Planning For Claims: An Ethnography of Industry Culture

Claims by contractors for additional payments have been identified by commentators as a major source of difficulty in the industry. Ethnographic research with industry members reveals some key features of planning practices that underlie such events. Claims are sometimes planned at tender stage and sometimes during the course of a project. One practice at tender stage is a pricing technique that minimizes the tender price while maximizing the out-turn cost of a contract by exploiting mistakes in the bill of quantities. Another is the programming of work to maximize its vulnerability to delay. More reactive techniques may be employed during the course of the project, often to make up for an unanticipated increase in costs. These and other similar practices may be reported as features of an integrated culture, defined in such a way as to encompass activity and reject Cartesian dualism. The unique adequacy requirements of methods are suitable criteria for the evaluation of such reports. The claims culture arises from economic conditions in the industry, which include low entry barriers and competitive tendering. However, removal of these conditions alone cannot guarantee that the practices will cease

A brief history of the concept of waste in production

Purpose: The concept of waste has been used in relation to production since the beginning of the 20th century. As it is well-known, it is a foundational notion for the Toyota Production System and its derivatives, like lean production. However, waste is not a prevalent concept in the mainstream literature on economics, operations management, construction management or management. The reasons for this apparent aversion to the concept of waste are not well-understood. In view of this, we present an overview on the historical development and diffusion of the concept of waste. It is anticipated that such a long-term view would contribute to the current discussion of the place of this concept in the theory and practice of production. Method: The historical method is followed. Findings: The history of the concept of waste can naturally be divided into a number of periods: nascence up to the end of the 18th century, emergence of the classical notion in the 19th century, flourishing during scientific management, decline starting in the second quarter of the 20th century, and re-emergence in last quarter of that century. From these, especially the emergence of the classical notion of waste as well as its decline have been poorly understood. It is also an important insight that across the different periods, waste has been understood in two dimensions: instrumentally and intrinsically (morally). Implications: Through an historical account, the relevance and texture of the concept of waste can be better appreciated. The focus can be directed to critically assessing the justification of the arguments that led to the decline of waste. All in all, the need for the revival of waste as a basic concept in managerial discourse is illuminate

Do we need one science of production in healthcare?

The question addressed is: Is there need, in health care, for one consolidated science of production? For responding to this question, the classical science of production is reviewed and the current approaches to production and service in healthcare are analysed as for their evolution and current status. It is found that these current movements are not self-aware of the restrictions deriving from their backgrounds, and of the resultant partiality in their approaches. It is concluded that improvement of healthcare is slowed down by the fragmentation of the related disciplines; thus one consolidated science of production (of healthcare) is needed

Facilitators and barriers to the integration of healthcare service and building design

Service design research recognises the importance of infrastructure design in the achievement of streamlined service delivery. Although research about service design and building design is abundant, very little is known about the integration of these processes. Therefore, this research aimed at identifying facilitators and barriers to the integration of service and building design processes. To this end, the initial results from a historical investigation of the redevelopment of a hospital in Salford, UK were used to identify facilitators and barriers to the integration of service and building design. Data was collected through interviews, document analysis and a workshop. Initial results present internal and external factors related to the design process generating barriers to integration of service and building design

Lean knowledge management : the problem of value

Lean knowledge management is defined here as: getting the right information, in the right form, to the right people at the right time. This definition highlights series of practical problems for knowledge management in the built environment which, in turn, have implications for lean theory. In the terms of TFV theory, the problems that arise from getting information to the right people at the right time are essentially flow (F) issues, but those that are concerned with defining the right information and the form in which it is to be delivered are more concerned with value (V). Here, we focus primarily on the problem of defining right information. A distinction is made between sociological 'values' and economic 'value', showing how both relate to production theory. In the course of benefits capture and realisation, both values and value are negotiated between project participants and other stakeholders. It is argued that these processes are best conceived as conversations and that this is implied in the basic formulation of V theory. The notion of objectivity and its significance for these values/value negotiations is examined. The problem of benefits realisation is considered and a set of hypotheses are generated regarding the nature of an effective benefits realization management process

The gaps between healthcare service and building design : a state of the art review

Healthcare buildings are designed to achieve diverse objectives, ranging from providing appropriate environments where care can be delivered to communities to increasing operational efficiency and improving patient flows and the patient experience. Improvements in operational efficiency should result from state-of-the-art buildings, more appropriate layouts, departmental adjacencies, efficient clinical and business processes and enhanced information systems. However, complexities around requirements and stakeholders management may prevent the achievement of such objectives. The aim of this article is to identify and understand how healthcare services (re)design and building design can be integrated to facilitate increased performance both in terms of service delivery and future changes. Findings indicate that current approaches and innovation are restricted due to functional barriers in the design process, and that there is a need to support the development of operations driven design through time (e.g. flexible and durable) that satisfies diverse needs

Childhood and Charity in Nineteenth-Century British North America

Dependent children in early nineteenth-century British North America were viewed as part of the general pauper population and treated without differentiation. The emergence of specialized facilities in the form of orphan asylums marked a significant shift in sentiment towards and treatment of dependent child life. The transplanted British institutional patterns and ideas were modified by the exigencies of Canadian circumstances. Such institutional developments are particularly noteworthy since they were national and uniform in scope. Orphan asylums embodied three principles of protection, separation and dependence that are intrinsic to child rescue. Dans les premières décennies du XIXe siècle les enfants dépendants en Amérique britannique du Nord étaient assimilés aux miséreux au sens large et traités comme les adultes. L’apparition d’institutions conçues pour les enfants, comme les orphelinats, traduisit un changement important dans la sensibilité et le comportement à l’endroit de l’enfance. D’origine britannique, ces modèles et ces institutions furent adoptés aux réalités canadiennes, de façon uniforme à l’échelle nationale. En séparant les jeunes du monde des adultes et en leur assurant protection et prise en charge, les orphelinats ont ainsi mis en pratique les trois lignes de conduite qui s’imposent au secours à l’enfance

The Making of a Feminist Biography: Reflections on a Miniature Passion

Taking a recent /Mantis articleon "Feminist Biography" as their starting point, the authors examine the theoretical issues raised in light of their work on Charlotte Whitton. In particular, they discuss the nature and purpose of feminist biography, the question of the biographer's intention to do feminist biography, the utility of the life course as an organizing principle in writing a biography, and the problematic relationship between "private" and "public" spheres.Utilisant un article paru récemment dans la revue Atlantis sur la biographie féministe comme point de départ, ces auteurs examinent les questions théoriques posées à partir de leurs recherches sur Charlotte Whitton. En particuler, ils discutent la nature et l’objet de la biographie féministe, la question de l'intention de l'auteure d’écrire la biographie féministe, l’utilité du genre de vie comme principe organisateur en écrivant une biographie, et le rapport problématique entre les sphères "privées" et "publiques.