Recent studies indicate that the embodied energy originating from the buildingmaterial supply chain (i.e. off-site production of materials and components andassociated transportation to the construction site) contributes significantly tothe total life-cycle energy use. Therefore, considering its impact during thebuilding design and pre-construction stage provides an opportunity to affect thebuilding energy use and sustainability performance. However, there are twomajor shortcomings with the life cycle assessment (LCA) tools used forassessment and reduction of the embodied energy use during the buildingdesign and pre-construction stage. (1) Many of the LCA tools use databasesbased on industry-average values which hinders the possibility to account forthe differences in the embodied impact of specific materials sourced fromindividual suppliers. (2) Lack of interoperability between the LCA tools andthe Building Information Modeling (BIM) software which has become an assetfor supporting decisions during building design and pre-construction. Thisinteroperability issue increases the amount of time and effort required forassessment of the embodied energy and also increases the risks for mistakes,misunderstandings and errors due to the manual re-entry of BIM data into the LCA tools. Therefore, the overall purpose of the research is to investigate the possibility tomitigate the aforementioned shortcomings by integrating the analyses of theembodied energy into a BIM-driven design process. Two research questionshave been defined: (1) What is a suitable data source for assessment of theembodied energy? (2) How can the embodied energy assessment be integratedinto a BIM-driven design process? To address the first research question in identifying a suitable data source forassessing the embodied energy, literature studies were conducted to provideinsights into the existing Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) data used for assessmentof the embodied energy. To address the second research question, several caseswere studied using a prototyping approach which enabled the identification ofrequired processes and functions for supporting assessment of the embodiedenergy in a BIM-driven design process. The result of the literature studies and answer to the first research questionindicate that Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) of materials andcomponents can be recognized as a suitable data source for assessment of theembodied energy. EPDs provide a detailed LCA data for a specific productwhich is implemented according to Product Category Rules (PCR) and verifiedby an independent third party. PCRs provide pre-established guidelines andrequirements for the LCA of a certain product category and by this meanensure the principle for comparability of the LCA data. The main outcome ofthe second research question is a framework which highlights the requiredprocesses for facilitating and supporting assessment of the embodied energy ina BIM-driven design process. The framework uses the suppliers’ EPDs tosupport the design decisions and enable assessment of the embodied impactcaused by the building material supply chain. The framework also ensuresBIM-LCA interoperability by integrating the Extract, Transform Load (ETL)technology with BIM, enabling an automated or semi-automated assessmentprocess, to reduce the amount of time, efforts and risks for mistakes that wasreported to be the major obstacles within the embodied energy assessment.

Unlike the manufacturing industry, the construction industry is always in motion. Each new construction project brings new opportunities, and it requires a new plan, new organisation, and new suppliers. All construction projects are very different from each other and in terms of a logistical perspective, this is very weak as it makes it difficult to get a flow in the production and to make flawless routines. The way the external and internal logistics are managed, can effect the final product in the time taken to produce it, the quality of the product and the profit made from it. When internal logistics are handled poorly, it could result in materials not being at the right place at the right time, or information not going through to the right person. Small details such as these, can make the production time increase continuously with the price. Logistics is all about efficiency; to make things quickly and in a well organised manner. Although making things right is vastly important, it is also important to make things correctly as doing things quickly and efficiently becomes meaningless if there are activities that are unnecessary. The purpose of this report is to identify factors that are central to an efficient logistic on the construction site and which factors can be influenced by the construction site. However, the study does not include any concrete suggestions for improvement, but there will be some discussion around it. There are already some concepts and tools that can improve the logistics, for example, the use of Lean Construction and BIM. Logistics work should be included in all stages of the construction process: design, planning, production and managing of the actual building. This report mainly relates to the design- and production phase. There are different approaches and objectives when planning projects. A primary objective is to reduce costs. The main goal in logistics planning is to achieve short lead times, short set-up times, short transport distances, and eliminate waste. The result of the report is based on literature studies, observations, but mostly interviews. Three interviews were held with the management, i.e. the supervisors and site managers. The implementation has compiled information from interviews, observations and literature studies. It was discovered that there were many similarities, but also differences that separated the various projects. For example, it was found that a crane is an important asset for a smooth operation as it moves material around the site, but there is a lot of time wasting when unloading, partly due to the lack of communication. It also revealed that it is hard to know what operations to begin with at the construction of the framework. Conclusions drawn after work designing is planning and communication are two of the most important building blocks to get a smooth production both for functioning internal and external logistics. What has also emerged is the importance of accessibility and that doing the right things should come easy. An external factor that effect logistics a lot on the construction site is the demand, for example, of materials from their suppliers. The final conclusion raised is ultimately an improvement suggestion: apply a logistics manager to all types of construction projects, from the beginning and throughout the project.

