Transport efficiency within construction is low. One reason behind the lack of efficiency within the construction transport is the lack of proper logistics management that in turn results in problems of delivery reliability, material flows as well as material availability. Other issues caused by lack of proper logistics management are poor information sharing and poor transport planning. Poor information sharing results in outdated plans, last minutes changes, nonstandardized processes, whereas poor transport planning leads to low vehicle utilization, travelling extra due to poor routing, empty running, increased number of transports, improper material handling resulting in damages, etc. Therefore, lack of proper logistics management makes construction transports to use more resources (such as time, fuel, vehicle, energy, and effort) than needed which in turn has negative impact on the environment as well as on the productivity. Construction transport has not been given much focus in prior research because construction transport gets camouflaged in the purchasing price and therefore remains unnoticed as a distinct activity. This highlights the need to better understand construction transport to improve its efficiency. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore and describe the ways to measure and improve construction transport efficiency (CTE) by the use of logistics management. This is studied from two different perspectives: the main contractor and the transporter. In terms of logistics management, construction logistics setups (CLS) and performance measurements are studied. Following research questions fulfil the purpose of the thesis: RQ1: How to define and measure construction transport efficiency? RQ2: How can logistics management be used in improving construction transport efficiency? To answer the research questions, case study research has been used as there is a need to develop an in-depth and detailed understanding of construction transports. The thesis is based on two single case studies and one multiple case study. Data collection has been made via documents, interviews, and observations. The thesis defines construction transport efficiency and identifies performance measurements of importance within construction transport efficiency. However, there is a lack of useful data that makes it difficult to calculate most of the identified performance measures. The thesis enhances the understanding of lack of efficiency that exists within construction transports by identifying value adding, non-value adding, and necessary but non-value adding activities within construction transports. Furthermore, it shows that logistics management can be used in improving construction transport efficiency as logistics management has been found helpful in decreasing non-value adding transport activities such as waiting to load and unload, searching for the right unloading place, contacting the concerned person at site, putting a net on a filled waste container by the driver, taking pictures of the offloaded material etc. The thesis highlights the value that logistics services (such as material delivery management, on-site VMI, waste management) create for the main contractor and the transporter in terms of improving construction transport efficiency. Overall, this thesis increases the understanding of construction transport efficiency through the introduction of performance measures and providing examples of how logistics management can impact. The thesis is an important piece of knowledge in the bigger puzzle of developing performance measurement system (PMS). It contributes with a comprehensive, empirically based picture of value adding and non-value adding activities within construction transport.

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Transport efficiency within construction is low. One reason behind the lack of efficiency within the construction transport is the lack of proper logistics management that in turn results in problems of delivery reliability, material flows as well as material availability. Other issues caused by lack of proper logistics management are poor information sharing and poor transport planning. Poor information sharing results in outdated plans, last minutes changes, nonstandardized processes, whereas poor transport planning leads to low vehicle utilization, travelling extra due to poor routing, empty running, increased number of transports, improper material handling resulting in damages, etc. Therefore, lack of proper logistics management makes construction transports to use more resources (such as time, fuel, vehicle, energy, and effort) than needed which in turn has negative impact on the environment as well as on the productivity. Construction transport has not been given much focus in prior research because construction transport gets camouflaged in the purchasing price and therefore remains unnoticed as a distinct activity. This highlights the need to better understand construction transport to improve its efficiency. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore and describe the ways to measure and improve construction transport efficiency (CTE) by the use of logistics management. This is studied from two different perspectives: the main contractor and the transporter. In terms of logistics management, construction logistics setups (CLS) and performance measurements are studied. Following research questions fulfil the purpose of the thesis: RQ1: How to define and measure construction transport efficiency? RQ2: How can logistics management be used in improving construction transport efficiency? To answer the research questions, case study research has been used as there is a need to develop an in-depth and detailed understanding of construction transports. The thesis is based on two single case studies and one multiple case study. Data collection has been made via documents, interviews, and observations. The thesis defines construction transport efficiency and identifies performance measurements of importance within construction transport efficiency. However, there is a lack of useful data that makes it difficult to calculate most of the identified performance measures. The thesis enhances the understanding of lack of efficiency that exists within construction transports by identifying value adding, non-value adding, and necessary but non-value adding activities within construction transports. Furthermore, it shows that logistics management can be used in improving construction transport efficiency as logistics management has been found helpful in decreasing non-value adding transport activities such as waiting to load and unload, searching for the right unloading place, contacting the concerned person at site, putting a net on a filled waste container by the driver, taking pictures of the offloaded material etc. The thesis highlights the value that logistics services (such as material delivery management, on-site VMI, waste management) create for the main contractor and the transporter in terms of improving construction transport efficiency. Overall, this thesis increases the understanding of construction transport efficiency through the introduction of performance measures and providing examples of how logistics management can impact. The thesis is an important piece of knowledge in the bigger puzzle of developing performance measurement system (PMS). It contributes with a comprehensive, empirically based picture of value adding and non-value adding activities within construction transport.

