The term business as an economical activity brings along many issues related to / managerial activities, competition, marketing, finance, risk, etc. which all of them include a high level of decision making that need to be supported by trust able knowledge. Due to the unique specifications of the construction industry and the high sensitivity regarding the decisions made accompanied with the business, knowledge and knowledge management have been considered essential for the industry. As a fundamental step of a well structured knowledge management system, classification of the knowledge plays an important role in organizing and representing a domain. Among the many aspects of decision making, decisions regarding the business development of a company play a crucial role in the survival and growth of an available business. However up to now, the literature has a shortage on a comprehensive work which attempts to classify the knowledge in this specific domain of the construction industry. In an effort to cover this gap in the literature, this study focuses on developing a knowledge taxonomy for business development management in a construction company based on semi-structured interviews with Turkish construction professionals. The taxonomy designed by referring to expert opinion is comprised of five major concepts: Business environment, Clients, Partners, Related parties, and own Company. The presented taxonomy is tested on real cases and believed to be used for representing, storing, sharing, retrieving and in general, managing knowledge related to business development management of a construction organizations for decision supporting purposes. More over in order to demonstrate how the presented taxonomy can be used in a company a knowledge management tool has been designed.

Partnering is in the agenda of many construction companies worldwide as it is an effective strategy that may increase competitiveness of partner companies and reduce risks retained by each party. In order for partnering to reach its expected benefits, partner selection is of vital importance. Similarly, there are some critical success factors (CSF) that should be taken into account by the parties in order to maintain a successful partnership throughout its lifecycle. The aim of this thesis is identification of factors that affect the partner selection process of the Turkish contractors as well as CSFs that are found important by the Turkish contractors. For this purpose, interviews are carried out with experts and a questionnaire is designed to collect necessary statistical data regarding the CSFs. The number of experts who answered the questionnaire is 49. Statistical analysis is conducted to reveal the perception of contractors about partnering in the Turkish construction industry. One of the findings is that Turkish contractors prefer establishing short-term partnerships in the form of project-based joint ventures rather than long-term strategic alliances. Results demonstrate that the most important factors while selecting the partners are experience and image of the company. Mutual trust between the parties, management support and commitment to win-win attitude are identified as the most important CSFs by the Turkish contractors. Finally, the results of the questionnaire are compared with those from other countries and certain strategies are proposed to practitioners for maximizing success of partnerships.

Delay is a common problem of construction sector. Recent improvements in the sector increased the competition and this led the construction projects to be more complex than before and difficult to be completed in time. This situation not only increased the delay problems, but also made the analysis of delays difficult and that caused further problems as disputes between parties to the contract. Sound knowledge in delay analysis subject is needed to enhance the solution of the delay problem in construction projects. So, this study aims to share knowledge in delay analysis issue by construction of a delay analysis ontology that provides direct and comprehensive knowledge. The constructed ontology may ease the information sharing process and provide a base for the usage of information in computers for different purposes especially in risk and claim management processes. It may enable companies to create their own knowledge bases and decision support systems that may achieve improvement in the knowledge and its usability. To meet this objective, detailed literature review on delay subject is carried out and an ontology on delay analysis issue is created. The created ontology is validated through its comparison with three different case studies.