Miljö och hållbarhetsfrågor utgör en stor del av det samhället måste ta hänsyn till. För byggföretagen får dessa frågor en stor påverkan på verksamheten. Dels på grund av omfattande lagstiftning men också som en följd av att samhället blivit mer miljömedvetet. I Sverige står byggsektorn för en stor del av utsläppen av växthusgaser och för en stor del av den totala energianvändningen. För att kunna hantera de frågor som finns kopplade till miljöområdet använder sig företag och organisationer av miljöledningssystem som är förankrade i verksamheten. Dock är frågan om det finns någon vinning med att använda sig av sådana system och om det finns motiv att försöka certifiera dem enligt exempelvis ISO 14001 eller EMAS. Det finns också möjligheter att miljöcertifiera byggnader enligt olika system. Gemensamt för de systemen är att energiaspekter har en stor del i betygsunderlaget för byggnaden. Utifrån det går det att fråga sig om det finns någon skillnad mellan de projekterade värdena och uppmätta värden för en byggnad och vad avvikelser kan härledas till för orsaker. Detta arbete grundar sig på en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie av ett byggprojekt. Utifrån litteraturen går det att se att det finns fördelar i användandet av miljöledningssystem och i att certifiera systemen enligt en given standard. Ett område som särskilt tycks gynnas av de rutiner som kommer ur ett miljöledningssystem är avfallshanteringen. Detta på grund av att det är billigare för byggföretaget att lämna ett välsorterat avfall än ett blandat. Fallstudien visar att det fanns en skillnad mellan beräknade och uppmätta värden för energianvändning. Det är svårt att avgöra hur stor avvikelse som kan accepteras, men det är mycket viktigt att härleda varifrån avvikelserna härstammar. Framförallt för att kunna se om det går att göra något åt dem, men också för att ta lärdom och undvika liknande problem i framtiden. / Environment and sustainability issues constitute a large part of what society must consider. For construction companies, these issues have a major impact on the business. Partly due to extensive legislation but also as a result of the community becoming more environmentally conscious. In Sweden, the building sector accounts for a large part of greenhouse gas emissions and for a large part of total energy use. In order to handle the issues related to the environment, companies and organizations use environmental management systems. However, the question is whether there is any gain in using such systems and if there are motives to try to certify them, for example, according to ISO 14001 or EMAS. It is also possible to use environmental certification of buildings according to different systems. Common to these systems is that energy aspects have a large part in the rating base for the building. Based on this, it is possible to ask if there is a difference between the projected values and the measured values for a building and what deviations can be derived. The work is based on a literature study and a small case study . Based on the literature, it can be seen that there are advantages in the use of environmental management systems and in certifying the systems according to a given standard. An area that appears to be particularly beneficial from the routines that come from an environmental management system is waste management. Because it is cheaper for the construction company to ship a well-sorted waste than a mixed one. The case study shows that there was a difference between calculated and measured values for energy use. It is difficult to determine how much deviation can be accepted, but it is very important to derive from where the deviations originate. Especially to see if they can do something about them, but also to learn and avoid similar problems in the future.

