In today’s fast-changing and dynamic business environment, the pressures on manufacturing companies to compete on the global arena have been intensified. Production is challenged to handle and benefit from ever increasing competitions in terms of cost, delivery capability, and flexibility. In order to gain and sustain the competitive advantage under such circumstances, strong and constant development of production must be ensured not only with continuous improvements but also with radical improvements. Continuous improvement or called Kaizen has been an established approach of production improvement. The concept of Kaizen is well described and many tools and methods that support Kaizen have been developed and widely applied in industry. However, for radical improvement or “Kaikaku” in Japanese, the need and the importance of Kaikaku are still limitedly recognized at companies. Moreover, the knowledge of structured support that facilitates an effective and efficient execution of Kaikaku has been insufficiently developed. The purpose of the research presented in this thesis is to develop models and methods that address the need and the importance of Kaikaku in production and facilitate the realization of it. The research consists of a literature study and three case studies. The literature study was conducted in order to structure the concept of Kaikaku. As a result of the study, a conceptual framework of Kaikaku was developed. The three case studies were conducted to identify influential factors to the realization of Kaikaku. Both Swedish and Japanese companies were studied and analyzed. These case studies led to identify a way of realizing a certain type of Kaikaku. Some characteristics of organization setting were also found influential to the realization of Kaikaku. To conclude, the research has contributed to creating a foundation of the research area related to Kaikaku. This has opened up opportunities for further research in this field.

This thesis is about the implementation of individual plans in the municipal mental health sector. Persons with need for long-term and coordinated services are entitled to have an individual plan. The objectives of an individual plan are to see that the service provides user participation, individual adaptation, comprehension and coordination. The purpose of this thesis is to see if an individual plan really contributes to reaching these objectives. It is possible to see individual plans as a tool based on the ideology of New Public Management (NPM). As such, their basis is rational-instrumental logic. Mental health is, however, a sector recognized for different knowledge bases, indefinite relations between cause and result, and users with vague and complex needs. The reason for choosing this field of investigation is to see what happens when a sector recognized for ambiguity meets products designed upon a rational-instrumental logic. The study shows that it is difficult to achieve user participation and individual adaptations. The reason for this is first of all insignificant resources in the municipal sector. The service providers are mostly positive to user participation and user involvement. This is, however, difficult to achieve as long as the users do not understand the reason for an individual plan and they lack concrete goals for their lives. The prospect of making a comprehensive and coordinated service is only to a small extent dependent on individual plans. Instead it seems as if factors like how the municipality is organized, professional boundaries and insight into rehabilitation ideology and cooperation, account for how comprehensive and coordinated the service becomes. The individual plan should be administered by a service provider with overall responsibility to follow up the work (a coordinator). My results show that this coordinator usually has a very important role in assisting the users in getting the service they need. Often the plan is followed by a team meeting where the different service providers together meet the user. For some of the users, these meetings are an arena where they can influence decisions about the service.

This case study focuses on the intentions of public sector transformation. In particular, on a Swedish public authority, the National Rail Administration (NRA) this is studied and analysed. As in other parts of the Swedish public sector, the management of this authority is planning and executing ‘marketisation’ reforms. Parts of NRA’s monopoly are to be ended and to be guided by the market. The aim of the study is to examine how conflicts between management and employees are shaped according to the changes taking place. Firstly, the study assesses how management interprets the new demands put upon the organisation and translates them into action. These actions illustrated as changes from 'monopoly to market' in order to be a legitimate business competitor; from ‘bureaucracy to flexibility’ in order to enhance competence and changing employees' identities from 'technique to tactic' in order to serve the customer properly The study then examines the management-driven implementation of these reforms; and how the employees respond to the changes from a resistance perspective. The discussion highlights what happens when the new management-driven organising principles meet the old, technology-oriented principles of employees. This contributes to a deepened understanding of why organisational changes made in the name of ‘market’, ‘flexibility’ and ‘customer’ meet resistance in the public sector. From a resistance perspective the changes are understood as ‘rationalisation’, work intensification’ and increased ‘individual control’, which per se leads to undermining of the traditional safety culture and technical skills. The customer orientation is met with highly ironic attitudes and interpreted as ‘infantilisation’ of the employees. The concluding remarks are that conflict and antagonism is ever present in organisations and in this case manifest in three domains, legitimating, restructuring and revaluating, and between management perspective and resistance perspective.