With its size, large number of actors, and its impact on everyday life, the construction sector plays an important role in every nation’s economy and in the improvement of the built environment. The recognition of this fact by the sector, in combination with the reputation for being conservative, problematic, having low productivity growth, and low pressure for change leads to a focus on different strategies that can be used to improve of the sector. Suggestions to improve the productivity in sector have been many during the years. One example is enhanced procurement contracts that encourage long-term orientations to improve the performance outcome and increase innovations. This thesis consists of five studies with specific objectives. The overall objective is, however, to increase the understanding of how to enhance the conditions to improve the construction sector. This is a response to the concerns that the actors on the market have difficulties carrying out necessary measures to make improvements in the construction sector. Procurement contracts were studied in two ways; bundled procurement contracts with service as a key to create incentives for innovations (Paper II) and the difficulty in evaluating the effects of different procurement contracts because of unclear concepts (Paper I). Innovations were also studied in two ways: the importance for creating incentives for “good” innovations and how to open up for more transparency with respect to innovation (Paper III), and the direct and indirect effects a specific innovation have in the design choices of construction in profit-maximising firms (Paper IV). Policies are based on data and misleading data can lead to mistaken recommendations. Indications of measurement errors in the calculations of productivity have been reported which leads to an interest to increase the reliability of productivity calculations (Paper V). The first paper has the focus to make the evaluation process easier, for the scholar, the actors on the market as well as for governmental institutions which formulate policies, by trying to make the relation between different contract types clearer with a new framework for structuring procurement contracts. The second papers are showing that bundling construction with service will not automatically increase profit for firms in the sector, rather that it might be an alternative way to transfer the risk in construction projects. Moral Hazard problems can also reduce the potential positive effects. Paper III wants to shift the focus from the quantity of innovations to how incentives can nourish “good” innovation and suggests a new classification system for technical innovations. The objective is to achieve increased transparency and reduced information asymmetry in the construction sector. Paper IV takes it starting point in an indicated shift in developers’ planning and construction practices for laundry facilities in owner-occupied multi-family buildings. The mapping of the shift shows that a change in regulations can have an effect on how we build, and that developers are using spaces in innovative ways, which in turn can have unforeseen external effects. The finding indicates that even though the number of appliances has increased since the 1990s, the energy consumption has not necessarily increased during the usage phase, depending on the energy performance of the appliances and on user behaviour. Paper V highlights the effects of including more rigorously and detailed gathered indicators of characteristics in the calculations of productivity development figures in the sector. By including more cost-driving characteristics, it should be easier to distinguish pure price changes from price changes related to increase in quality.  It is, important to bear in mind that there are several projects yearly that are delivered on time, within budget, with good quality and where innovations have been used. Seen against the background of this thesis, it can indeed be stated that improvements are needed if we intend to create an innovative friendly work environment that will contribute to productivity growth. However, the contribution here is also a warning that the evaluation tools that are used to describe the sector might not measure what we intend to measure. / Byggsektorn är stor och består av många olika aktörer. Den påverkar alla i samhället på ett eller annat sätt och spelar en viktig roll i varje land ekonomi och hur den byggda miljön utvecklas. I kombination med att byggsektorn tampas med ryktet om att vara konservativ, har kvalitetsproblem, dålig produktivitetsutveckling och låg förändringsgrad har lett till diskussioner om många åtgärder för att förbättra sektorn. En utgångspunkt för åtgärderna har varit att uppmuntra till långsiktighet i projekten så att incitament skapas för att förbättra kvalitén i sektorn och en miljö som främjar innovationer. Den här avhandlingen består av fem studier som var och en adresserar en specifik forskningsfråga relaterad till upphandling, innovation eller produktivitet. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen har varit att öka förståelsen för förutsättningarna att komma till rätta med problemen i byggsektorn. Upphandling undersöktes på två sätt; entreprenadkontrakt med helhetsåtagande med service som en viktig komponent för att skapa incitament för innovationer (Artikel II) och svårigheterna i att utvärdera effekterna av olika entreprenadkontrakt på grund av oklara begrepp (Artikel I). Innovation studerades också på två sätt: vikten av att skapa transperens och incitament för “bra” innovationer (Artikel III), och den direkta och indirekta effekten av en innovation i design av vinstmaximerande byggbolag (Artikel IV). En policy kan baseras på data men om uppgifterna den baseras på är bristfälliga, kan det leda till felaktiga rekommendationer. Mätfel kopplade till beräkningar av produktiviteten i byggsektorn har rapporterats, vilket har lett till ett intresse att öka tillförlitligheten i dessa beräkningar (Artikel V). Den första artikeln syftar till att göra utvärderingen av entreprenadkontrakt enklare för forskare, branschen samt statliga institutioner som formulerar rekommendationer, genom att strukturera entreprenadformerna utifrån olika steg i beslutsprocessen och om hur risker fördelas för att tydliggöra relationen mellan dem. Den andra artikeln visar att entreprenadkontrakt med helhetsåtagande inklusive service inte automatiskt ökar vinsten för företag inom sektorn, snarare att det kan vara ett alternativt sätt att överföra risken i byggprojekt. Moral Hazard problem kan minska potentiella positiva effekter. Artikel III flyttar fokus från mängden innovationer till hur incitament kan ge näring "bra" innovation och diskuterar ett nytt system för klassificering av tekniska innovationer. Målet är att uppnå ökad tydlighet och minskad informationsasymmetri i byggsektorn. Artikel IV tar sin utgångspunkt i en förändring i plan- och byggmetoder för tvättstuga i bostadsrättshus. Kartläggningen visar att en förändring av regle kan ha en effekt på hur vi bygger, och att utvecklare använder ytor på ett innovativt sätt, vilket i sin tur kan ha oförutsedda externa effekter. Artikeln visar att trots att antalet apparater har ökat sedan 1990-talet, har energiförbrukningen inte nödvändigtvis ökat under användningsfasen, beroende på apparaternas energiprestanda och på användarnas beteende. Artikel V belyser effekterna av mer noggranna och detaljerat insamlade kvalitetsegenskaper från nyproduktion när produktivitetet i byggsektorn ska beräknas. Genom att inkludera mer kostnadsdrivande egenskaper borde det vara lättare att skilja rena prisförändringar från prisförändringar relaterade till ökad kvalitet. Det är viktigt att komma ihåg att det årligen finns många byggprojekt som levereras i tid, inom budget, med god kvalitet och där innovationer har använts. Sett mot bakgrund av denna avhandling, kan det sägas att förbättringar behövs om vi har för avsikt att skapa en innovativ arbetsmiljö som bidrar till ökad produktivitet. Dock är bidraget här också en varning om att de utvärderingsverktyg som används för att fånga utvecklingen kanske inte mäter vad vi har för avsikt att mäta.

