Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 283-288). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Em um ambiente altamente competitivo, as empresas construtoras buscam sua sobrevivência e o aumento do valor para o cliente cada vez mais pela melhoria de sua produtividade e pela redução de seus custos. Esta busca se dá em geral pelo uso de novas tecnologias, porém não melhorar a gestão do seu processo produtivo na mesma proporção pode comprometer todo o investimento feito em tecnologias. Além disso, é fundamental conhecer o quê é valor para cada cliente, para poder escolher com exatidão os princípios e ferramentas de gestão da produção mais aderentes às suas necessidades específicas, gerando vantagem competitiva. Este trabalho, por meio de revisão bibliográfica e de um estudo de caso em uma empresa construtora, registra o processo de implantação e a percepção de mudanças pelas equipes de suas obras após os aperfeiçoamentos feitos em seu Sistema de Gestão da Produção, baseados em princípios do Lean Thinking. Os resultados obtidos na pesquisa e as análises críticas feitas pelo autor constituem uma rica fonte de informações para retroalimentação do Sistema de Gestão da Produção da empresa estudada, bem como para o de outras empresas que pretendam trilhar caminhos semelhantes. / In a highly competitive environment, construction companies seek their survival and the increase of value for their clients by improving productivity and reducing costs. Usually this search takes place through the use of new technologies, but not improving the management of their building process in the same proportion can compromise the entire investment in technology. Besides that it is essential to know what each client takes for value for choosing the best tools and methodologies for managing them as demanded by their specific needs, to generate competitive advantage. This work, based on a review and a case study in a construction company, records the implementation process and the changes perceived by its site management team, regarding improvements done in its production management system, based on Lean Thinking principles. The results obtained in the research and the critical analyzes made by the author constitute a rich source of information for feedback for the production management system of the studied company, as well as from other companies wishing to follow similar paths.

Em um ambiente altamente competitivo, as empresas construtoras buscam sua sobrevivência e o aumento do valor para o cliente cada vez mais pela melhoria de sua produtividade e pela redução de seus custos. Esta busca se dá em geral pelo uso de novas tecnologias, porém não melhorar a gestão do seu processo produtivo na mesma proporção pode comprometer todo o investimento feito em tecnologias. Além disso, é fundamental conhecer o quê é valor para cada cliente, para poder escolher com exatidão os princípios e ferramentas de gestão da produção mais aderentes às suas necessidades específicas, gerando vantagem competitiva. Este trabalho, por meio de revisão bibliográfica e de um estudo de caso em uma empresa construtora, registra o processo de implantação e a percepção de mudanças pelas equipes de suas obras após os aperfeiçoamentos feitos em seu Sistema de Gestão da Produção, baseados em princípios do Lean Thinking. Os resultados obtidos na pesquisa e as análises críticas feitas pelo autor constituem uma rica fonte de informações para retroalimentação do Sistema de Gestão da Produção da empresa estudada, bem como para o de outras empresas que pretendam trilhar caminhos semelhantes. / In a highly competitive environment, construction companies seek their survival and the increase of value for their clients by improving productivity and reducing costs. Usually this search takes place through the use of new technologies, but not improving the management of their building process in the same proportion can compromise the entire investment in technology. Besides that it is essential to know what each client takes for value for choosing the best tools and methodologies for managing them as demanded by their specific needs, to generate competitive advantage. This work, based on a review and a case study in a construction company, records the implementation process and the changes perceived by its site management team, regarding improvements done in its production management system, based on Lean Thinking principles. The results obtained in the research and the critical analyzes made by the author constitute a rich source of information for feedback for the production management system of the studied company, as well as from other companies wishing to follow similar paths.

