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The costs related to workers compensation in the construction industry are rising every year, with no end in sight. Construction professionals can no longer afford to wait for others to solve the problem through new legislation or rate control. Controlling workers’ compensation costs is a puzzle that can be solved by contractors if they have all of the “pieces” and a guide. This thesis supplies the “pieces” by educating the reader on the terminology, intricacies, and problems of the workers’ compensation system. It also serves as the guide to solving the puzzle by discussing management techniques that are currently being used to control workers’ compensation costs, and their effectiveness. Costs are not the only concern of construction professionals as they turn their attention to workers’ compensation. It is mandatory that every company that is eligible have an Experience Modification Rating (EMR) that is applied to its premiums to adjust for its actual insurance performance. The EMR has gained a new function, however. Owners are using the EMR as a prequalifier in bidding, suggesting that the EMR is an accurate predictor of a contractor’s safety performance. This assertion is not entirely true. This thesis addresses the inadequacy of the EMR as an indicator of safety performance and suggests alternative measures of a contractor’s safety. The management techniques cited, and the assertions made with regard to the EMR, in this thesis are based on the opinions of the forty-two (42) contractors and over one thousand six hundred (1600) construction workers who participated in a study conducted by the Construction Industry Institute’s (CII) Workers Compensation Task Force. The findings of this thesis were made a part of the task force’s CII Source Document. / Master of Science

In order to reach the economic scale, reduce unit cost and to enhance the international competitiveness, China Steel Cooperation constructed a subsidiary - Dragon Steel Cooperation, a 5-million-ton integrated steel plant nearby Taichung Harbor. Starting from iron-smelting, steel-making till steel-rolling, each step follows one another. If any of the steps occurs a problem, the whole production will be affected. The quality of the new construction is related to the life cycle of the equipments, the stability of the operation and the quality of the products. Further more, if the new construction is imperfect, there might be plenty of accidents, such as public safety, environment issues, protest from the inhabitants, etc. The influences could be huge. The main quality influences of the new construction work are low bids from the contractors, shoddy work and use inferior material during the construction, lack of control, welding problems, etc. According to the above main factors, we listed 20 secondary factors, e.g. bad financial situation, vicious competition, budget shortfalls, etc., and use analytical hierarchy process to find the relationship between them. In this thesis, there are in total 32 people have been interviewed, 8 of them are first-line supervisors (the up, middle and downstream of the steel plant, from steel-smelting plant, steel-rolling plant, public facility department to civil department.) Meanwhile, 10 senior executives are also interviewed; relevant literatures are used as related inference. Via this analysis, the most important factor of influencing the welding quality of new construction work is ¡§welding problem¡¨ with 0.297 rating point. Analyzing the third layer factors of low bids rating, the highest point is ¡§vicious competition¡¨ with 0.354. In shoddy work and use inferior material factor, ¡§changing subcontractor frequently¡¨ is the highest with 0.491 rating point. In false inspection, the ¡§progressing pressure¡¨ is the highest with 0.378 rating point. In welding problem, the ¡§construct without drawing¡¨ is the highest point with 0.371. In other factors, ¡§defected raw material¡¨ is the highest with 0.275 rating point. If the above problem solved, the welding quality in new construction work will improve tremendously. Keywords: non-destructive testing, quality of construction, new construction work, turnkey contractors, defect.

Diploma thesis deals with the analysis of the approach of construction companies to the preparation of price offers. The theoretical part contains an explanation of the basic concepts of the issue and possible ways to determine the price of the construction work. In the practical part, this topic is researched in practice using a questionnaire survey. The results of the questionnaire survey are followed by two interviews with representatives from practice. After evaluating these data, the established hypotheses are verified and recommendations are expressed.