Situationsmedvetenhet (Eng. Situational Awareness), (SA), handlar om att ha koll på läget och vara medveten om vad som händer. Redan då ett komplext system utvecklas får vi en möjlighet att påverka vilken SA en framtida användare av systemet kan komma att få. Det gäller att ta tillvara på detta tillfälle! Ibland uppträder skillnader i SA, beroende på en rad olika orsaker. Denna avhandling handlar om SA och hur man kan använda de skillnaderna vid utveckling av komplexa system. Detta är relevant vid utveckling av en rad olika typer av komplexa system, även om de flesta exempel i denna avhandling kommer från flygdomänen. Avhandlingen innehåller beskrivningar hämtade från litteratur inom området och förslag på utveckling av SA-teori utifrån fokus på just skillnader. Skillnaden mellan vad du behöver vara medveten om och vad du verkligen är medveten om föreslås ge en indikation om individens SA. Vidare föreslås skillnaden mellan vad du är medveten om och vad du tror dig vara medveten om också ge en indikation om individens SA. SA kan skattas för en grupp av människor som arbetar tillsammans, genom variationerna i hur samstämmiga deras uppfattningar är. Termen situationshantering (Eng. Situation Management), (SM), föreslås med en vidare mening än SA, inkluderande SA, men också varje del av perceptionscykeln, hantering av mentala resurser och hantering av situationen genom extern påverkan. SM är en väl lämpad term vid utveckling av komplexa system då fokus här är på situationen och hur den kan hanteras, snarare än fokus på vad en individ eller en grupp uppfattar. Att skatta skillnader i SA och att kunna särskilja olika typer av skillnader är viktiga förutsättningar för att kunna hantera skillnader i SA vid utveckling av komplexa system på ett bra sätt. I avhandlingen gås flera sätt att skatta sådana skillnader igenom och speciellt tas för- och nackdelar med ögonrörelsemätning upp. Med referens till litteraturen och till de bilagda artiklarna beskrivs skillnader i SA beroende på a) designalternativ, b) roller i processen från utveckling till användning c) kontext och d) analysnivå. Skillnaderna i SA föreslås ses som både kvantitativa (dvs. hög eller låg SA) och kvalitativa (tex. olika aspekter av en situation). Ansatser såsom SM, realtidsvärdering, mätning och analys av SA på flera nivåer samtidigt samt simulatorbaserad design föreslås för att hantera skillnader i SA vid utveckling av komplexa system. / What’s up, Doc? Situational awareness (SA) is about being aware of what is going on. Already when a complex system is developed there is an opportunity to help a future user of the system to form a better SA. Let us make the best out of this opportunity! When assessing SA, differences in SA will sometimes appear. This dissertation is about SA, and how to manage differences in SA in development of complex systems. This topic is highly valid for development of a variety of complex systems, although most examples in this dissertation are from the aviation domain. Framed by state of the art literature, suggestions are made on theoretical improvements of SA theory, with a focus on differences. The difference between what you are required to be aware of and what you are aware of is suggested as a SA-indicator. Also, the difference between what you are aware of and what you think you are aware of is suggested as another SA-indicator. Further, differences within a team such as variations in degree of agreement could be used for team SA assessment. Also, the term situation management (SM) is suggested, with a proposed wider meaning than SA, including SA and every part of the perception action cycle, the management of mental resources, and external means of managing the situation. SM is a suitable term when developing complex systems due to the focus on the situation and how that could be managed, instead of only focusing on what is perceived by an individual or team. Assessing differences in SA and to differentiate between various types of differences are recognised as important prerequisites to effectively manage differences in SA in development of complex systems. Several assessment techniques are reviewed and especially advantages and disadvantages of the use of eye movements for SA assessment are described. With reference to the literature as well as to the appended papers differences in SA due to a) design alternatives, b) roles in the design-use process, c) context, and d) level of analysis, are described. Differences in SA are suggested to be regarded as both quantitative (i.e. high or low SA) and qualitative (e.g. various aspects of a situation are regarded). Approaches such as, SM, on-line evaluation of SA, simulator based design, as well as measuring and analysing SA on multiple levels simultaneously, are suggested as means to manage differences in SA in the development of complex systems.