Modern organisations are increasingly seen as knowledge-based business ventures in which proactive knowledge management is important for competitiveness. The interest in knowledge management seems to have surged across world. In the increasingly competitive and global marketplace, firms are especially keen to integrate and capitalise on the knowledge of their employees and make it available when and where it is needed. In addition, many firms realise the need to educate and indoctrinate new hirelings into the organisation quickly due to the scarcity of global resources and an aging workforce (Teicholz, 2004). As a result, many organisations implement knowledge management initiatives in an attempt to combine and exploit their knowledge assets. It is therefore necessary to critically evaluate Sasol on these terms. How the knowledge management strategy supports organisational processes is investigated along with collective learning and collaborative decision making within the organisation. An in depth literature study was conducted to gain insight into KM concepts and strategies. It also provided a reference to current best practices. Above all, the literature study helped to gain perspective on the complexities of measuring a phenomenon like KM in an organisation. Performance measurement techniques are discussed and reference made to the eras of knowledge management. A short section makes reference to another organisation considered to be a global leader in integration of knowledge management systems. The research design method that was chosen to authenticate the research objectives is qualitative. The interpretive methods employ an inductive approach that starts with data and tries to derive a theory about the phenomenon of interest from the observed data. Results were obtained from a combination of two methods. Published and available secondary data mainly obtained from Sasol resources. The second was structured interviews conducted from a criterion based sampling strategy conducted on employees to obtain primary data. Sasol employees are supportive of the Sasol KM systems and are (to some extent) using it. Many believe that Sasol is a learning organisation and therefore benefitting from the systems in place. However, the people of Sasol are generally not aware of the full functionality of the deployed systems. Therefore the current state of the Sasol KM system integration is the consequence. Organisational Knowledge, unlike personal knowledge, is only of value if it is shared with others who need it (KMI, 2010). In order to enhance collective learning, learning organisations establish specific learning processes that become embedded in work processes. This is the basis of the outcomes and the recommendations of this research. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Modern organisations are increasingly seen as knowledge-based business ventures in which proactive knowledge management is important for competitiveness. The interest in knowledge management seems to have surged across world. In the increasingly competitive and global marketplace, firms are especially keen to integrate and capitalise on the knowledge of their employees and make it available when and where it is needed. In addition, many firms realise the need to educate and indoctrinate new hirelings into the organisation quickly due to the scarcity of global resources and an aging workforce (Teicholz, 2004). As a result, many organisations implement knowledge management initiatives in an attempt to combine and exploit their knowledge assets. It is therefore necessary to critically evaluate Sasol on these terms. How the knowledge management strategy supports organisational processes is investigated along with collective learning and collaborative decision making within the organisation. An in depth literature study was conducted to gain insight into KM concepts and strategies. It also provided a reference to current best practices. Above all, the literature study helped to gain perspective on the complexities of measuring a phenomenon like KM in an organisation. Performance measurement techniques are discussed and reference made to the eras of knowledge management. A short section makes reference to another organisation considered to be a global leader in integration of knowledge management systems. The research design method that was chosen to authenticate the research objectives is qualitative. The interpretive methods employ an inductive approach that starts with data and tries to derive a theory about the phenomenon of interest from the observed data. Results were obtained from a combination of two methods. Published and available secondary data mainly obtained from Sasol resources. The second was structured interviews conducted from a criterion based sampling strategy conducted on employees to obtain primary data. Sasol employees are supportive of the Sasol KM systems and are (to some extent) using it. Many believe that Sasol is a learning organisation and therefore benefitting