<p>Under det senaste årtiondet har 97 % av den totala folkökningen tillkommit inom fem kilometer från kusten, främst kring storstadsregionerna. Tyresö kommun är en av Stockholms förorter. Kommunen har under åren köpt loss tomter i ett kustnära område vid Tyresö strand. Ekologigruppen ab har på uppdrag av kommunen gjort bedömningar av områdets naturvärden såväl som rekreativa värden. Bedömningarna är tänkta att kunna vila som beslutsunderlag för planering såväl som byggnationer i området. Utgångspunkter för uppsatsen är teorier, principer/begrepp och riktlinjer från främst bevarandeekologi, men även fysisk planering. Syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa konsekvenser som bebyggelse kan medföra på naturmiljön samt att utefter den förvärvade kännedomen ge rekommendationer för framtida byggnationer. Rekommendationerna fokuseras på områden som uppmärksammats som särskilt värdefulla/känsliga. De skyddsvärda naturmiljöer som identifierats är främst eklundarna och andra ädellövträd samt de grunda mjukbottnarna. Dessa miljöer kan skyddas och stärkas genom en god planering som bidrar till områdena begränsas intrång samt att man strävar efter att bevara en sammanhängande grönstruktur. De grunda bottnarna kan delvis skyddas genom en omlokalisering av planområdets befintliga båtklubb. Även de rekreativa värdena skulle stärkas genom båtklubbens flytt genom att vattenkontakten för allmänheten förbättras. Vattenkontakten och promenadmöjligheterna skulle även kunna stärkas av gångbryggor längs strandlinjen.</p> / <p>Over the past decade in Sweden, 97 % of total population growth has occurred within five kilometres of the coast, primarily round the urbanized regions. The municipality of Tyresö is a suburb of Stockholm and has, purchased land in a coastal region in Tyresö strand. Ekologigruppen ab was commissioned by the municipality to carry out an evaluation of the environmental and recreational values of the area. The evaluations are intended to form a basis for future planning and construction work. This essay is based on theories, principles/concepts/guidelines from the field of conservation-ecology and physical planning. The aim of the essay is to shed light on the consequenses that construction and development can entail for the environment and to make recommendations for future development on the basis on knowledge acquried. The recommendations will mainly focus on those areas which have been designated as being particularly valuable/sensitive. Such areas are primarily the oak-groves and other valuable deciduous trees as well as shallow water with soft bottom sea-beds. These environments can be protected and strengthened by appropriate planning which can help limit encroachment as well as promote efforts to preserve a coherent green-structure.The shallow sea-beds may be partly protected by relocating the areas boat club. Relocating the boat club would also enhance recreational values since it would provide the public with improved access to the water. Bridges along the shoreline would further enhance water-access and provide greater opportunities for walking.</p>

Under det senaste årtiondet har 97 % av den totala folkökningen tillkommit inom fem kilometer från kusten, främst kring storstadsregionerna. Tyresö kommun är en av Stockholms förorter. Kommunen har under åren köpt loss tomter i ett kustnära område vid Tyresö strand. Ekologigruppen ab har på uppdrag av kommunen gjort bedömningar av områdets naturvärden såväl som rekreativa värden. Bedömningarna är tänkta att kunna vila som beslutsunderlag för planering såväl som byggnationer i området. Utgångspunkter för uppsatsen är teorier, principer/begrepp och riktlinjer från främst bevarandeekologi, men även fysisk planering. Syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa konsekvenser som bebyggelse kan medföra på naturmiljön samt att utefter den förvärvade kännedomen ge rekommendationer för framtida byggnationer. Rekommendationerna fokuseras på områden som uppmärksammats som särskilt värdefulla/känsliga. De skyddsvärda naturmiljöer som identifierats är främst eklundarna och andra ädellövträd samt de grunda mjukbottnarna. Dessa miljöer kan skyddas och stärkas genom en god planering som bidrar till områdena begränsas intrång samt att man strävar efter att bevara en sammanhängande grönstruktur. De grunda bottnarna kan delvis skyddas genom en omlokalisering av planområdets befintliga båtklubb. Även de rekreativa värdena skulle stärkas genom båtklubbens flytt genom att vattenkontakten för allmänheten förbättras. Vattenkontakten och promenadmöjligheterna skulle även kunna stärkas av gångbryggor längs strandlinjen. / Over the past decade in Sweden, 97 % of total population growth has occurred within five kilometres of the coast, primarily round the urbanized regions. The municipality of Tyresö is a suburb of Stockholm and has, purchased land in a coastal region in Tyresö strand. Ekologigruppen ab was commissioned by the municipality to carry out an evaluation of the environmental and recreational values of the area. The evaluations are intended to form a basis for future planning and construction work. This essay is based on theories, principles/concepts/guidelines from the field of conservation-ecology and physical planning. The aim of the essay is to shed light on the consequenses that construction and development can entail for the environment and to make recommendations for future development on the basis on knowledge acquried. The recommendations will mainly focus on those areas which have been designated as being particularly valuable/sensitive. Such areas are primarily the oak-groves and other valuable deciduous trees as well as shallow water with soft bottom sea-beds. These environments can be protected and strengthened by appropriate planning which can help limit encroachment as well as promote efforts to preserve a coherent green-structure.The shallow sea-beds may be partly protected by relocating the areas boat club. Relocating the boat club would also enhance recreational values since it would provide the public with improved access to the water. Bridges along the shoreline would further enhance water-access and provide greater opportunities for walking.