The focal point of this thesis is an interest in the phenomena of regenerative work, which is a work that has the potential of recreating and developing human resources and energy. The aim is to make a contribution, by presenting a supplementary perspective, to this area of research by considering regenerative work through a process perspective where the centre of interest is transferred from being a question of what to a question of how? The guiding research question is as follows: How could the organizing processes of regenerative work be understood? - more specifically - through an interactive approach the purpose is to describe, analyze and understand those everyday processes that have implications for regenerative work. This general inquiry took place at a number of wards/departments at a hospital in southern Sweden. Above all, the empirical focus concentrated on two specific occurrences: (1) an implementation of a new work model at the various wards/departments and (2) the function of the ward managers and their work situation. Empirical material was collected in collaboration with assistant nurses, registered nurses and ward managers through forum dialogues, interviews and observations. Narratives as formation of knowledge are a significant tool that constitutes an important foundation of this thesis. The chain of events and actions of complex processes are thus interpreted and understood by means of using narratives as a research device. The narrative form was also a source of inspiration for a large portion of the results presentation. The comprehension of the construction of experiences that may be related to regenerative work must be interpreted and understood beyond an individualistic perspective. Overconfidence in rules and routines, and a predetermined execution of the work proved also to be problematic in a complex and symbolically charged reality. Consequently, regenerative work must be understood in the light of a reality/world that consists of regularities and irregularities as well as predictability and unpredictability. It is in the complexity of such worlds, actors are required to interpret what their work/assignment is about and to carry it out satisfactory and to the best of their ability. Hence, two crucial questions are derived: How is the work/assignment interpreted? Are their prerequisites in the organization enabling and supporting good performances? In conclusion, these two questions are interconnected and discussed further in view of local basic conditions for conversation and action as well as leadership in terms of organizing for sensemaking. / QC20100701

Handling production scheduling is increasingly difficult for manyenterprises, and human involvement is necessary. The overall objective ofthis research was to gain further understanding of planners’ and schedulers’work within the manufacturing industry, to elucidate how their worksituation is formed, and to explain their significance to other employees’work and company activities. Scheduling work was studied in fourcompanies in the Swedish woodworking industry; a sawmill, a parquet floormanufacturer, a furniture manufacturer and a house manufacturer. Themethod used was activity analysis which is based on the analysis of workactivities in real work situations. Data collection included 20 days’observations and 65 interviews. Cross-case analysis with British cases onplanning work was also included.The findings revealed that the schedulers’ tasks lead to many activities. Twothirds of these are what can be expected. The remaining third constitutesactivities that depend on the schedulers’ individual attributes and the contextin which they work. The schedulers serve as problem solvers in a number ofdomains and constitute efficient information nodes, making them animportant service function. Furthermore, they have an alignment rolebetween different organizational groups. This role is specifically remarkablein dealing with production enquiries that must be aligned with productioncapability. Here, both planners and schedulers play an essential role inlinking the manufacturing and the commercial sides and their differentfunctional logics.Planners and schedulers in daily work exert strong influence on others. Theydo not hold legitimate power. Instead their influence emanates mainly fromaccess to and control of information and their ability to apply expertise tointerpret this information and examine the impact of decisions made acrossdifferent areas of the business. Personal power related to social skills is alsosignificant.Furthermore, they facilitate others’ work in continuous personalinteractions, serving the technical scheduling software system, and aligningdifferent organizational functions. In combination with expert knowledgeand developed social skills, they significantly contribute to quality operationsperformance. Finally, the schedulers influence the decision latitude of otheremployees and may indirectly promote job satisfaction, thus contributing todeveloping appropriate working conditions for others in the company. / QC 20100624

The focal point of this thesis is an interest in the phenomena of regenerative work, which is a work that has the potential of recreating and developing human resources and energy. The aim is to make a contribution, by presenting a supplementary perspective, to this area of research by considering regenerative work through a process perspective where the centre of interest is transferred from being a question of what to a question of how? The guiding research question is as follows: How could the organizing processes of regenerative work be understood? - more specifically - through an interactive approach the purpose is to describe, analyze and understand those everyday processes that have implications for regenerative work. This general inquiry took place at a number of wards/departments at a hospital in southern Sweden. Above all, the empirical focus concentrated on two specific occurrences: (1) an implementation of a new work model at the various wards/departments and (2) the function of the ward managers and their work situation. Empirical material was collected in collaboration with assistant nurses, registered nurses and ward managers through forum dialogues, interviews and observations. Narratives as formation of knowledge are a significant tool that constitutes an important foundation of this thesis. The chain of events and actions of complex processes are thus interpreted and understood by means of using narratives as a research device. The narrative form was also a source of inspiration for a large portion of the results presentation. The comprehension of the construction of experiences that may be related to regenerative work must be interpreted and understood beyond an individualistic perspective. Overconfidence in rules and routines, and a predetermined execution of the work proved also to be problematic in a complex and symbolically charged reality. Consequently, regenerative work must be understood in the light of a reality/world that consists of regularities and irregularities as well as predictability and unpredictability. It is in the complexity of such worlds, actors are required to interpret what their work/assignment is about and to carry it out satisfactory and to the best of their ability. Hence, two crucial questions are derived: How is the work/assignment interpreted? Are their prerequisites in the organization enabling and supporting good performances? In conclusion, these two questions are interconnected and discussed further in view of local basic conditions for conversation and action as well as leadership in terms of organizing for sensemaking.

