who owns the shared information? This paper ends with an attempt to provide insight between actors in the construction industry regarding correct BIM implementation and a shared digital platform ecosystem.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to examine the current issue areas within digitization in the construction industry, which are perceived to be slow at a time when time- and cost-efficiency is a critical component of successful construction projects. The implementation process is problematic and prevents companies from utilizing digital tools to the extent needed. However, by handling the implementation process carefully, the investment can be implemented more efficiently. This study aims to identify and map the inadequacy in the implementation process employees at the two reviewed case projects at Skanska AB experience in the construction sites. The goal was to come up with concrete proposals after analyzing the results that our collaboration partner would be able to use in future work and projects. Furthermore, it's intended to show how a change in employees' working methods can cause them to use new digital tools more effectively. Method: This research method is based on a case study and consists of qualitative and quantitative methods. To determine the perceived shortcomings in Skanska's implementation process, an interview study was performed with officials from the studied case projects and a person with expertise in digital tools implementation. To gain further perspective, all employees involved in the case projects were asked to respond to an anonymous survey, which consisted of multiple-choice questions and a text question. According to the theoretical framework, careful planning is required to achieve the company's goals and meet its needs to reduce costs and increase productivity in the construction industry. Constant changes for needs and goals require training, knowledge dissemination, time planning, and functional support systems, and to achieve this, the business needs to understand its own function in relation to the functionality of the digital tools. Additionally, it was mentioned that having a clear picture of the goal of digitization is important, even if the attitude towards the goal is negative and the knowledge to accomplish it is insufficient. In previous research, it has been found that many companies have failed to invest in change efforts due to a lack of implementation strategies. In this study, it was found that implementation strategies highlight the value of digital tools. According to the literature, this is possible with a greater commitment, motivation, and participation to help lead the process of change development, as well as a variety of theoretical and practical methodologies. Based on responses received, this thesis examines employees' perceptions of implementation, user-friendliness, obstacles, and challenges in relation to three of the most used digital tools. Results: The results of the employee interviews and survey have been analyzed and presented under four themes and based on their experience, a project-specific implementation program should be developed, additional resources should be available, and more education is essential for keeping employees engaged in continuous improvement. Furthermore, the user-friendliness of the tool combined with the implementation technology and commitment create efficiency for the company to succeed with its investment. Conclusions: This thesis concluded that digitization has a positive impact on construction sites despite challenges that can limit its efficiency. The authors of the work believe the success of the digital working methods can be achieved with the aid of a functioning support system and close collaboration as well as knowledge, understanding, and communication.

This study deals with the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Facility Management (FM). Within the construction sector, many actors have realized the value that BIM can bring in the design and production phase. Using BIM has been able to reduce both the cost and work hours required through better efficiency and synchronization. Whilst BIM is common today during the earlier phases it is often left unused later in FM, which can be regarded as wasted potential. Instead, the material is handed over in the form of blueprints in paper form orin PDF format, which can be difficult to keep track of and sometimes even difficult to access. Applying a digital platform like BIM in FM is something that has been discussed and considered for some time, but few studies have been done in the area and the practical use is still small. Muchindicates great potential and value in introducing BIM in FM. The report is based on interviews with mainly technical managers and technology and IT developers. Respondents were deliberately selected from large real estate companies, as they were expected to be the most knowledgeable in the subject. To summarize the results from the interviews, there is room for great development potential in the areas; documentation management, drawing management and communication. In addition, a better overview of the property and its status and constituent components requested among the trustees. To be able to follow, monitor and evaluate errands would also lead to major efficiency improvements, as this today is considered a problematic and time-consuming part of FM.

