Why small and medium construction enterprises do not employ six sigma

Six sigma (6σ) is a powerful business strategy which is aimed at increasing customer satisfaction and profitability by improving the quality of products and services. Many organisations have implemented 6σ and achieved significant levels of success. Successful implementation of 6σ leads to outcomes that would be welcome in the construction industry, given its reputation of suboptimal performance. The construction industry relies heavily on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Any improvement in construction SMEs would lead to improvements in the construction industry as a whole. Against this background, a survey was undertaken to establish whether construction SMEs used 6σ and to identify factors affecting the adoption of this business strategy. It was found that none of the SMEs in the sample used 6σ. The reasons given for not employing 6σ, in descending order of importance, were: lack of knowledge about 6σ programme; lack of resources (human, time, money); 6σ programme not required by customers; other sufficient quality system in use; 6σ provides no perceived benefits; and end users not prepared to pay for 6σ programme. These reasons can be challenged when a critical analysis of innovation in the external environment within which construction SMEs operate, trends in the mode of delivery of construction industry products, trends in performance measurement in the construction industry and the flexibility of 6σ as a quantitative approach to managing quality. Construction industry stakeholders need to think about 6σ critically and make informed decisions about its role in the construction industry quality management agenda

Software Engineering Timeline: major areas of interest and multidisciplinary trends

Ingeniería del software. EvolucionSociety today cannot run without software and by extension, without Software Engineering. Since this discipline emerged in 1968, practitioners have learned valuable lessons that have contributed to current practices. Some have become outdated but many are still relevant and widely used. From the personal and incomplete perspective of the authors, this paper not only reviews the major milestones and areas of interest in the Software Engineering timeline helping software engineers to appreciate the state of things, but also tries to give some insights into the trends that this complex engineering will see in the near future

Networked Individualism of Urban Residents: Discovering the Communicative Ecology in Inner-City Apartment Buildings

Certain patterns of interaction between people point to networks as an adequate conceptual model to characterise some aspects of social relationships mediated or facilitated by information and communication technology. Wellman proposes a shift from groups to networks and describes the ambivalent nature inherent in an ego-centric yet still well-connected portfolio of sociability with the term ‘networked individualism’. In this paper we use qualitative data from an action research study of social networks of residents in three inner-city apartment buildings in Australia to provide empirical grounding for the theoretical concept of networked individualism. However, this model focuses on network interaction rather than collective interaction. We propose ‘communicative ecology’ as a concept which integrates the three dimensions of "online and offline", "global and local" as well as "collective and networked". We present our research on three layers of interpretation (technical, social and discursive) to deliver a rich description of the communicative ecology we found, that is, the way residents negotiate membership, trust, privacy, reciprocity, permeability and social roles in person-to-person mediated and direct relationships. We find that residents seamlessly traverse between online and offline communication; local communication and interaction maintains a more prominent position than global or geographically dispersed communication; and residents follow a dual approach which allows them to switch between collective and networked interaction depending on purpose and context

Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature

The move towards greener operations and products has forced companies to seek alternatives to balance efficiency gains and environmental friendliness in their operations and products. The exploration of the sequential or simultaneous deployment of lean and green initiatives is the results of this balancing action. However, the lean-green topic is relatively new, and it lacks of a clear and structured research definition. Thus, this paper’s main contribution is the offering of a systematic review of the existing literature on lean and green, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The paper identifies and structures, through a concept map, six main research streams that comprise both conceptual and empirical research conducted within the context of various organisational functions and industrial sectors. Important issues for future research are then suggested in the form of research questions. The paper’s aim is to also contribute by stimulating scholars to further study this area in depth, which will lead to a better understanding of the compatibility and impact on organisational performance of lean and green initiatives. It also holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a deeper and richer knowledge on lean and green to help them formulate more effective strategies for their deployment

A review of historical developments of quality assessment in industry and healthcare

Purpose: This study reviewed the literature on the historical development of quality assessment methods in industry and in healthcare. A comparative analysis of quality methods in industry and healthcare was conducted to examine the gap between methods in the two sectors. An attempt was then made to examine the latest approaches to quality assessment in healthcare and finally a proposal has been offered for a more effective approach to tackling the problem of quality in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, a review of the evolution of quality assessment in industry and healthcare was conducted. This was based on books written by prominent experts in the field of quality. secondly, a study of the current approaches in healthcare was undertaken. Publications from varied sources were selected and reviewed. The literature consulted includes worldwide operations research and healthcare sources including dissertations, the internet and reference lists of relevant articles. The journal papers and conference proceedings were selected according to the following criteria: Objective: the study must be aimed at measuring or improving quality both. It could also be aimed at developing new ways of measuring the quality of health care; Method: observational studies, experimental trials or systematic reviews; Setting: study should be in a hospital setting and not narrowed to quality of clinical cares. Findings: This study showed that the concept of quality management and its control in healthcare is not as advanced as it is in industry. Moreover, it seemed that most researchers, who set out to assess quality of care in one way or the other, have had differing views of quality and the factors that contribute to its assessment. It was also deduced that the way forward in healthcare quality is the development of systems that give staff ownership and pride in a way that is akin to the era of the craftsmen