För att kunna garantera hög kvalité på en slutprodukt är det viktigt att kvalitetsarbetet beaktas under produktionen. Kvalitetsarbete påverkar företaget på ett positivt sätt genom att säkerstäl-la nöjda kunder och bidra till både ett gott rykte och en god ekonomi. NCC misstänker att det förekommer bristfälligt kvalitetsarbete under produktion i byggbranschen och gav oss därför i uppdrag att undersöka hur deras arbete med detta fungerar. I examensarbetet har intervjuer gjorts ute på fem av NCC:s pågående projekt i Örebro län för att ge en bild av hur arbetet med egenkontroller och fukt ute på byggarbetsplatserna fungerar. Vi har kartlagt hur arbetstagarna jobbar med egenkontroller och fukt i produktion, om det finns några brister i arbete och i så-dana fall vad det beror på. Kartläggningen visar att upprättningen av mallarna till egenkon-troller behöver förbättras, dels beror det på tidsbrist och NCC:s verksamhetssystem som är begränsat. Det största problemet som de flesta upplever med kvalitetsarbete överlag är att det inte finns tillräckligt med tid för det. / To ensure a high quality of the final product it’s important that quality work is considered during the production. Quality work affects the company in a positive way by making our customers happy, improving and retaining our good reputation and leads to a good economy. NCC suspects that there’s insufficient quality work during production in the construction in-dustry across the country and based on that they want us to examine how they’re handling this. In this thesis we’ve done the interviews on five of NCC's ongoing projects in Örebro County in order to provide a picture about how the process of quality controls and moisture at the construction sites works. We’ll identify how employees work with their quality controls and moisture during the production, if there are any deficiencies in the work and in such case what’s causing it.

The Swedish construction industry has over the last few years been criticized for its high increase of production costs, poor quality and low productivity. Productivity improvements within the Swedish construction industries are lower than that of other comparable industries. Some researcher argue that two thirds of production activities in the construction industry do not produce value and causes low productivity improvement.The purpose of this research was to investigate types of labour performance in order to improve the production process in the Swedish construction industry. The study focused on measuring labour productivity as labour wages constitute a large part of the production cost.Five benchmarking studies were performed within companies and organisations outside of the traditional Swedish construction industry to examine their work process as far as improving labour productivity is concerned. Later a survey was performed among 74 respondents in five Swedish construction companies to investigate their ways of using labour productivity measurements. Finally five senior executive officials were interviewed to find out their point of view in the field of developing productivity in their companies.The result shows that measurement of labour productivity has an important role within the Swedish construction companies. The key factors to succeed in productivity improvement are the measurement of labour productivity and the follow-up of the results obtained. It is important that company management conveys the importance of improving productivity to all levels in the company. / Byggproduktionskostnaderna i Sverige har under de senaste åren ökat snabbare än kostnaderna inom flera andra områden. Snabbt ökande produktionskostnader tillsammans med bristande kvalitet har också uppmärksammats av bland annat statliga utredningar. Flera forskare hävdat att en stor del av arbetstiden åtgår till icke värdeskapande arbete och detta leder till låg produktivitet. I jämförelse med andra jämförbara branscher har byggindustrin i Sverige haft en sämre produktivitetstillväxt under senare år. Syftet med detta forskningsprojekt är att undersöka former för hur ett produktivitetsarbete kan effektivisera byggprocessen hos de svenska byggföretagen. Ett led i en förbättring av produktiviteten är att mäta och utvärdera resultaten av mätningarna. Eftersom en stor del av de totala byggkostnaderna utgörs av arbetskraftskostnader, fokuserades undersökningen på mätning av arbetsproduktiviteten. Studien bygger på benchmarking, enkät och intervjuer som primära empiriska källor. Benchmarkingstudien genomfördes i fem företag och organisationer utanför de traditionella byggföretagen för att se hur andra använder mätningar av arbetsproduktiviteten som ett hjälpmedel i förbättringsarbetet. Enkätundersökningen utfördes hos 74 respondenter i fem olika svenska byggentreprenadföretag. Fem fördjupande intervjuer utfördes hos företagsledare inom samma byggföretag. Resultatet av studien visar att mätning av arbetsproduktiviteten fyller en viktig roll. För att kunna åstadkomma förbättringar krävs att man arbetar målmedvetet med mätning och uppföljning av arbetsproduktiviteten. På mer parten av de svenska byggarbetsplatser som enkätstudien omfattande genomfördes också någon form av mätning av arbetsproduktiviteten. Syftet med dessa mätningar och användningen av resultaten varierade emellertid avsevärt. På samma sätt fanns betydande skillnader emellan hur respondenterna i enkätstudien svarade och hur företagsledarna i intervjustudien svarade. För att kunna åstadkomma förändringar fordras att företagsledningarna prioriterar ett strukturerat produktivitetsarbete i sina företag och kommunicerar detta i sina organisationer. Nyckelfaktorer för att lyckas med produktivitetsutveckling är mätning och uppföljning. / Godkänd; 2008; 20080325 (ysko)