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The construction industry in Sweden has long been important both for the national economy and the community as a whole. The industry is very sensitive to economic fluctuations. In a downturn, it is important to limit increases in costs, but this also applies during a period of prosperity. Costs can be reduced by increasing productivity on site. Yet, research shows that it is unusual to measure productivity in construction. It is more common to measure variations against the project budget in order to maintain control over the project and its costs. When the actual costs are compared to the budget, it does not only show how much money there is left but also the estimated final cost of the project. This means that the project budget is one of the most important control tools in the construction industry. The main purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the development of theory within the area of the design and use of management accounting and its impact on construction productivity. The research was based on three studies. The first was a literature review which forms the theoretical framework. The second study was a web-based questionnaire survey which was sent to 150 construction site managers in Sweden with the objective of finding out if and how management accounting was used on their construction projects. 49 percent completed and returned the questionnaire. The third study included an interview-based survey. In this study, there were 10 recently finished construction projects. The financial data from each project were examined and then the site manager from each project was interviewed. The purpose was to find out if they had experience of working with management accounting in their projects and, if so, to see if there were any correlation between their management accounting and productivity on the project. A detailed plan in the early stages can form the basis for achieving the project's goals as well as utilizing resources in an optimal way. The findings show that site managers spend a lot of time in planning and follow up actions; however, the lack of human resources in the project organization means there is not enough time to deal with all necessary matters. In this research project, the focus has been on formal management accounting control tools such as budgeting and estimating. Even though these tools are important, the findings from the studies show that other factors are important for increasing construction productivity and improving overall financial results. / Byggsektorn i Sverige har under lång tid varit betydelsefull både för samhällsekonomin och för samhället i stort eftersom sektorn sysselsätter ett stort antal personer och svarar för en stor del av Sveriges bruttonationalprodukt, BNP. Byggbranschen är dock mycket konjunkturkänslig. Likaväl som vid lågkonjunktur är det vid högkonjunktur viktigt att kunna begränsa kostnadsökningarna på byggprojekten. Ett sätt att arbeta för att sänka kostnaderna är att öka produktiviteten ute på byggarbetsplatserna. Forskning visar dock att det inte är så vanligt att mäta produktiviteten på byggprojekt. För att ha kontroll över projekten och deras ekonomi mäts istället avvikelser mot projektbudgeten. Regelbundna avstämningar av de verkliga kostnaderna mot projektets budget visar inte bara vilka pengar som finns kvar i projektet utan även vilken slutkostnad projektet väntas få. Det medför att projektets budget är ett av de viktigaste styrverktygen som byggbranschen har. Det övergripande syftet med studien är att bidra till den teoretiska utvecklingen inom området för utformning och användning av ekonomistyrning och dess påverkan på produktivitet i byggprojekt. Forskningsprojektet har baserats på tre studier. Inledningsvis utfördes en litteraturstudie som utgjorde den teoretiska basen. Den andra studien som gjordes var en enkätstudie där en webbaserad enkät skickades ut till 150 platschefer runt om i Sverige med syfte att undersöka om och i vilken omfattning ekonomisk styrning används. Svarsfrekvensen blev 49 %. Den tredje studien omfattade en intervjustudie där 10 avslutade byggprojekt studerades och de ansvariga platscheferna för respektive projekt intervjuades. Syftet var att dels ta reda på om och hur de arbetat med ekonomisk styrning i sina projekt och dels undersöka om det finns någon koppling mellan ekonomistyrning och produktivitet på byggprojekt. En noggrann planering i tidigt skede ligger till grund för att nå de uppsatta målen och bidrar till att kunna utnyttja resurserna optimalt. Resultatet visar att platschefer ägnar mycket tid till planering och uppföljning av sina projekt, men att tiden ofta inte räcker till på grund av att det inte finns tillräckligt med resurser. I det här forskningsprojektet har fokus legat på formella ekonomistyrningsverktyg såsom budget och kalkyler. Studiens resultat pekar dock på att ytterligare faktorer spelar in för att kunna öka produktiviteten på projekten och få bättre resultat.

The construction industry in Sweden is growing steadily. This requires more professionalworkers. The supply of Swedish labor is not sufficient, and this results in Swedishconstruction companies bringing in labor from abroad. Existing studies show possible linksbetween foreign workforce and increased number of occupational accidents around the world.Many researchers present conclusions similar to each other’s. Cultural differences areidentified as a possible reason why the foreign workers are more exposed to risks at aconstruction site.The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and define problems in the form of safetydeficiencies that may arise at a construction site where foreign labor is involved. The purposeof the study is to investigate from the perspective of the polish professional workers.Abrahamsson & Eckerberg justify in their study, the importance of a further research from theperspective of the professional workers.Qualitative method was used to obtain the empirical material for this study. The essayconcludes challenges that polish professional workers can pose for the management whichare: lack of language skills from the supervisor, lack of language skills from the professionalworkers, insufficient safety follow-ups, poor attitude to safety instructions from Polishprofessional workers, industry experience from another country with a different work culture,insufficient signing at the workplace and fear of telling management when something iswrong at the workplace. The essay also concludes how polish professional workers perceivessafety instruction and how to supply those in an efficient way. The author presentssuggestions on measures to address these challenges.

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