Growing concerns regarding sustainability have led the construction sector to adopt various policy instruments for reducing the impacts caused by construction activities. One such policy instrument includes impact assessment, which enables the construction sector to evaluate the environmental consequences of proposed developments at project (environmental impact assessment) and strategic (strategic environmental assessment) level. In recent years, the construction sector has also adopted green public procurement, which is a process whereby contracting authorities aim to procure services and products that meet environmental requirements. In certain contexts, green public procurement has extended to sustainable public procurement, which involves the incorporation of both environmental and social considerations in the procurement of services and products. Promoting sustainability in the constructor sector is a significant challenge. This challenge is primarily due to the requirement of high levels of cooperation among project stakeholders, on the one hand, and a lack of coordination between project planning and implementation on the other hand. Therefore, procurement plays a significant role as it establishes the tone for the interaction between contracting authorities and contractors. The overall aim of this thesis is to bolster the knowledge of promoting sustainability in the construction sector, with the specific aim of analysing the ways in which policy instruments such as environmental impact assessment and green public procurement can be reinforced to improve the coordination between planning and the implementation of sustainability considerations. This thesis conceptualises an inter-link between impact assessment and green public procurement, and identifies the opportunities to develop the inter-link. It is appropriate to plan for green public procurement at the pre-decision phase of an environmental impact assessment. The inter-link can be strengthened by involving contractors in planning for green and sustainable public procurement. One way to involve contractors is with the aid of competitive dialogue procedure, which is a procurement procedure that allows contracting authorities to hold discussions with contractors regarding the authority’s requirements. This study strengthens the conceptualisation that competitive dialogue procedure can facilitate green and sustainable public procurement. The various elements in a competitive dialogue procedure can enable the contracting authorities to ensure the consistency between the weight for environmental considerations in contract award criteria and the relevant preferences. This thesis also discusses key concerns for progress towards sustainable public procurement, which includes among others the incorporation of sustainability values in procurement decisions. In addition, this study identified certain discourses on future trends for green and sustainable public procurement. The discourses provide an opportunity for reflection, and thereby indicate that analytical support is required to develop criteria in a way that enables the evaluation of sustainable public procurement against the background of sustainability and justice regarding natural capital. Innovation must be promoted with a focus on sustainability values. Moreover, green or sustainable public procurement must be discussed between contracting authorities and contractors in light of its contribution to sustainability. / <p>QC 20140509</p>

nÃo hà / Esta pesquisa foi realizada visando avaliar o desempenho de oito empresas do setor de construÃÃo civil, atravÃs da anÃlise do comportamento do retorno do preÃo de suas aÃÃes para o perÃodo de agosto de 2007 a setembro de 2014, considerando o impacto da crise financeira mundial, utilizando as metodologias APT (capital asset pricing model) e o modelo de mÃltiplos de mercado. Os resultados verificados indicaram que o desempenho das empresas refletiram os efeitos da crise financeira de 2008 e que as metodologias selecionadas puderam demonstrar efetivamente estes fatos com evidÃncias em seus resultados. / This research was conducted to evaluate the performance of eight companies in the construction sector, by analyzing the behavior of return on its stock price for the period from August 2007 to September 2014, considering the impact of the global financial crisis, using APT (capital asset pricing model) methodologies and the model of market multiples. The observed results indicate that the performance of businesses reflected the effects of the financial crisis of 2008 and selected methodologies can they effectively demonstrate these facts with evidence in their results.

