Stress is a growing problem in Sweden where it has become increasingly more common and tangible, not least in the construction industry where stress affects both employees and companies negatively. The employees’ health decreases and they suffers from several ailments and long term illnesses which costs companies a huge amounts of money every year. The aim with this report is to investigate and also to get an insight into the factors that causes the perceived stress among the employees at NCC Construction Stockholm. The purpose is additionally to show how stress can affect the building process. The report also investigates the differences among the construction managers and the professional workers regarding perceived stress as well as the costs of the long term illnesses causes by stress for each professional group. This will be determined using: Interviews Surveys Previous research regarding the subject Statistics The objective of this report is to: Come up with different proposals to reduce and prevent stress in the construction industry Calculate the costs of the long term illnesses that are causes by stress at NCC Calculate how much NCC can save if the absenteeism causes by stress decreases The result from the study shows that there are differences between both professional groups regarding stress, which also reflects on the costs of the long term illnesses. The problem with stress at NCC depends on the same factors as the rest of the construction industry that is, short construction periods, insufficient construction documents and a high workload. The study also shows that the employees who are older and more experienced are not bothered as much by the stress, and that they generally handle stress better than the younger age groups do. In conclusion it can be established that stress does not always have a negative effect, but also have a positive impact on the human way to perform / Stress är ett växande problem i hela Sverige där den blir alltmer vanlig och påtaglig. Inte minst gäller detta i byggbranschen, där stressen både påverkar de anställda och företagen negativt. Arbetstagarna mår sämre, drabbas av flera åkommor och långtidssjukskrivningar som kostar företagen stora summor pengar varje år. Syftet med rapporten är att utreda och få en inblick i vilka faktorer som orsakar den upplevda stressen hos de anställda på NCC Construction, Stockholm och hur den påverkar byggproduktionen. Det utreds även skillnader hos tjänstemän och yrkesarbetare gällande upplevd stress samt sjukskrivningskostnaderna som beror på stress för respektive yrkesgrupp. Detta kommer fastställas med hjälp av: Intervjuer Enkäter Tidigare forskning inom ämnet Statistik Målet med denna rapport är att: Komma fram till olika förslag och åtgärder för att minska och förebygga stressen i byggbranschen. Beräkna sjukskrivningskostnaderna som beror av stress hos NCC. Beräkna hur mycket NCC kan spara om sjukfrånvaron som beror av stress minskar. Resultatet från studien visar att det finns skillnader mellan de olika yrkesgrupperna angående upplevd stress, vilket även avspeglas på sjukskrivningskostnaderna som beror på stress. Problemen med stress på NCC beror på samma faktorer som resten av byggbranschen det vill säga, korta byggtider, dålig planering och hög arbetsbörda. Studien visar också på att de äldre och erfarna i branschen inte besväras lika mycket av de negativa stressfaktorerna samt att de överlag hanterar stressen på ett bättre sätt än vad de yngre åldersgrupperna gör. Mot denna bakgrund kan det avslutningsvis fastställas att stress inte behöver innebära något negativt, utan också kan ha en positiv inverkan för människans sätt att prestera.

This study investigates fluctuations of construction output, and growth of the output in Kenya. Fluctuation and growth of construction activity are matters of concern in construction industries of many countries in the developing as well as in the developed world. The construction industry of Kenya is therefore an exemplifying case for this phenomenon. Construction activity in Kenya fluctuates excessively and grows very slowly. This remains a big challenge to policy makers, developers, consultants and contractors in their decision-making processes. In this study, systems thinking was applied to investigate the problem of excessive fluctuations and stunted growth of construction output in Kenya. The study developed a system dynamics model to simulate the construction output problem behaviour. The historical behaviour of the construction industry was described using construction output data of a 40-year period - from 1964 to 2003. Line graphs of the historical data exhibited profiles that helped to identify the system archetypes operating in the industry. From the profiles, it was deduced that the problem of fluctuations and slow growth of construction output in Kenya is encapsulated in two system archetypes, namely: balancing process with a delay, and limits to growth. The relationship between construction output and its determinant factors from the constru ction industry's environment was investigated using time series regression, which involved autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) regression and multiple regression modelling of the output. On the basis of the historical data analysis and the system archetypes identified, a system dynamics (SD) model was developed to replicate the problem of fluctuations and slow growth in the construction output. The data used to develop the system dynamics model was annual construction output in Kenya from 1964 to 2003. The model was then used: to appraise policy changes suggested by construction industry participants in Kenya, and to project construction output in Kenya from year 2004 to year 2050, in order to establish the expected future fluctuations and growth trends of the construction output. It was observed that three fundamental changes are necessary in the system structure of the construction industry of Kenya, in order to minimize fluctuations and foster growth in construction output in the country, in the long run. The changes are: setting long-term targets of annual construction output in the industry as a whole, incorporating reserve capacity in the production process, and expanding the system st ructure to capture a larger construction market. The study recommends regulation of the response of the construction industry of Kenya to changes in construction demand in the market, and expansion of the construction industry's market into the African region and beyond.

Thesis deals with the development of risk management in the construction industry in Czech republic in time of the economic crisis since 2007. There is in detail described the present and paste state of the construction industry in this thesis, thanks to construction output index, the volume of construction output, etc. There is overview of accidents and deaths in costuction industry, history of risk management in the construction industry and the main reasones of injuries and deaths in the construction industry described in this thesis. The aim of this thesis is to inform about development and efectiveness of risk management and evaluate work injuries in construction industry with the assumption further development.

This thesis deals with the application of Markov chains for the production of concrete products. The theoretical part is focused on clarifying the concepts of risk management and describes the procedures for dealing with classical Markov chains. There are presented basics of fuzzy logic and finally there is explained the procedure using fuzzy logic in calculating of classical Markov chains in the subsection entitled Fuzzy Markov chains. The practical part describes production process, namely concrete pavements. On this production process is applied knowledge from the theoretical part and there is a comparison and evaluation of two methods of Marcov chains calculation (classic and fuzzy approach).

The doctoral thesis deals with the management of regions construction investments. The aim of the doctoral thesis is to monitor the efficiency of the regions of the Czech Republic, which is pursue by gross domestic product indicator and investment activities that are held in the regions. Investment activity is observed in detailed breakdowns on the projects of civil engineering and transport infrastructure. Very important source of construction activity in recent years have become the European funds. Therefore the thesis observe the dependence of the projects on EU financial support. The main outcome of this doctoral thesis is to identify a possible link between the performance of individual regions of the Czech Republic and investment activities occurring here.