From a sustainable development perspective, buildings should be designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, as the contribution of buildings to total energy consumption has steadily increased, reaching between 20% and 40% in the developed countries. One of the main challenges for achieving this goal is to develop more cost-effective systems and processes for energy renovation and modernising of the building stock of Europe. This challenge is addressed in this thesis. The research presented herein has had the overall purpose to identify and explore obstacles in the design process of constructing more energy-efficient buildings. Three research questions have guided the research work: (1) How can life cycle cost be used to predict the cost benefits of energy efficient buildings?; (2) How can the handling of energy performance requirements in the design process for buildings be improved?; (3) How do client requirements, political governance and regulations affect the design of energy performance in buildings? The research is based on literature reviews, interviews and surveys, as well as case and computational studies. A computational study was performed with three different building types situated in Finland using three different energysaving design concepts for each building. Energy consumption and construction costs were analysed for each case and the financial viability was analysed using the discounted payback method. Individual interviews were carried out to determine to what extent life cycle cost calculations are used in the construction sector and how energy performance is taken into account in model-based design processes for buildings. A decision-making framework and an axiomatic design model for a performance-based design process was then developed and the conceptual model was compared with a real case of low energy design in Sweden. Finally, a survey explored energy conservation strategies in the design of buildings in Germany and Sweden and a longitudinal investigation of key policy instrument regarding energy conservation in Germany and Sweden was conducted to support the main findings of the survey. The main results of the research work show that: * There is no evidence that the design of energy performance is considered differently in the design process for buildings in Sweden and Germany, even if regulations and building codes differ between the two countries. However, the somewhat steeper reduction in space heating in Germany compared with Sweden could be due to the stricter regulation in the building codes in Germany over the last decade. * The transparency of the design and the associated decision-making about energy performance can be improved by using the requirement management model developed, which is based on axiomatic principles and the proposed decision-making framework for evaluating, structuring and detailing the requirements from the conceptual to the detailed design stages. * Energy performance design can give cost benefits over a specific time for a building, as measured by the resulting life cycle costs. In general, life cycle cost analysis can be a tool for evaluating cost benefits over time and provide support for the decision-makers, but the challenges and uncertainties of its use have to be taken into account in the decision-making process. To conclude, the "energy gap" between regulations and what is technologically possible can be reduced to a certain extent by facilitating the energy design process with a performance-based design process and decision-making tools that support the evaluation of life cycle performance. However, it seems that regulation is a more important driver for the development of technology for low energy housing than market forces so the regulatory limit should therefore be set with respect to what is possible and not with respect to current practice. / <p>Godkänd; 2013; 20121121 (jutsch); Disputation Ämne: Byggproduktion/Construction Engineering Opponent: Professor Johnny Kronvall, Strusoft AB/Malmö högskola, Malmö Ordförande: Professor Ove Lagerqvist, Institutionen för samhällsbyggnad och naturresurser, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Torsdag den 7 februari 2013, kl 10.30 Plats: F1031, Luleå tekniska universitet</p>

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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.

