This is an investigation of a mobile prefabrication factory´s competitiveness and profitability which also will result in a suggestion for a design of the factory. The mobile prefabrication factory is an idea of a new concept for production which is meant to be used in the manufacture of slab. The main intention with this concept is that by using a fast established prefabrication factory to produce elements near the construction site, thus avoiding transport from the factory to the building site. This means not only an environmental and economic gain, but also that you can avoid risking damage the elements which often occur during transportation. The contractor is owner of the mobile prefabrication factory and can thus avoid long waiting times and cyclicality. These are parameters that often can be a concern when using prefabricated element from factory´s off-site. When the building is finished, the prefabrication factory is able to be packed onto trucks, moved, and reestablished close to next building site. The portable production capacity also means that production can be kept close to the product development and can therefore quickly test new solutions, thus this concept facilitating a continuous improvement.   After a rough estimate of the cost for the establishment, operation and maintenance turned out that the mobile prefabrication factory needs to be established by large projects that require more than 7 970 m2 of slab in order to recoup these expenses. Then to recoup the investment cost of 5, 64 million crones the project must have a need for more than these 7 970 m2 of slab. Counting on a life expectancy of 30 years for the mobile factory, the factory needs to produce 1 568 m2 of slab á year, in addition to the slab required for accrued cost for establishment.

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the concept of restructuring the Slavia panel block, which lies on the axis between the station and the center in the town of Hranice. This thesis solves both general and concrete problems of the Slavia housing estate in Hranice. The proposal complements the hierarchy of privacy defined by the new urban structure with diverse typology. The overall goal is to revive the block in and out.

This report includes a thesis carried out by Fredrik Almers and Manne Hellsing, students at Mälardalen University in the engineering program, Innovation and product design. The assignment has been carried out in behalf of Robotdalen (Västerås, Sweden) in the period 2015-01-20 – 2015-06-11. The assignment was to explore possibilities of manufacturing prefabricated wall elements using industrial robots. The task also included to determine which robot tools that was needed and also designing one of them. The purpose of the assignment was to develop the first robot tool required for the manufacturing and to investigate whether the production time can be reduced by 70 percent compared to manual work. To be able to address the problem in a scientific way, the project was split into three phases. The first concerning information gathering, the second concept development and the third the design of the tool. The data collection included analyzing literature, previous work that had been done in the project and conducting study visits. At this stage it was also revealed which tools were necessary and which one of these that would be designed. It takes six different tools to manufacture a wall element and the one that were designed was a multifunctional beam assembly tool. A function analysis and a requirements specification were also established in this phase. They were used as a basis for further work. The goal of the concept generation phase was to develop a final concept where the basic features of the tool was presented. The problem was divided into two parts and each part solution was developed and evaluated individually. Through discussions and the use of appropriate product development tools a final concept could be established. The functions of the final concept was to grab hold of the wooden beam, compress it with another beam and then nail them together. To solve this, existing components as grippers, pneumatic cylinders and linear units were used. The goal of the design phase was to go from a fundamental principle concept to a fully finished and fully specified design. To achieve this CAD were used to calculate the components strength and how they would work together. Trough contact and advice collected from the suppliers the various components were selected. The designing of the tool has been based on the requirement specifications and the function analysis. The result of this project is a robotic tool that manages to nail together two wooden beams with two nails in under five seconds. It does not require any help to accomplish this task and can handle several different beam dimensions. The tool is designed with a frame of aluminum profiles, whereupon the necessary components for the task are installed. Thus it is easy to maintain and change the design of the tool if needed. With the help of this tool, the production time for a wall element is reduced up to 90 percent, according to simulations in the CAD environment compared to manual work.