Byggbranschen ställdes för en tid sedan inför utmaningen att bygga byggnader som var mer hållbara sett som en färdig produkt. Detta i form av en mindre energianvändning, mindre miljöpåverkande material med mera. Denna utveckling har gjort att byggproduktionen som fas, blivit en större del av byggbranschens miljöpåverkan. Intresset för ett utökat arbete med att skapa mer ekologiskt/ miljömässigt hållbara byggarbetsplatser har ökat kraftigt under de senaste åren. Då det kan vara dyrt att utvärdera sin egen verksamhet för att hitta förbättringsåtgärder har främst de stora bolagen i Sverige gjort radikala förändringar i det dagliga arbetet. Detta har ökat intresset för ByggTema i Örebro AB att följa samma spår för att konkurrera med likvärdiga miljöparametrar. Studien hade som ingångspunkt att hitta enkla förbättringsåtgärder för ByggTema att tillämpa i hela processen för uppförandet av en byggnad. För att undersöka hur intresset och kunskapsnivån var inom företaget genomfördes en enkätundersökning, där det visade att de aktivt sorterar avfall och att de har för lite tid på varje projekt att utveckla det aktiva miljöarbetet i byggproduktionen. Kommande steg i studien var att intervjua utvalda personer inom ByggTema för att få en inblick i vad som sker i det detaljerade arbetet kring dessa frågor, samt hitta möjliga lösningar på de problem som i dagsläget hindrar ett mer ekologiskt/ miljövänligt arbete i byggproduktionen. När informationen kring detta samlats in utfördes fältstudier på två skolbyggnationsprojekt belägna i Örebro (Brunnsskolan och Norrbyskolan). Detta för att kunna dra slutsatser kring vilka förbättringsåtgärder som lämpar sig för ByggTema att tillämpa i verksamheten. Resultatet av studien blev en rad möjliga förbättringsåtgärder för ByggTema att applicera i sin verksamhet. Dessa var bland andra att, involvera fler i planeringsskedet, öka kunskapsnivån/ medvetenheten hos anställda genom interna och externa utbildningar, ställa höga krav på underentreprenörer i form av belysning och containrar. Kortfattat bör oisolerade containrar som kräver uppvärmning förbjudas, även halogenlampor bör förbjudas för att ge plats åt LED-lampor med en avsevärt lägre energianvändning. Bodar med låg energiklassning bör förbjudas, partnering bör tillämpas och viljan till samverkan ska vara gemensam. / The construction industry was recently faced with the challenge of constructing that were more sustainable as a finished product. This in terms of less energy use, less environmental impacts, and more. This development has meant that the construction industry in order to develop a completed building has become a larger part of the construction industry's environmental impact. The interest in expanding work to create more ecologically/ environmentally sustainable construction sites has increased sharply in recent years. As it may be expensive to evaluate their own business to find improvement measures, the major companies in Sweden have made radical changes in daily work. This has increased the interest of ByggTema in Örebro AB to follow in the same track to compete with equivalent environmental parameters. The starting point of the study has been to find simple improvement measures for ByggTema to apply throughout the building process. To investigate how interest and knowledge levels were within the company, a survey was used, which showed that they actively sort waste and that they have too little time on each project to develop active environmental work in building production. The next steps in the study were to interview selected individuals within ByggTema to get an insight into what is happening in the detailed work on these issues, as well as to find possible solutions to the problems that currently hinder more ecological/ environmentally friendly work in building production. When gathering information about this, field studies were carried out at two school projects located in Örebro (Brunns School and Norrby School). This in order to draw conclusions about which improvement measures are appropriate for ByggTema to apply in the business. The result of the study was a number of possible improvement measures for ByggTema to apply in its operations. These included, among other things, involving more personnel in the planning phase, increasing the level of knowledge/ awareness of employees through internal and external education, high demands on subcontractors in the form of lighting and containers. In short, uninsulated containers that need to be heated should be banned and halogen lamps should be prohibited to accommodate LEDs with significantly lower energy consumption. Low energy shed should be banned, partnerships should be applied and the willingness to cooperate should be common.

The aim of the work is to chart grant used for the construction sector and subsequently analyze the impact of the subsidies on the development of the construction output in the Czech Republic. In the first part is defined by the distribution of construction output and describes the development of the construction industry, subsequently described subsidies used in the Czech Republic. The second part is divided into two sections, the first on is dedicated to the processed questionnaire and its output. The second section is analytical. The questionnaire is focused on the use of subsidies in the Czech Republic. The analytical part is focused on creating an evolution of subsidies on construction aktivity for a certain period.

The ambition for a more digitalized and effective line of business is large for building companies. It is of great importance, to the companies in the building sector, that the adaption of new tools and methods of working happen to secure their place in a modern and competitive line of business. BIM-building process is the tool the companies need to reach their ambitions.  One of Veidekke´s goals is to use BIM throughout the entirety of their projects. This work has with cooperation with Veidekke Sverige clarified what obstacles there are for the implementation of BIM in the building production an also to give propositions for actions to fix these obstacles. The study has mainly been done through half controlled interviews with key individuals and thru available literature studies.  The result of the study has shown that there are three main obstacles that have slowed the implementation of BIM in the building process. These obstacles are as follows: the level of detail of the BIM model, technical difficulties associated with software and hardware, and the human aspect.  The solutions to these obstacles have been brought forward regarding the position of Veidekke Sverige, in the line of business of building, regarding BIM, and are made up of our own speculations from past experiences and knowledge gathered though the course of the education.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Construction Management, Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying In the Faculty of Engineering, At the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / Sustainable buildings are structures produced to meet the present housing needs of a society without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their future needs. Based on the findings derived from the reviewed literature, the production process and the operational lifecycle of sustainable buildings promote a healthy well-being for the inhabitants and environmental balance through the effective management of energy, water, land and materials resources at every stage of construction. However, ineffective construction materials procurement strategy was found in literature as a major factor that constrains the production of sustainable buildings; leading to project failures or production cost and time overrun. Thus, the production cost of sustainable buildings is influenced by the total cost of construction materials acquisition, which amounts to about 65% of the total cost of building production. This factor on cost has over the years been a significant barrier to the adoption of sustainable building principles in the construction industry. This prompted the need to establish an effective strategy for construction materials procurement towards the enhancement of sustainable building production in Western Cape, South Africa. The research study adopted a mixed methodological approach, which involved the use of semi-structured qualitative interviews and closed-ended quantitative questionnaires administered to construction stakeholders (contractors and consultants) in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. SPSS version 23 software was used to analyse the quantitative data collected and ‘content analysis’ method was used to analyse the information collected through qualitative interview conducted.

