This licentiate thesis describes and analyses the modern history of the socio-technical systems for urban water supply and sanitation in East Africa with focus on Uganda and Kenya. The key objective of the thesis is to evaluate to what extent the historic processes frame and influence the water and sanitation services sectors in these countries today. The theoretical approach combines the Large Technical Systems approach from the discipline of History of Technology with New Institutional Economics. Throughout, urban water and sanitation service systems are regarded as socio-technical systems, where institutions, organisation and technology all interact. The thesis consists of three separate articles and a synthesis in the form of a framework narrative. The first article provides a discussion of the theoretical framework with special focus on the application of Public Goods theory to urban water and sanitation. The second article describes the establishment of the large-scale systems for water supply and sanitation in Kampala, Uganda in the period 1920-1950. The third article focuses on the politics of urban water supply in Kenya with emphasis on the period 1900-1990. The main findings in this thesis are that the socio-technical systems for urban water and sanitation evolve over long periods of time and are associated with inertia that makes these systems change slowly. The systems were established in the colonial period to mainly respond to the needs and preferences of a wealthy minority and a technological paradigm evolved based on capital-intensive and large-scale technology. Attempts to expand services to all citizens in the post-colonial period under this paradigm were not sustainable due to changes in the social, political and economic environment while incentives for technological change were largely absent. History thus frames decisions in the public sphere even today, through technological and institutional inertia. Knowing the history of these socio-technical systems is therefore important, in order to understand key sector constraints, and for developing more sustainable service provision. / <p>QC 20101122</p>

Society is challenging systems engineers by demanding increasingly complex and integrated IT systems (Northrop et al., 2006; RAE, 2004) e.g. integrated enterprise resource planning systems, integrated healthcare systems and business critical services provisioned using cloud based resources. These types of IT system are often systems-of-systems (SoS). That is to say they are composed of multiple systems that are operated and managed by independent parties and are distributed across multiple organisational boundaries, geographies or legal jurisdictions (Maier, 1998). SoS are notorious for becoming problematic due to interconnected technical and social issues. Practitioners claim that they are ill equipped to deal with the sociotechnical challenges posed by system-of-systems. One of these challenges is to identify the socio-technical threats associated with building, operating and managing systems whose parts are distributed across organisational boundaries. Another is how to troubleshoot these systems when they exhibit undesirable behaviour. This thesis aims to provide a modelling abstraction and an extensible technique that enables practitioners to identify socio-technical threats prior to implementation and troubleshoot SoS post-implementation. This thesis evaluates existing modelling abstractions for their suitability to represent SoS and suggests that an agent-responsibility based modelling abstraction may provide a practical and scalable way of representing SoS for socio-technical threat identification and troubleshooting. The practicality and scalability of the abstraction is explored through the use of case studies that motivate the extension of existing responsibility-based techniques so that new classes of system (coalitions-of-systems) and new classes of threat (agent-related threats) may be analysed. This thesis concludes that the notion of ‘responsibility' is a promising abstraction for representing and analysing systems that are composed of parts that are independently managed and maintained by agents spanning multiple organisational boundaries e.g. systems-of-systems, enterprise-scale systems.

The need for a more sustainable approach to water consumption has increasingly gained attention in the last decade. The domestic sector accounts for over half of abstracted water in the UK and, as such, has become a major target for water efficiency interventions. Current research and water efficiency interventions are dominated by a positivist approach, focusing on a limited range of factors that can be quantitatively measured. This thesis questions the dominant approach and argues that a more holistic overview of water efficiency can be achieved through the consideration of socio-technical and behavioural theories. Taking a more constructivist approach, this research draws on four theories from socio-technical and behavioural fields and combines them to create a framework for the analysis of water efficiency interventions. The framework is applied to two case studies, exploring water users' perceptions of water, water supply, personal water use, and their responses to the water efficiency interventions. The case studies were selected to provide examples of current mainstream approaches to water demand management. Research methods used included semi-structured interviews and observation. The research findings support the argument that the current dominant approach to domestic water efficiency interventions is limited and, in some cases, ineffectual. Issues of trust, knowledge, motivation and the relationships between water users and water companies were raised. The thesis concludes that the use of a constructivist perspective could help to provide a more effective approach to understanding and improving water demand management.