La investigación aborda la problemática del proceso de compras de una empresa de construcción. Se identificó el problema de incumplimiento de plazo planeados para las compras y el incremento anual del costo del proceso de compras. Se emplearon herramientas de Lean Procurement para mejorar el plazo para las compras y reducir los costos anuales del proceso. La propuesta de mejora involucra la elaboración del Value Stream Map actual y futuro, así como también la medición de los tiempos y costos actuales versus la mejora implementada. Los resultados que se obtuvieron fueron la reducción del tiempo de compras en 22% y la reducción de costos en un 2%. / The research addresses the problems of the purchasing process of a construction company. The problem of non-compliance with the planned term for purchases and the annual increase in the cost of the purchasing process was identified. Lean Procurement tools were used to improve the term for purchases and reduce the annual costs of the process. The improvement proposal involves the preparation of the current and future Value Stream Map, as well as the measurement of the current times and costs versus the improvement implemented. The results that were obtained were the reduction of the time of purchases in 22% and the reduction of costs in a 2%. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional

En los últimos años el sector construcción ha experimentado altibajos en la demanda de concreto premezclado, por ello, las empresas de construcción se han vuelto más exigentes con respecto a la puntualidad y compromiso de sus proveedores, esta realidad no es ajena en la empresa Mixercon, que está posicionada en el sector construcción por más de 16 años brindando un servicio personalizado a sus clientes en la entrega de concreto premezclado; en el último año la empresa ha experimentado una baja rentabilidad en sus ingresos, y se ha detectado que el problema es la baja disponibilidad y confiabilidad de sus equipos móvil mixer, por este motivo esta investigación tiene como objetivo mejorar la disponibilidad y confiabilidad de sus equipos, enfatizando que dichos equipos representan los principales activos de la empresa, por ende, para poder cumplir con el objetivo planteado se realizó en la empresa un reconocimiento y levantamiento de información de la flota de equipos móvil mixer y se ha encontrado que con el transcurso de los años se iba incrementado los equipos móvil mixer, debido a la demanda de concreto premezclado, pero al mismo tiempo no se ha tomado un correcto manejo de la gestión de los equipos más antiguos, la antigüedad de estos, es uno de los factores por el cual se tiene una baja disponibilidad y confiabilidad en la operación dado a que no se lleva una adecuada gestión de renovación de sus activos, la mayoría de las empresas solo tienen en cuenta los costos directos de mantenimiento, sin embargo, no visualizan los costos indirectos de una mala gestión de mantenimiento y como estos afectan en los resultados de la empresa, más aún si es una empresa de servicios. La presente investigación da a conocer que una adecuada gestión de mantenimiento tiene como propósito mejorar la rentabilidad de la empresa y la disponibilidad de sus activos al 100%, para lo cual tiene como base un buen sistema de gestión de mantenimiento como pilar principal para su buen desarrollo, además permite la integración de todas las áreas de la empresa. / In recent years the construction sector has experienced ups and downs in the demand for ready-mixed concrete, therefore, construction companies have become more demanding with respect to the punctuality and commitment of their suppliers, this reality is not alien to the Mixercon company, which is positioned in the construction sector for more than 16 years providing a personalized service to its clients in the delivery of ready-mix concrete; In the last year the company has experienced a low profitability in its income, and it has been detected that the problem is the low availability and reliability of its mobile mixer equipment, for this reason this research aims to improve the availability and reliability of its equipment , emphasizing that said equipment represents the main assets of the company, therefore, in order to meet the proposed objective, a survey and information gathering of the fleet of mobile mixer equipment was carried out in the company and it has been found that over the course of Over the years mobile mixer equipment has increased, due to the demand for ready-mixed concrete, but at the same time a correct management of the older equipment has not been taken, the age of these is one of the factors for the which has a low availability and reliability in the operation given that an adequate management of the renewal of its assets is not carried out, Most companies only take into account the direct costs of maintenance, however, they do not visualize the indirect costs of poor maintenance management and how these results in the results of the company, especially if it is a service company. This research reveals that an adequate maintenance management aims to improve the profitability of the company and the availability of its assets to 100%, for which it is based on a good maintenance management system as the main pillar for its good development, in addition to allowing the integration of all areas of the company. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional

Ingenieros Ejecutores (IE) es una empresa que busca diversificar y hacer sostenible su cartera de negocios con la incursión y sostenibilidad en el sector construcción de Obras Civiles para obras energéticas. Para este importante objetivo es necesario que los contratos ya ganados apliquen las mejores y más modernas prácticas de la industria, que reducirán los riesgos sobre los compromisos asumidos ante su Cliente. En este contexto, en el presente proyecto de investigación, se desarrolla el Plan para la dirección del proyecto “Construcción de las Obras Civiles Central Térmica Recka II” aplicando las buenas prácticas de la Guía del PMBOK ® sexta edición, en Chiclayo para las fases de iniciación y planificación del proyecto. El Plan para la dirección del proyecto se ha desarrollado en base a los planes subsidiarios que son: Plan para la Gestión del Alcance, Plan para la Gestión del Cronograma, Plan para la Gestión del Costo, Plan para la Gestión de los Recursos, Plan para la Gestión de las Comunicaciones, Plan para la Gestión de los Riesgos, Plan para la Gestión de los Interesados, así como otras herramientas como EDT / WBS, Cronograma y Presupuesto como parte de la aplicación de los procesos y herramientas. La aplicación de estos planes se espera que brinde como consecuencia el éxito del presente proyecto, el cual permitirá a IE acercarse a sus objetivos, alcanzando los beneficios esperados para los interesados. / Ingenieros Ejecutores (IE) is a company that seeks to diversify and make its business portfolio sustainable with the incursion and sustainability in the Civil Works construction sector for energy works. For this important objective it is necessary that the contracts already won apply the best and most modern practices of the industry, which will reduce the risks on the commitments assumed before your Client. In this context, in the present research project, the Plan for the direction of the “Construction of Civil Works Thermal Power Plant Recka II” project is developed, applying the good practices of the Guide of the PMBOK ® sixth edition, on Chiclayo, for the phases of initiation and Project planning. The Project Management Plan has been developed based on the subsidiary plans that are: Integration Management Plan, Scope Management Plan, Schedule Management Plan, Cost Management Plan, Plan for Resource Management, Communications Management Plan, Risk Management Plan, Stakeholder Management Plan, as well as other tools such as EDT / WBS, Schedule and Budget as part of the process application and tools The implementation of these plans is expected to result in the success of this project, which will allow IE to approach its objectives, achieving the expected benefits for those interested. / Trabajo de investigación

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene por objetivo general determinar la relación entre las acciones de Customer Experience - Capacitaciones en los retailers de construcción - y la decisión de compra de materiales en los retailers del mejoramiento del hogar por parte de los maestros especializados en acabados del sector construcción de 25 a 60 años de NSE C. Se analizó el impacto de las capacitaciones bajo tres dimensiones. Primero se analizó si existía una relación directa entre la decisión de compra y el beneficio de las capacitaciones en términos de su trabajo, como el desarrollo de nuevas habilidades, mejora en el tiempo de acabados y calidad de sus trabajos. Luego, se analizó la relación con la conveniencia de la capacitación para el maestro en términos de tiempo/duración. En la última dimensión se analizó el impacto económico de las capacitaciones para el maestro. Se realizó un estudio mixto. En la investigación cualitativa se tuvo como finalidad recolectar información de los maestros de obra y expertos sobre el tema. En la investigación cuantitativa se tuvo la opinión de los maestros de obra mediante las encuestas y el análisis estadístico para contrastar los resultados con el estudio cualitativo. Las conclusiones comprobaron que existe una relación positiva entre la decisión de compra y en la primera dimensión (beneficio de las capacitaciones en términos de su trabajo), la tercera dimensión (términos económicos), más no en la segunda dimensión (términos de tiempo/duración) porque se comprobó que no existe una relación con la decisión de compra. / The objective of this research work is to determine the Relationship between Customer Experience actions - Training in construction retailers – and the purchase decision of materials in specialized retailers by masters that are specialized in finishes of the construction sector from 25 to 60 years of NSE C. The impact of the training was analyzed under three dimensions. First, it was analyzed if there was a direct relationship between the purchase decision and the benefit of the training in terms of their work, such as the development of new skills, improvement in the finishing time and quality of their work. Then, we analyzed the relationship with the convenience of the training for the masters in terms of time / duration. In the last dimension, the economic impact of training and the purchase decision were analyzed. A mixed study was conducted. The purpose of the qualitative research was to collect information that was provided by the construction masters and experts on the subject. Also, in the quantitative research the opinion of the construction masters was taken through surveys and statistical analysis to contrast the results with the qualitative study. The conclusions verified that there is a positive relationship between the purchase decision with the first dimension (the benefit of the training in terms of their work) and the third dimension (economic terms), but not with the second dimension (terms of time / duration) because it was verified that there is no relationship with the purchase decision. / Trabajo de investigación