No description available.

Byggprocesser inom anläggningsbranschen står för utsläpp på ca 6 miljoner ton CO2e per år i Sverige. Det innebär en betydande andel, ca 10 %, av de klimatpåverkande utsläppen totalt sett i Sverige. Klimatpåverkan i anläggningsbranschen härrör huvudsakligen från förbrukningen av fossilt bränsle i arbetsmaskiner och transportfordon samt stål-, asfalt- och betongtillverkning (IVA 2014). Trafikverket som ansvarar och förvaltar infrastrukturen i Sverige beställer årligen anläggningsarbeten för i storleksordningen 60 miljarder kr i investering och underhåll. Trafikverket har fått i uppdrag av regeringen att bidra till det transportpolitiska hänsynsmålet för miljö och hälsa. Det innebär en klimatneutral infrastruktur senast år 2050 och bl.a. minskad klimatpåverkan till 2020 med 15 % i jämförelse med 2015. För att uppnå detta har Trafikverket utvecklat ett verktyg benämnt Klimatkalkyl för att kunna beräkna och definiera ett utgångsläge för de klimatpåverkande emissionerna i projekten. Genom Klimatkalkyl ställer Trafikverket krav på projektörer och entreprenörer att reducera klimatbelastningen i projekten i relation till utgångsläget. Uppdragsgivare för examensarbetet är NCC Infra Service Mitt. Trafikverket är en av NCC:s viktigaste kunder vilket gör att de ökade kraven berör dem i allra högsta grad. Idén bakom examensarbetet är att studera ett lämpligt projekt där potentiella klimatbesparande åtgärder beräknas. Det projekt som valts för studien är ett 11 km långt vägprojekt på riksväg 63 mellan Karlstad och Vallargärdet som NCC Infra Service påbörjade under slutet av 2016. Projektet är intressant att studera eftersom att det skulle potentiellt kunna komma att omfattas av de nya kraven. Syftet är att ge NCC Infra Services ökade kunskaper och bättre förutsättningar för att möta morgondagens tuffare krav. En Klimatkalkyl har upprättats för projektet för att identifiera klimatpåverkande moment och material samt beräkna ett utgångsläge för projektets klimatbelastning. Undersökningar i syfte att kartlägga alternativ har genomförts. Slutligen har det beräknats vilket sätt klimatbelastningen påverkas om de framtagna åtgärderna vidtas.  Sammantaget genererar projektet utsläpp på 1 433 ton CO2e. Bitumenbundna lager, asfalt, har störst påverkan, ca 40 %. Dieselförbrukningen i arbetsmaskiner och transportfordon ger upphov till ca 27 % av de totala utsläppen. Stål i form av räcken och viltstängsel står för ca 19 %. Resterande är fördelat på betong, sprängmedel och bergkrossning. Om samtliga föreslagna åtgärder genomfördes skulle en reduktion på 47 % uppnås. Störst betydelse har en övergång från diesel till HVO (Hydrogenated vegetable oil). Reduktionen av koldioxidutsläppen om HVO används istället för konventionell diesel uppgår till 23 % i relation till utgångsläget om detta är den enda åtgärden som genomförs. Om alla åtgärder som undersökts implementeras först, leder detta till en minskad användning av diesel. Om den dieseln sedan byts ut mot HVO görs en 15 % besparing jämfört med utgångsläget då dieselposten blir mindre. Att använda sig av Green Asphalt-tillverkad asfalt istället för konventionellt tillverkad minskar klimatbelastningen i projektet med ca 13 %. Att krossa bergmaterial på plats ger en reduktion på ca 10 %. Att använda sig av enbart vajerräcken istället för balkräcken skulle ge en reduktion på ca 5 %.  Många av åtgärderna skulle även leda till en ekonomisk besparing på ca 1,4 MSEK. Om Trafikverkets bonus på 3% av kontraktssumman också skulle delas ut skulle den vara drygt 2 MSEK för detta projekt. Jämfört med det ekonomiska utgångsläget skulle det ekonomiska utfallet bli en vinst på ca 3,4 MSEK. Slutsatsen är att Trafikverkets krav är fullt möjliga att nå. Det finns stor potential att minska utsläppen från anläggningsbranschen. NCC:s fokus bör vara att byta drivmedel till HVO, alltid använda Green Asphalt och överlag använda sig av material med så bra miljöprestanda som möjligt. Att försöka krossa