This thesis examines how the agency of working children relates to the nature of their work and the harm caused by it. Theorists and practitioners specialised in children’s work have argued that its harms should be understood from the perspectives of working children and that efforts to improve their situation should involve them and meet the interests they express. Their approach is premised on children’s capacity for autonomous and rational decision making. The thesis develops an alternative approach, by examining harm in children’s work and children’s responses to it with an understanding of agency as being conditioned by material and social contexts. Its theoretical purpose is to use Bourdieu’s theory to examine children’s work. Its methodological contribution is that it studies children’s work as a practice, rather than children’s individual experiences and perspectives on their work. This involved investigation of patterns characterising forms of children’s work, and exploration of why these patterns exist and how they might be changing which focuses on how children are involved and affected. The thesis is based on empirical study of children’s work in cement block construction in peri-urban localities, as apprentices in Calavi, Benin, and as unskilled workers in northern Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka, India. Construction is recognised as a worst form of children’s work by the ILO, but the work studied was locally condoned. In Calavi, apprenticeship was considered as professional training, and in Bengaluru, children’s construction work contributed to family livelihoods. These are the kind of work situations that social scientists who stress children’s agency have suggested are likely to be beneficial. Main sources of data were observations of construction work and interviews with workers, mostly children, as well as their direct employers. Interviewed children did not see their work as seriously harmful, although it was found to risk impairing their physical integrity and to confirm their inequality. In Calavi, children were much more oppressed in their work than children in Bengaluru, but in both sites children acted with reasons and interests. They did not however act to change harmful work conditions. Analysis shows how their age, gender and class positions might have shaped their perspectives in ways which explain why they largely accepted them. The children’s shared hope that their own children would not work as they had indicated their involvement in social change which might be undermining their work practices. The findings confirm the importance of examining children’s perspectives in attempt to understand the causes and consequences of their work. Yet they suggest that children may not always be able to identify harm, and thus the relevance of pursued efforts to develop ways of studying harm in children’s work which do not assume their capacity for autonomous and rational decision making or rely primarily on their perspectives.

Goal of this master’s thesis is design of trailer compressor intended for construction work. Part of this work is conducting analysis, dealing with history, technical possibilities and contemporary trends in using compressors. Second part contains solution based on the conducted research with regards to meet all the functional, technical, esthetic and ergonomic requirements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how construction work environment coordination for executions is organized, can be improved, and what in form of conditions are desired for the individuals who perform this work in the energy industry. The study was performed with a qualitative method, questionnaires were addressed to four different occupational groups at seven different companies. Construction work environment coordinator for planning at a developer, work environment manager, construction work environment coordinator for execution and electricians, all the latter three at an electricity network contractor. The result of the study shows that especially time and knowledge are two important conditions that today need to be improved for the construction work environment coordinator for execution. Recourses and authority are also two conditions that can be improved for a safer workplace. The lack of knowledge is not only seen with the electricity network contractors. The developers can, according to the respondents, also improve in the way they plan the work and be more precise in how much time is needed for the construction work environment coordinator for execution. To reduce stress and the risk of workplace accidents developers should calculate more time for each project. The conclusion of this study is that improvement of knowledge from all parts of the energy industry is needed, and that more time in both projects and construction work environment coordination must be increased.

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