Trust, control and knowledge integration in a rock tunnel project

Rock tunnel projects that experience geological uncertainties tend to be both lengthier and more costly than planned. Traditional contract arrangements have proved to be less suitable when uncertainty is high; problem-solving being further hampered by contract-related distrust, communication failures and disputes. To efficiently respond to uncertainty and control risks of time and cost overruns, the knowledge of specialists in different firms needs to be mobilized. Findings from a case study of a railway tunnel project in Sweden aim to describe knowledge integration, communication and decision making related to geological conditions, comprising both formal and informal aspects. Findings show that formal and informal aspects are often complementary, also when they are contradictory, but that knowledge integration may suffer from a more formalized communication. Further, it is also relationships and structures extending beyond the individual project

Effects of Ambulant Myofeedback Training and Ergonomic Counselling in Female Computer Workers with Work-Related Neck-Shoulder Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To investigate the effects of ambulant myofeedback training including ergonomic counselling (Mfb) and ergonomic counselling alone (EC), on work-related neck-shoulder pain and disability. Methods: Seventy-nine female computer workers reporting neck-shoulder complaints were randomly assigned to Mfb or EC and received four weeks of intervention. Pain intensity in neck, shoulders, and upper back, and pain disability, were measured at baseline, immediately after intervention, and at three and six months follow-up. Results: Pain intensity and disability had significantly decreased immediately after four weeks Mfb or EC, and the effects remained at follow up. No differences were observed between the Mfb and EC group for outcome and subjects in both intervention groups showed comparable chances for improvement in pain intensity and disability. Conclusions: Pain intensity and disability significantly reduced after both interventions and this effect remained at follow-up. No differences were observed between the two intervention groups

Organizing collaboration in construction projects - formal models meeting practioner perspectives

There is a call for new project management approaches that are able to deal with increased flexibility and put people aspects more in focus. In construction projects, formal models for relationship management are increasingly being used. Based on a case study of a Swedish hospital partnering project, this paper discusses how project managers approach this new challenge of integrating systems for relationship management with core project processes, and if the partnering systems are effective in supporting collaboration and knowledge integration in a multiparty partnering environment. The findings indicate that partnering processes influence project processes in a favourable way, but that project managers also rely strongly on their personal experience in managing collaborative processes. The practices they introduce are often successful, but also tend to be patchy and related to collaboration problems in traditional contracts. The formal partnering processes, on the other hand, seem to be important in providing a basic structure for collaboration and to communicate collaborative intents, but are too general and infrequent to address more specific and pressing problems of process design and organization. Bringing in professional behavioural knowledge may be needed to achieve a more consistent and adequate relationship management that makes use of both formal partnering processes and core project processe

Social Procurement and Employment Requirements in Construction

Today social procurement, and requirements to create employment for disadvantaged groups in particular, are increasingly used in the construction sector. In Sweden, a growing interest in social procurement and employment requirements is partly due to problems with segregation and high unemployment rates among immigrants. As a result, many municipalities and landlords see opportunities to combine construction projects with employment opportunities for tenants. Simultaneously, prognoses state that building will be booming in Sweden the upcoming years, creating new drivers for the construction industry to search for new employees among new groups in society. However, research on the implementation and effects of social employment requirements on organizations in the construction sector is scarce and mainly descriptive. This paper aims to address this recent trend in construction procurement and the implications for the sector as well as for research. Previous research on social procurement and employment requirements in the construction industry and written material on three Swedish cases serve as a basis for the discussion. Findings suggest that the changes in the construction industry can be understood as an ongoing institutionalization process, where the institutional work of procurement-and construction actors are reshaping old institutional logics towards a more socially service-oriented sustainable industry