Miljöpåverkan ur koldioxidutsläppsperspektiv från materialutvinning och framställning har varit ett nyckelord i denna studie. Syftet med studien har varit att jämföra projekten Maskinisten och Gävle Strand Etapp 2 med hänsyn till hur mycket koldioxid som släpps ut under byggnadsmaterialens utvinning och framställning samt koldioxidutsläppen som sker på grund av projektens materialspill. Maskinisten är ett platsgjutet flerbostadshus medan Etapp 2 består av två flerbostadshus som är byggda med ett prefabsystem. Målet som vill uppnås med föreliggande studie är att belysa att inför valet av byggsystem borde man ta hänsyn till koldioxidutsläpp. Studien har utförts genom att söka information i böcker, information från tidigare studier och rapporter via databaser som ScienceDirect och det digitala vetenskapliga arkivet DiVA. Information om de två projekten togs genom personlig kommunikation med två personer som var ansvariga för respektive projekt. Mängden koldioxidutsläpp för varje byggmaterial uppskattades med hjälp av dataprogrammet SimaPro 7 och databasen Ecoinvent. Genom att beräkna den totala mängden av varje byggmaterial uppskattades det totala utsläppet som sker för en lägenhet i vart och ett av projekten. Därefter jämfördes resultaten. Det är 150 % mer koldioxidutsläpp för byggmaterialen som användes i (Maskinisten) än de som användes i (Etapp 2). Materialen som användes i Maskinisten släpper ut mer koldioxid vid materialutvinning och framställning. Skillnaden blir ännu större om materialspillet blir större vid byggnationen av det platsgjutna huset. Jämförelsen mellan de två projekten kan generellt sett vara en jämförelse mellan ett platsgjutet betonghus och ett prefabricerat trähus. Det är viktigt at tänka på mängden materialspill när hänsyn tas till miljö samt att försöka minimera resursanvändningen. Studien visar att det är bättre att bygga prefabricerade trähus än att bygga platsgjutna betonghus. Studiens utgångspunkter var koldioxidutsläpp som sker under utvinningen och produktionen av byggnadsmaterialen samt spillmängden vid de olika byggsystemen. Av den information som har samlats under utförandet av föreliggande studie så är det även bättre ur resursanvändningsperspektiv att bygga trähus istället för betonghus men det är flera olika aspekter som hänsyn måste tas till, speciellt att det är bruksskedet som har största miljöpåverkan för en byggnad. I denna rapport studerades inte bruksskedet och därför är resultatet som framställts taget ur koldioxidutsläppen för byggnadsmaterial under produktionsskedet. / Environmental impact of carbon emission from material extraction and production has been a key word in this study. The purpose of this study was to compare the projects Maskinisten and Gävle Strand Etapp 2 with respect to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the construction material extraction and production as well as carbon emissions that occur as a result of project material waste. Maskinisten is a site-casted apartment building while Etapp 2 is an apartment building that is built with a prefabricated wood frame construction system. The goal of the present study is to illustrate that the choice of building systems should take into account carbon emissions. The study was conducted by searching information in books, information from previous studies and reports through databases such as ScienceDirect and digital scientific archive DiVA. Information from the two projects was gathered through personal communication with two persons who were responsible for the project. The amount of carbon emission for each building material was estimated by using the computer program SimaPro 7 and database Ecoinvent. By calculating the total amount of each building material that was used in an apartment (the functional unit), the total discharge of carbon emissions that occurs for each apartment was calculated. Then the results were compared with each other. Emissions from construction materials used in Maskinisten are 150% higher than from materials used in Etapp 2. The materials used in Maskinisten release more carbon dioxide during material extraction and production. The difference becomes larger if the waste of material becomes larger in the construction of the site-cast housing. The comparison between the two projects can be generalized to be a comparison between a cast in place concrete building and prefabricated wood frame houses. It is important to keep in mind the amount of material waste and to try to minimize the use of resources. The study shows that it is better to build prefabricated wood frame houses than to cast a concrete building at site. The study focuses on carbon emissions that occur during extraction and production of building materials and waste quantity at both building systems. A result of this study is that it is better from a resource use perspective to build wood frame houses instead of concrete buildings, but there are several different aspects that must be taken into consideration, specially that the user phase of the life cycle of the building causes the greatest environmental impact. Usage phase has not studied in this report therefore the result obtained is taken from carbon emissions for building materials during the production phase.

This thesis conducted at the University of Uppsala investigateshow well a prefabricated building component from the manufacturerMasonite Lättelement AB can be incorporated into ahouse projected to accomplish the demanding criteria of a passivehouse. The thesis is organized as a comparison betweenthe prefabricated elements and an on-site built component fromthe passive house area of Oxtorget in Värnamo, Sweden. Theaspects investigated were air leakage, energy, moisture, economyand noise conditions.Results of the comparative analyzes shows that the prefabricatedproducts were capable of accomplishing the requirementsof passive houses and therefore this thesis should beviewed as a basis to confirm that the technology of prefabricatedbuilding components today in Sweden are mature enoughto be a significant part of the passive houses that are to be builtin the near future. The development of prefabricated technologyis of crucial significance if we are to accomplish the goalsof reduced energy consumption by the year 2020.