The goal of this research is increased safety in aviation. Aviation is a highly automated and complex, as well as, safety critical human-machine system. The pilot communicates with the system via a human-machine interface in cockpit. In an alerting situation this interface is in part an auditory alerting system. Human errors are often consequences of actions brought about by poor design. Pilots complain that they may be both disturbed and annoyed of alerts, which may affect performance, especially in non-normal situations when the mental workload is high. This research is based on theories in ergonomics and cognitive engineering with the assumption that improved human performance within a system increase safety. Cognitive engineering is a design philosophy for reducing the effort required by cognitive functions by changing the technical interface, which may lead to improved performance. Knowledge of human abilities and limitations and multidisciplinary interrelated theories between humans, sounds and warnings are used. Several methods are involved in this research, such as literature studies, field studies, controlled experiments and simulations with pilots. This research defines design requirements for sounds appropriate in auditory alerts as Natural Warning Sounds. For example, they have a natural meaning within the user’s context, are compatible with the auditory information process, are pleasant to listen to (not annoying), are easy to learn and are clearly audible. A design process for auditory alerting systems is suggested. It includes methods of associability and sound imagery, which develop Natural Warning Sounds, and combines these with an appropriate presentation format. Associability is introduced and represents the required effort to associate sounds to their assigned alert function meaning. An associable sound requires less effort and fewer cognitive resources. Soundimagary is used to develop sound images. A sound image is a sound, which by its acoustics characteristics has a particular meaning to someone without prior training in a certain context. Simulations of presentation formats resulted in recommendations for cancellation capabilities and avoiding continuously repeated alerts. This research brings related theories closer to practice and demonstrates general methods that will allow designers, together with the users of the system, to apply them in their own system. / QC 20100910

In line with the company-wide CS09 project being carried out at Volvo CE Components, Cell 14 will have changes in terms of distribution of machines and parts routing to meet the lean manufacturing goals established.  These changes are of course dependant on future production volumes, as well as lot sizing and material handling considerations. In this context, an important emphasis is given to the awareness of the performance measures that support decision making in these production development projects.  By using simulation as a confirmation tool, it is possible to re-assess these measures by testing the impact of changes in complex situations, in line with the lean manufacturing principles. The aim of the project is to develop a discrete event simulation model following the methodology proposed by Banks et al (1999).  A model of Cell 14 will be built using the software Technomatix Plant Simulation ® which is used by the Company and the results from the simulation study will be analyzed.

Denna uppsats försöker besvara vad som kännetecknar och orsakar konflikter i en arbetsgrupp. Området var omfattande avseende litteraturen och vi har valt att ta fram de bitar som var vanligast på den arbetsplats vi besökte. Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ undersökning. Undersökningen är genomförd på ett callcenter i Närke och vi djupintervjuade sex kommunikatörer för att få en bra bild av vad som dels orsakat men också kännetecknat konflikter i deras arbetsgrupp. Det framkom att det fanns flera orsaker. Bland annat togs det upp att kommunikationen brast mellan kollegorna och ledningen, en del skapade egna regler och rutiner för hur man skulle utföra arbetet vilket ledde till förbistringar hos andra, vidare påtalades att det var svårt att ha ett informellt ledarskap och ingen formell i arbetsgruppen. Det fanns flera kännetecken på konflikter också. Exempelvis fanns det grupperingar bland kollegorna, det bland annat hade förekommit mobbning, och det fanns en konflikträdsla bland de anställda som hindrade dem att agera ibland. Resultatet av denna undersökning är således att det inte finns en orsak eller ett kännetecken, utan det är flera. Vi har redovisat de tydligaste svaren och kommit fram till att makt är en överordnad orsak till konflikter i arbetsgruppen. Ett exempel på detta var att vissa personer ville ha mer makt och inflyttande över sina kollegor. Uppsatsen inleds med en teoretisk genomgång av litteratur i ämnet. Därefter fortsätter vi med metoddelen, där vi berättar hur vi gått tillväga vid intervjuerna samt hur vi bearbetat intervjumaterialet inför analyserandet. Därefter följer ett kapitel med resultat och analys av de svar vi fick. Vi avrundar uppsatsen med att besvara våra inledande frågeställningar.