<p>Osnovni cilj ove doktorske disertacije bio je da se razvije novi automatizovani dijagnostiĉki model. Zatim da se praktiĉnom primenom tog modela (na konkretnom primeru automatizovane dijagnostike vitalnih komponenti tehniĉkih sistema u realnim pogonskim uslovima razliĉitih grana industrije) tehno-ekonomskom analizom potvrdi glavna hipoteza disertacije: &bdquo;Automatizovana dijagnostika tehniĉkih sistema u industriji (bazirana na kori&scaron;ćenju raĉunara i drugih savremenih informaciono-komunikacionih tehnologija) doprinosi porastu nivoau pouzdanosti i raspoloţivosti tih sistema, kao smanjenju ukupnih tro&scaron;kova i ekonomiĉnijem poslovanju preduzeća―.</p> / <p>The main objective of this doctoral thesis was to develop a new automated diagnostic model. Then with the practical usage of this model (in particular case of automated diagnostics vital components of technical systems in real operating conditions of different industries) with techno-economic analysis to confirm the main hypothesis of the dissertation: ―Automated diagnostics of technical systems in the industry (based on the use of computers and other modern information and communication technologies) contributes to the increase levels of reliability and availability of these systems, as well as the reduction of total costs and more economical management of the company‖.</p>

The purpose of the survey is to find out what perception children in preschool have about the car as a technical system, how its components interact, and also their perception on various components of the traffic system. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eleven children in the age of three about their experiences on this.   The result shows that most of the children in the study have experience on the components that are most prominent on a car such as steering wheel, wheels and engine. The results are mixed in terms of knowledge of the components' importance and how they interact with each other. The survey also shows that the children who have the greatest knowledge of the components' importance are those who have been with an adult when changing tires, refueling, minor repairs, etc. According to the results, most of the kids know that there must be roads to drive on and they recognize for example traffic lights and Mr. Gårman plate available at pedestrian crossings. However, there is general uncertainty about the significance of them. / Syftet med undersökningen är att ta reda på vad barn i förskolan har för uppfattning om bilen som ett tekniskt system, hur dess komponenter samverkar, samt vad de har för uppfattning kring olika komponenter i trafiksystemet. För att ta reda på det har kvalitativa intervjuer genomförts med elva barn i treårsåldern om deras erfarenheter kring detta.   Resultatet visar att de flesta barnen i undersökningen har erfarenhet av de komponenter som är mest framträdande på en bil som t.ex. ratt, hjul och motor. Resultatet är blandat vad gäller kunskapen kring komponenternas betydelse och samverkan med varandra. Undersökningen visar också att de barn som har störst kunskap kring komponenternas betydelse också är de som fått vara med någon vuxen vid däckbyte, tankning, enklare reparationer etc. Enligt resultatet har de flesta av barnen kunskap om att det måste finnas vägar att köra på och de känner igen t.ex. trafikljus och Herr Gårmanskylten som finns vid övergångsställen. Däremot finns överlag en osäkerhet kring betydelsen av dem.