Construction accounts for about 35 percent of the total Swedish energy consumption and most of the energy is used by the large housing stock from the so-called “Million program”.   In the national action plan the government has put forward in energy efficiency. It is mentioned that existing buildings account for more than 90 percent of what is expected to be the housing stock within the coming 50 years. In order to meet environmental objectives its required that the existing stock be reviewed for energy efficiency.   The goverment is now initiating a national framework with a budget of SEK 300 million Swedish crowns per year for five years, starting in 2010 to achieve the goal on energy efficient buildings. Energy efficiency of buildings in both new construction and above all within the existing stock are addressed. In order to use this money as effectively as possible it is necessary to have a good plan, and adequate knowledge of minimizing energy use in the buildings will be done the possible way.   In Germany, the use of Passive House technology have been successive and increases with steady pace. In Sweden we have not come as far. It is mainly in new production that the Passive House concept has been suitable in Germany, but it has also been proven that it is possible to refurbish buildings similar to the so-called Million program houses to Passive Houses. Prefabricated facade elements have been used to this puspose.   This is a technology that is still unknown of in Sweden. It has good potential to be developed towards the industrialization of the prefabricated components aimed for the refurbishment of the Million program stock.   Meanwhile Swedish contractors are waiting for results from a refurbishment project in the city of Alinsås, where buildings in the neighborhood Brogården were recently renovated with Passive House technology. The first measurement data will be available by the spring 2010. Alingsås has launched a starting point for the Swedish construction industry with a cencept that applies passive house technology?   This work has studied how the construction industry looks at the refurbishment of the Million program stock to Passive Houses and wheater a smiliar concept as the one used in Germany with prefabricated facade elements are interesting for the Swedish market today. Literature study was carried out on the Passive House concept and on the German model. A series of interviews with various stakeholders from the construction industry was conducted.   The findings are that there is not much interest to refurbish the stock of Million program towards Passive Houses. However, there is an interest for a large refurbishment towards low energy houses. In this concept, aspects of the Passive House concept are taken and adapted to the refurbishment towards low energy houses. The concept doesn´t take into account thermal briding and insulation of the ground floor, wich is considered to be too extesive and costly.

The idea with constructions made out of prefabricated elements is that it should be quick and easy to build as the demands for lower production costs, increased profitability and shorter production times are constantly increasing. High accuracy in measurements and well-balanced tolerances is required to achieve this. The fact that the concrete-elements doesn’t fit and that damage occurs during assembly is a highly topical issue even though we now have methods and systems that make this high-intensity construction possible. Through this report we want to highlight the problems that cause the dimensional and tolerance problems and give suggestions on how to come to terms with these. The aim is that the conclusions in this report in the long run hopefully will lead to time and cost efficiency. The fact that dimension and tolerance errors occur isn’t news for the industry. Nor that the cost to fix them greatly increases the farther forward in the product chain one goes. Where in the production- chain do they occur and what causes them? Where in the production-chain are they corrected? How’s the knowledge regarding dimensions and tolerances of those that are working in production at the factory and at the construction site? When an error is detected, is a deviation report always written? What’s the opinion regarding the deviation management system? The work will begin with a literature study that will keep on going throughout the whole time of the report. The literature study will in detail explain what the terms dimension and tolerance mean, how they are used, the different types of combinations that exist and how to calculate them. Furthermore, the literature study will also examine the results of studies and surveys made by others. Two field trips will be carried out, one at a concrete-element factory and the other one at a construction site. The purpose is to gain a greater understanding of the preconditions for the writing of this report. Three semi-structured interviews will be conducted according to a stratified selection. The plant manager, assembly manager and the assembly foreman will be interviewed. The questionnaire study is a group survey with cluster selection. The survey will be conducted by the workers on a construction site. The assembly difficulties of prefab elements that occur derives partly from drawing errors, manufacturing defects and that installation and construction site tolerances are set too stint. The fact that installation and construction site tolerances are set too stint is probably due to customer requests. Drawing errors and carelessness in production stood out as the most likely causes to why dimension and tolerance errors occur. This is something that we think could be reduced by making more distinct drawings. We believe that drawing sheet should be easy to understand and that it sometimes might be a good idea to make more drawings with fewer measurements on each. More technical equipment was requested at the construction site. This was requested to gain access to more drawings at the assembly location and for the ability to enlarge in order to enhance clarity. The majority of errors that were detected in the plant were also corrected there. But if there’s a rush to send an element and the defect is small they notify the assembly crew, and then they have to correct the defect at the construction site. The plant manager thinks that awareness of existing dimensions and tolerances among the factory employees are good. At the construction site 91% of the employees thought that it would be good with an educational course about existing dimensions and. The deviation management system is something that all the interviewees basically thought was good but that the possibility of feedback and improvement could be developed. Many minor errors aren’t reported because in many cases it takes more time to write the report than to correct the error. We think it would be good if all the errors were reported so they could estimate the cost to correct them. In order to correct some recurring production errors, investments in the factory would be necessary. There’s a constant discussion about whether the cost of the investment is profitable compared to the costs of correcting the errors at the construction site.