from the systems in place. However, the people of Sasol are generally not aware of the full functionality of the deployed systems. Therefore the current state of the Sasol KM system integration is the consequence. Organisational Knowledge, unlike personal knowledge, is only of value if it is shared with others who need it (KMI, 2010). In order to enhance collective learning, learning organisations establish specific learning processes that become embedded in work processes. This is the basis of the outcomes and the recommendations of this research. / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute substantially in economies around the world and in South Africa in particular. This study aimed to explore and describe the financial performance measures currently used by manufacturing SMEs in Pretoria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the participant SMEs’ premises in order to gather the information. It was found that most of the respondents use financial ratios, but to a limited extent, when measuring their financial performance. The use of bankruptcy prediction models is totally absent among the participants. It has been recommended that SMEs use more ratios from the literature that have been proven to be the best financial measures, and the six ratios that have worked well for some of the participants in the study. It is also recommended that SME owners enrol their financial staff for training in bankruptcy prediction models, and use financial software packages if they can afford them. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / (M.Tech. (Business Administration))

This research builds on the literature about power and performance, offering new theory that extends the literature by accounting for the transformational effects of information technology. The role of information technology in the relationship between organizational power and performance is unclear in the literature. Management literature offers theories describing the relationship between power and performance. IS literature investigates the relationship between information technology (IT) and power and between information systems technology and performance, but is silent on the impact of IT on the relationship between power and performance. The nature of this relationship – direct, moderating, or indirect – is unknown. Due to the ubiquity of information technology in organizations and society, it is necessary to theorize on the relationship between IT, power and performance. This study evaluates the implementation of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions in two case study organizations. The use of the IT portion of the EPM is the event of interest. In one case, the EPM implementation is considered a success. In the other, the EPM implementation is considered unsuccessful. Findings from each organization are compared and used to determine the overall research findings. The findings demonstrate the transformational potential of IT on the relationship between power and performance and provide insights that may lead to a deeper understanding of each. The findings of this case study point the way toward development of more detailed constructs and propositions that are testable, measurable, and refutable.

Since the field of computer networks has rapidly grown in the last two decades, congestion control of traffic loads within networks has become a high priority. Congestion occurs in network routers when the number of incoming packets exceeds the available network resources, such as buffer space and bandwidth allocation. This may result in a poor network performance with reference to average packet queueing delay, packet loss rate and throughput. To enhance the performance when the network becomes congested, several different active queue management (AQM) methods have been proposed and some of these are discussed in this thesis. Specifically, these AQM methods are surveyed in detail and their strengths and limitations are highlighted. A comparison is conducted between five known AQM methods, Random Early Detection (RED), Gentle Random Early Detection (GRED), Adaptive Random Early Detection (ARED), Dynamic Random Early Drop (DRED) and BLUE, based on several performance measures, including mean queue length, throughput, average queueing delay, overflow packet loss probability, packet dropping probability and the total of overflow loss and dropping probabilities for packets, with the aim of identifying which AQM method gives the most satisfactory results of the performance measures. This thesis presents a new AQM approach based on the RED algorithm that determines and controls the congested router buffers in an early stage. This approach is called Dynamic RED (REDD), which stabilises the average queue length between minimum and maximum threshold positions at a certain level called the target level to prevent building up the queues in the router buffers. A comparison is made between the proposed REDD, RED and ARED approaches regarding the above