A necessidade das empresas em aumentar sua eficiência produtiva tem despertado a atenção para a temática da produção enxuta (PE) desde a década de 90. No entanto, é notória a crescente elevação da complexidade organizacional atualmente, de tal forma que os sistemas produtivos estão cada vez mais conectados e sujeitos à imprevisibilidade e dinamismo do ambiente externo. Nesse sentido, estudos recentes apontam que a complexidade é responsável por restringir o avanço das práticas enxutas. Contudo, estes estudos não se encontram apoiados pela teoria da complexidade, o que é inconsistente, visto que a complexidade também pode assumir um papel importante na sustentação da PE. Assim, a pesquisa apresentada nesta tese de doutorado teve como objetivo caracterizar e avaliar as relações entre a produção enxuta e a complexidade dos sistemas sócio-técnicos onde a mesma é implantada. A estratégia de pesquisa foi dividida em três etapas: pesquisa exploratória; descritiva; e explicativa. Na primeira fase, uma revisão sistemática da literatura foi conduzida para evidenciar o estado da arte em relação à temática e as lacunas de conhecimento existentes. Após, um estudo na forma de survey buscouse caracterizar como as empresas com maior nível de adoção dos princípios enxutos diferem-se das demais em relação à complexidade de seus sistemas. Por último, a etapa explicativa buscou através de um estudo de caso identificar e avaliar as lacunas entre a PE como imaginada e como de fato realizada, destacando-se o papel da complexidade nestas lacunas. Esta pesquisa apresenta contribuições acadêmicas e práticas ao descrever e avaliar como a PE se relaciona com a complexidade dos sistemas sócio-técnicos, levando-se em conta a natureza distinta desses sistemas. / The need of companies to increase productive efficiency has been paying attention to the issue of lean production since the 1990s. However, the increasing organizational complexity is evident today, so that production systems are more connected and subject to the unpredictability and dynamism of the external environment. In this sense, recent studies indicate that complexity is responsible for restricting the advance of lean practices. However, these studies are not supported by complexity theory, which is inconsistent, since complexity may also play an important role in sustaining PE. Thus, the research presented in this doctoral thesis aimed to characterize and evaluate the relations between lean production and the complexity of the socio-technical systems where it is adopted. The research strategy was divided into three stages: exploratory research; descriptive; and explanatory. In the first phase, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to show the state of the art in relation to the theme and the existing knowledge gaps. Afterwards, a study in the form of a survey sought to characterize how companies with a higher level of lean principles adoption differ from others in relation to the complexity of their systems. Finally, the explanatory step sought through a case study to identify and evaluate the gaps between lean as imagined and lean as actually done, highlighting the role of complexity in these gaps. This research presents academic and practical contributions by describing and evaluating how LP is related to the complexity of socio-technical systems, taking into account the distinct nature of these systems.

Serviços de saúde são reconhecidamente sistemas socio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) tendo em vista sua dinamicidade, diversidade, incerteza e interações entre os diversos elementos que os compõe. Outra característica importante dos SSTC é a resiliência, fundamental para manter os sistemas em funcionamento. Estudar a resiliência em SSTC é objetivo da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER), novo paradigma para gestão de segurança, com enfoque na análise do trabalho real. Esta tese explora o papel complementar de duas práticas com influência na resiliência em SSTC: o desenvolvimento de habilidades de resiliência (HR) e os procedimentos operacionais padronizados (POPs). Há um entendimento que, mesmo com procedimentos operacionais padronizados, existe uma variabilidade inerente ao SSTC, tornando impossível que o procedimento atenda a todas as situações. Este estudo tem como principal questão de pesquisa: como integrar a gestão de procedimentos operacionais padronizados ao desenvolvimento de HR em serviços de emergência hospitalar? E como objetivo principal: propor um modelo para integração entre gestão de POP e desenvolvimento de HR, enfatizando serviço de emergência hospitalar Os objetivos específicos são: (a) identificar, analisar e traçar um panorama sobre estudos na área da saúde com a ótica da ER; (b) identificar a origem das HR. A abordagem norteadora da tese é o Design Science Research que, com sua natureza prescritiva, busca desenvolver o conhecimento por meio da construção de artefatos. A tese está estruturada em três fases, que resultam em três artigos: (i) ―Contribuições da Engenharia de Resiliência para a Saúde: uma Revisão Sistemática‖, tem como principal objetivo identificar e entender como os conceitos de ER vem sendo utilizados na área da saúde; (ii) ―Habilidades de resiliência como fenômeno emergente: um estudo em departamentos de emergência no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos‖, tem como objetivo responder ao questionamento ―de onde emergem as habilidades de resiliência‖; (iii) ―Procedimentos e capacitação: recursos para ação trabalhando em conjunto para apoiar a resiliência de sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos‖, que responde a pergunta ―como integrar melhoria de POP e desenvolvimento de HR?‖. Assim, o último artigo atende o principal objetivo da tese ao propor modelo de integração entre POP e capacitações em HR. / Health services are admittedly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) considering their dynamism, diversity, uncertainty and interactions between the various elements that compose them. Another important feature of the CSS is resilience. It is critical to keep systems running. The goal of Resilience Engineering is to study resilience, the new paradigm for safety management, focusing on the analysis of current work. This thesis approaches the complementary role of two practices that influence the resilience CSS: the development of resilience skills (RS) and standard operational procedures (SOPs). There is an understanding that even with the use of SOPs, there is variability in the CSS, making it impossible for the procedure to meet all situations. This study's main research question is: how to integrate the SOP management and RS development in hospital emergency room services? The main objective of the study is: to suggest a model to integrate SOP management and RS development, with emphasis in hospital emergency room. The specific objectives are: (a) identify, analyze and give an overview of studies in health care according to Resilience Engineering; (b) identify the origens of the RS The guiding approach of this thesis is the Design Science Research which, due to its prescriptive nature, seeks to develop knowledge by building artifacts. The thesis is structured in three phases, resulting in three items: (i) ―A Systematic Review on Resilience Engineering contributions for Health Care‖ aims to identify and understand how concepts of Resilience Engineering have been used in health services (ii) "Resilience skills as emergent phenomena: a study of emergency departments in Brazil and the United States" aims to answer the question "where do resilience skills come from"; (iii) ―Procedures and training: resources for action working together to support the resilience in CSS‖, which answers the question "how to integrate SOP improvement and resilience skills development?". Thus, the last article serves the main objective of the thesis that is to suggest an integration model between SOP and RS training.