<p><p>Syftet med examensarbetet är att göra en jämförelse mellan prefabricerade och platsbyggda tak. Arbetes mål är att finna om något av alternativen är mer fördelaktigt än det andra med avseende på ekonomi, arbetsmiljö och kvalité. Två olika byggarbetsplatser har besökts för att samla in kunskap om hur arbetet går till. För prefabricerat tak har bygget av en eventhall i Kristinehamn studerats och för traditionellt platsbyggt besöktes en sporthall i Årjäng. Genom litteraturstudier och intervjuer med leverantörer och insatta personer i branschen har kännedom skaffats.</p><p>Prefabricerade tak har använts med stor framgång i Norge under en längre tid men är inte lika vanligt här i Sverige. Genom att öka förståelsen för för- och nackdelarna med prefabricerade element kan dessa utnyttjas med större framgång. Genom att branschen pressas hela tiden att bygga snabbare och billigare kan prefabricerat vara en väg att nå dessa mål.</p></p> / <p>The main purpose with this diploma work is to compare the two production methods, premanufacturing and on-site construction. The goal is to deduce if one of the alternatives is more attractive than the other in view of economy, work environment and quality. To gather information about how the construction works, two various construction sites have been studied. The premanufactured roof was studied in Kristinehamn during the construction of an eventhall and for the on-site construction a sport arena in Årjäng. Information was also gathered through a literature study and by interviewing active persons in the building industry.</p><p>The premanufactured roofs have been used in Norway with great success during a long period of time but are not that common here in Sweden. By increasing the understanding of the advantage and disadvantage of premanufactured building elements, they can be used with greater success. The building industry has under some time been pushed to build cheaper and faster, maybe the premanufactured element is the way to achieve this goal.</p>

Syftet med examensarbetet är att göra en jämförelse mellan prefabricerade och platsbyggda tak. Arbetes mål är att finna om något av alternativen är mer fördelaktigt än det andra med avseende på ekonomi, arbetsmiljö och kvalité. Två olika byggarbetsplatser har besökts för att samla in kunskap om hur arbetet går till. För prefabricerat tak har bygget av en eventhall i Kristinehamn studerats och för traditionellt platsbyggt besöktes en sporthall i Årjäng. Genom litteraturstudier och intervjuer med leverantörer och insatta personer i branschen har kännedom skaffats. Prefabricerade tak har använts med stor framgång i Norge under en längre tid men är inte lika vanligt här i Sverige. Genom att öka förståelsen för för- och nackdelarna med prefabricerade element kan dessa utnyttjas med större framgång. Genom att branschen pressas hela tiden att bygga snabbare och billigare kan prefabricerat vara en väg att nå dessa mål. / The main purpose with this diploma work is to compare the two production methods, premanufacturing and on-site construction. The goal is to deduce if one of the alternatives is more attractive than the other in view of economy, work environment and quality. To gather information about how the construction works, two various construction sites have been studied. The premanufactured roof was studied in Kristinehamn during the construction of an eventhall and for the on-site construction a sport arena in Årjäng. Information was also gathered through a literature study and by interviewing active persons in the building industry. The premanufactured roofs have been used in Norway with great success during a long period of time but are not that common here in Sweden. By increasing the understanding of the advantage and disadvantage of premanufactured building elements, they can be used with greater success. The building industry has under some time been pushed to build cheaper and faster, maybe the premanufactured element is the way to achieve this goal.

In Japan, there is a strong tradition of women quitting their jobs after marriage. In a traditional Japanese family, women usually take full/most parenting responsibility either with jobs or not. In Japan, about 60% women become housewives after getting married. The housewife’s tradition comes from both historical and cultural factors. Nowadays, because of the aging population and economic crisis, there is an urgent demand calling for more highly educated housewives get back to the labor market. The word ‘womenomics’ first proposed by Japanese economist Kathy Matsui, then promoted by former prime minister Abe which is known as Abenomics.Women occupying less in the job market is not a good tendency for gender equality. Women are losing not only voice in public space. However, the biggest problem for mothers would be lack of work experience, as well as long periods of disconnection from society. Also, they need to balance parenting task and job-hunting task. Therefore, in this project, I want to create a female community, to help housewives get employed again, build up positive social connection, and eventually participate more into social and public affairs.