Kommunikation innebär överföring från sändare till mottagare och kan vara en väldigt komplex process då mottagaren kan tolka informationen både rätt och fel. När mängden information blir så pass stor så den inte längre blir hanterbar leder det till informationsöverflöd hos mottagaren. Svensk Byggtjänst anordnadeen temadag för byggbranschen där ämnet kommunikation togs upp. VD:n för Svensk Byggtjänst, Erik Hellqvist, slutsats var att det går att spara omkring 4,5 miljard kronor på förbättrad kommunikation inom byggbranschen.   Syftet med rapporten är att ge förslag till en kommunikationsplan med mål att i slutändan kunna minska kostnader och leda till tidsbesparingar. Rapporten bygger på undersökningar och studier om hur de anställda upplever kommunikationen i praktiken mot hur det själva föredrar att kommunicera med varandra.   Studien visar bland annat att 100 % av yrkesarbetarna föredrar att kommunicera person till person och att arbetsledningen anser att 25 % av de mailen de får in under en arbetsvecka är överflödiga.   En slutsats efter att ha genomfört undersökningar och enkäter är att ungefär 90 % föredrar att kommunicera person till person. Det finns även en del anställda som känner att de saknar tillgång till kommunikationsmedel som hade underlättat i arbetet, så som en ipad eller en arbetstelefon. Det förekommer även informationsöverflöd via mail ute på byggarbetsplatser, arbetsledningen upplever att de hade klarat sig utan 25 % av de inkomna mailen i dagsläget. En slutsats efter att ha deltagit i möten på byggarbetsplatsen är att de ofta är väldigt tidsineffektiva och lite oorganiserade, då det 10 gånger av 11 saknas dagordning. Slutsatserna och resultaten från enkäter och undersökningar leder vidare till ett förslag till en kommunikationsplan. / Communication means conduction from a transmitter to a receiver and can be a very complex process where the recipient may interpret the information both correctly and incorrectly. When the amount of information reaches a level that is unmanageable it leads to an information overload in the receiver. Svensk Byggtjänst arranged a theme day for the construction industry where the subject of communication was discussed. The CEO for Svensk Byggtjänst, Erik Hellqvist, conclusion was that it is possible to save around 4,5 billion Swedish crones in improved communication within the construction industry.   The purpose of the report is to propose a communication plan with the goal to ultimately reduce costs and time. The report is based on examinations and studies on how the employees are experiencing the communication in practice versus how they would prefer to communicate with each other.   The study shows, among other things, that 100 % of the workers prefer to communicate man‐to‐man and that the staff management believes that 25 % of the e-mails they receive during a workweek is redundant.    A conclusion to the surveys and questionnaire is that roughly 90 % prefer to speak man-to-man. There are also a significant part of the employees that feels they lack certain means of communication, such as ipad and mobile phone. There is also information overload through email on the construction site. The staff management feel that they had managed without 25% of the incoming e-mails in the current situation. An other conclusion after participating in meetings on the construction site is that’s its often time inefficient and unorganized due too the lack of agendas in 10 out of 11 meeting. Conclusions and the results from the surveys and questionnaires leads to a proposed communications plan.

Master´s thesis deals about problematic of fuzzy logic, fuzzy sets and operation with them. Also thesis describing procedure of quantification risks through fuzzy sets, process of fuzzyfication, defuzzyfication a theirs application in the expert systems FMEA and FMECA. Using selected chapters of czech states standards are established critical areas in building process, it is a chapters about quality, safety and environment. With these areas by using fuzzy sets theory are created the procentual input values in the decision program, created by Matlab. Output from program is decision how big the risk rate is and if is necessarily make corrective measures. A concrete example is the production of concrete goods, describing production process and composition of fresh concrete. A practical example, created by using information from real company, is a decision about the risk rate in the qualitative area.

The presented diploma thesis analyses the possibilities of determining the carbon footprint in relation to the production unit of the budget indicator. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the basic concepts associated with the carbon footprint and construction industry. The aim of this thesis is to quantify the carbon footprint of construction process, mainly during the production phase, and to compare the carbon footprint of objects of different production technology. The main output is the determination of an average carbon footprint converted to a unit of the budget indicator.