O setor de assistência à saúde atualmente, carece de técnicas de gerenciamento que visem a melhoria dos processos, permitindo a redução de custos ao otimizar os recursos existentes. O sistema de saúde, classificado como um sistema complexo devido a diversidade de interações não-lineares que apresenta, vem sendo estudado sob a ótica da engenharia de resiliência que enfatiza a necessidade de regular o seu funcionamento diante de uma situação adversa. Por sua vez, a resiliência é facilitada por meio do uso de folgas, que fornecem recursos reservas para lidar com as variabilidades. Ao passo que as folgas são importantes para manter a resiliência, também podem ser recursos ociosos que tendem a mascarar as variabilidades, quando em excesso. Portanto, um equilíbrio deve ser considerado entre o mínimo necessário para manter a resiliência do sistema e o máximo que não venha a se enquadrar como desperdício de recursos. Para isso, esse trabalho desenvolve e aplica uma framework que visa analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente as folgas a fim de reprojetar o sistema sócio-técnico complexo. O estudo foi realizado numa maternidade, referência no atendimento privado. Os processos de atravessamento do fluxo de valor da paciente foram mapeados, permitindo a identificação de 17 fontes de variabilidade e 20 recursos de folga. O reprojeto do sistema de trabalho envolveu a classificação das folgas entre os requisitos levantados, de maneira a priorizar as variabilidades menos cobertas pelas folgas. A framework se mostrou eficaz ao elencar as prioridades no redesenho das folgas e variabilidades, a fim de tornar o sistema estudado mais resiliente. / The healthcare sector currently lacks management techniques that aim to improve processes, allowing cost reduction by optimizing existing resources. The health system, classified as a complex system due to the diversity of nonlinear interactions that it presents, has been studied from the point of view of resilience engineering that emphasizes the need to regulate its functioning in the face of an adverse situation. In turn, resilience is facilitated through the use of slack, which provide reserve resources to deal with variability. While slack are important to maintaining resilience, it can also be idle resources that tend to mask variability when in excess. Therefore, a balance must be considered between the minimum necessary to maintain the resilience of the system and the maximum that doesn’t fit as a waste of resources. For this, this work develops and applies a framework that aims to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the slack in order to redesign the complex socio-technical system. The study was performed in a maternity hospital, that is a reference in private care. The processes of flow of the patient's value were mapped, allowing the identification of 17 sources of variability and 20 resources of slack. The redesign of the work system involved the classification of slack between the requisites raised, in order to prioritize the variabilities less covered by the slack. The framework proved to be effective in highlighting the priorities in the redesign of the slack and variabilities, in order to make the studied system more resilient.