bergmaterial på plats samt naturligtvis minimera materialanvändandet, framförallt asfalt, stål och betong. / Construction processes in the construction industry account for emissions of approximately 6 million tonnes CO2e per year in Sweden. This means a significant proportion of about 10% of the climate-related emissions in Sweden. Climate impact in the construction industry is mainly due to the consumption of fossil fuel in work machinery and transport vehicles, as well as steel, asphalt and concrete production (IVA 2014). The Swedish Transport Administration, which manages the infrastructure in Sweden, orders annual construction work for the amount of SEK 60 billion in investment and maintenance. The Swedish Transport Administration has been assigned by the government to contribute to the transport policy consideration for environment and health. This means a climate-neutral infrastructure by 2050 and reduced climate impact by 2020 by 15% compared with 2015. To achieve this, the Swedish Transport Administration has developed a tool called Climate calculus to calculate and define a starting point for climate-related emissions in the projects. By means of Climate calculations, the Swedish Transport Administration requires projectors and contractors to reduce the climate impact of the projects in relation to the initial situation. The assignment for the degree project is NCC Infra Service Middle. The Swedish Transport Administration is one of NCC's most important customers, which means that the increased demands concern them to the highest extent. The idea behind the thesis is to study a suitable project where potential climate-saving measures are calculated. The project chosen for the study is an 11 km long road project on the highway 63 outside Karlstad, which NCC Infra Service began at the end of 2016. The project is interesting to study because it could potentially be covered by the new requirements. The aim is to provide NCC Infra Services with increased knowledge and better prerequisites for meeting tomorrow's tougher requirements. A Climate calculation has been prepared for the project to identify climate impacts and materials and calculate a starting point for the project's climate impact. Investigations for the purpose of mapping options have been implemented. Finally, it has been calculated how climate impact is affected if the proposed measures are taken. In total, the project generates emissions of 1 433 tones CO2e. Bituminous layers, asphalt, have the greatest impact, about 40%. Diesel consumption in work machines and transport vehicles generates about 27% of total emissions. Steel in the form of rails and felt fence accounts for about 19%. Remaining is distributed on concrete, explosives and rock crushing. If all proposed measures were implemented, a 47% reduction would be achieved. Most importantly, there is a shift from diesel to Hydrogenated vegetable oil. The reduction is 23% in relation to the initial situation, or 15% if the other measures are implemented simultaneously. Using Green Asphalt-made asphalt instead of conventionally manufactured would reduce the climate impact of the project by about 13%. Crushing rock materials on-site would reduce the overall climate load by about 10%. Using only wire rods instead of beam rods would give a reduction of about 5%. Several of the changes should also lead to an economic saving of about 1.4 MSEK. If the Swedish Transport Administration bonus of 3% of the contract sum, in this case about 2 MSEK, also would be distributed the financial outcome would be a profit of approximately 3.4 MSEK compared to the economic outturn. The conclusion is that the Swedish Transport Administration's demands are fully achievable. There is a great potential to reduce emissions from the construction industry. NCC's focus should be to switch to HVO fuel, always use Green Asphalt, try to crush rock material on-site and minimize material use, especially asphalt, steel and concrete.