performance measures. Moreover, three methods based on RED and fuzzy logic are proposed to control the congested router buffers incipiently. These methods are named REDD1, REDD2, and REDD3 and their performances are also compared with RED using the above performance measures to identify which method achieves the most satisfactory results. Furthermore, a set of discrete-time queue analytical models are developed based on the following approaches: RED, GRED, DRED and BLUE, to detect the congestion at router buffers in an early stage. The proposed analytical models use the instantaneous queue length as a congestion measure to capture short term changes in the input and prevent packet loss due to overflow. The proposed analytical models are experimentally compared with their corresponding AQM simulations with reference to the above performance measures to identify which approach gives the most satisfactory results. The simulations for RED, GRED, ARED, DRED, BLUE, REDD, REDD1, REDD2 and REDD3 are run ten times, each time with a change of seed and the results of each run are used to obtain mean values, variance, standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals. The performance measures are calculated based on data collected only after the system has reached a steady state. After extensive experimentation, the results show that the proposed REDD, REDD1, REDD2 and REDD3 algorithms and some of the proposed analytical models such as DRED-Alpha, RED and GRED models offer somewhat better results of mean queue length and average queueing delay than these achieved by RED and its variants when the values of packet arrival probability are greater than the value of packet departure probability, i.e. in a congestion situation. This suggests that when traffic is largely of a non bursty nature, instantaneous queue length might be a better congestion measure to use rather than the average queue length as in the more traditional models.

[pt] A probabilidade de alarme falso, a, e o poder dos gráficos de controle de processos dependem dos seus limites de controle, que, por sua vez, dependem de estimativas dos parâmetros do processo. A análise de capacidade de processos também depende de tais estimativas. Esta dissertação apresenta inicialmente uma revisão - ao nosso conhecimento, a primeira em português - dos principais trabalhos sobre o efeito dos erros de estimação dos parâmetros do processo sobre a. Todos os trabalhos citados buscam determinar, com base na distribuição de probabilidades das estimativas dos parâmetros do processo (parametrizada pelo número de amostras iniciais, m, e do tamanho delas, n) o valor esperado de a ou, equivalentemente, o valor esperado da distribuição marginal do número de amostras até um alarme falso. Nossa abordagem é distinta: obter (parametrizada por n e m) a distribuição de a e seus percentis ou, equivalentemente, a distribuição do valor esperado do número de amostras até um alarme falso, de modo a fornecer orientação sobre o número de amostras iniciais a serem utilizadas antes de fixar definitivamente os valores dos limites de controle dos gráficos. A análise foi conduzida para o gráfico de S. Foi analisada também a influência da estimação do desvio-padrão do processo sobre o poder do gráfico. Finalmente, foi obtida a distribuição dos erros na estimativa da capacidade do processo em função de m e n, para fornecer orientação sobre o número de amostras necessário para garantir uma precisão especificada nessa estimativa, com um grau de confiança também especificado. / [en] The false-alarm probability, a, and the power of process control charts depend on their control limits, which, in turn, depend on process parameters estimates. Process capability analyses also depend on those estimates. This dissertation initially presents a review - to our knowledge, the first in Portuguese - of the main research articles about the effect upon a of the estimation errors of the process parameters. All the works reviewed aim to determine, based on the probability distribution of the process parameters estimates (which is a function of the number of initial samples, m, and of their size, n), the expected value of a, or, equivalently, the expected value of the marginal distribution of the number of samples until a false alarm occurs. Our approach is different: to get (parameterized by m and n) the distribution of - and their percentiles or, equivalently, the distribution of the expected number of samples until a false alarm, in order to provide guidance on the initial number of samples to be used before setting the chart definitive control limits. The analysis was conducted for the S chart. The influence of the estimation errors on the power of the S chart was also examined. Finally, the distribution function was obtained, parameterized by m and n, of the estimation errors of the process capability index Cp, to provide guidance on the initial number of samples required to ensure, with a specified confidence level, a specified accuracy of the estimate.