This thesis is about the work of Nordel, an advisory body set up in 1963 by the largest power companies in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The purpose of Nordel was to strengthen and consolidate Nordic cooperation in the production and transmission of electrical power. The analysis has been conducted by using Elinor Ostrom’s framework for studying common-pool resources, which is described in her book Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action (1990). The thesis concludes that Nordel reaffirmed the bilateral practises already established by the individual power companies and was circumscribed by national energy policies. Nordel’s main contribution to the Nordic cooperation was to act as a forum for common technical issues and general aims, and as a knowledge-producing organisation.

Serviços de saúde são reconhecidamente sistemas socio-técnicos complexos (SSTC) tendo em vista sua dinamicidade, diversidade, incerteza e interações entre os diversos elementos que os compõe. Outra característica importante dos SSTC é a resiliência, fundamental para manter os sistemas em funcionamento. Estudar a resiliência em SSTC é objetivo da Engenharia de Resiliência (ER), novo paradigma para gestão de segurança, com enfoque na análise do trabalho real. Esta tese explora o papel complementar de duas práticas com influência na resiliência em SSTC: o desenvolvimento de habilidades de resiliência (HR) e os procedimentos operacionais padronizados (POPs). Há um entendimento que, mesmo com procedimentos operacionais padronizados, existe uma variabilidade inerente ao SSTC, tornando impossível que o procedimento atenda a todas as situações. Este estudo tem como principal questão de pesquisa: como integrar a gestão de procedimentos operacionais padronizados ao desenvolvimento de HR em serviços de emergência hospitalar? E como objetivo principal: propor um modelo para integração entre gestão de POP e desenvolvimento de HR, enfatizando serviço de emergência hospitalar Os objetivos específicos são: (a) identificar, analisar e traçar um panorama sobre estudos na área da saúde com a ótica da ER; (b) identificar a origem das HR. A abordagem norteadora da tese é o Design Science Research que, com sua natureza prescritiva, busca desenvolver o conhecimento por meio da construção de artefatos. A tese está estruturada em três fases, que resultam em três artigos: (i) ―Contribuições da Engenharia de Resiliência para a Saúde: uma Revisão Sistemática‖, tem como principal objetivo identificar e entender como os conceitos de ER vem sendo utilizados na área da saúde; (ii) ―Habilidades de resiliência como fenômeno emergente: um estudo em departamentos de emergência no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos‖, tem como objetivo responder ao questionamento ―de onde emergem as habilidades de resiliência‖; (iii) ―Procedimentos e capacitação: recursos para ação trabalhando em conjunto para apoiar a resiliência de sistemas sócio-técnicos complexos‖, que responde a pergunta ―como integrar melhoria de POP e desenvolvimento de HR?‖. Assim, o último artigo atende o principal objetivo da tese ao propor modelo de integração entre POP e capacitações em HR. / Health services are admittedly complex socio-technical systems (CSS) considering their dynamism, diversity, uncertainty and interactions between the various elements that compose them. Another important feature of the CSS is resilience. It is critical to keep systems running. The goal of Resilience Engineering is to study resilience, the new paradigm for safety management, focusing on the analysis of current work. This thesis approaches the complementary role of two practices that influence the resilience CSS: the development of resilience skills (RS) and standard operational procedures (SOPs). There is an understanding that even with the use of SOPs, there is variability in the CSS, making it impossible for the procedure to meet all situations. This study's main research question is: how to integrate the SOP management and RS development in hospital emergency room services? The main objective of the study is: to suggest a model to integrate SOP management and RS development, with emphasis in hospital emergency room. The specific objectives are: (a) identify, analyze and give an overview of studies in health care according to Resilience Engineering; (b) identify the origens of the RS The guiding approach of this thesis is the Design Science Research which, due to its prescriptive nature, seeks to develop knowledge by building artifacts. The thesis is structured in three phases, resulting in three items: (i) ―A Systematic Review on Resilience Engineering contributions for Health Care‖ aims to identify and understand how concepts of Resilience Engineering have been used in health services (ii) "Resilience skills as emergent phenomena: a study of emergency departments in Brazil and the United States" aims to answer the question "where do resilience skills come from"; (iii) ―Procedures and training: resources for action working together to support the resilience in CSS‖, which answers the question "how to integrate SOP improvement and resilience skills development?". Thus, the last article serves the main objective of the thesis that is to suggest an integration model between SOP and RS training.