Disruptive impacts of sustainability in project management and emerging sustainable practices in PMBOK 7th edition

Following concerns about climate change sustainable development has become an urgent need that requires institutional and governmental action. It is obvious that our unsustainable present has been built through projects by neglecting wider issues and Grand Challenges. Sustainability in project management has always been easy to understand but hard to implement in practice due to potential difficulties and lack of implicative solutions in PM standards. A structured review of 164 publications by (Silvius and Schipper 2014) indicates that the PM standards fail to seriously address the sustainability agenda. However, previous studies had a brief review on standards, and they were not updated as the PM standards are evolving during the time to adapt with new business needs. This research is the first study to investigate footprints of sustainability in PMBOK 7th edition with a more holistic and a purely theoretical perspective. The study considers sustainability as a crucial but disruptive aspect to be incorporated into the traditional project management functions. It proposes sustainability requires paradigm shifts which evolves current project management practices in a shift from process-based to a principle-based while creating value instead of focusing on deliverables and outputs

Disruptive impact of sustainability in project management and emerging sustainable practices in PMBOK 7th edition

Following concerns about exponential growth of world population, pollution, resource scarcity and its consequences sustainable development has become an urgent need that requires institutional and governmental action. It is obvious that our unsustainable present has been built through projects by neglecting wider issues and Grand Challenges. Sustainability in project management has always been easy to understand but hard to implement in practice due to potential difficulties and lack of implicative solutions in PM standards. This paper explores paradigmatic impacts of sustainability in project management practices and sustainability footprints in PMBOK 7th edition. In the first phase, the research follows an integrative literature review and thematically structure the review to synthesis the concepts to come up with a specific conclusion. In the second phase, researches will conduct interviews to strengthen the initial findings and generate new ideas about sustainable project practices. The study considers sustainability in project management as a crucial but disruptive aspect to be incorporated into the traditional management functions. It proposes sustainability as a key factor which evolves current project management practices in a shift from process-based to a principle-based while creating value instead of focusing on deliverables and outputs

Overcoming Barriers Against Interaction on Innovation Capabilities Within and Between SMEs

Handling metadata and module-based capabilities are enablers for radical new ways of interaction within and between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in terms of innovation. A challenge in this often complex actor and interaction picture is that there can be organizational, process-related, financial and practical barriers which tend to reduce innovativeness. There is thus a need for methods which can provide dynamic and company-based innovation networks. This study investigates the main barriers for effective interaction and sharing of innovation capabilities within SMEs. The factors identified are individual, technological and organizational factors. The success of SMEs lies in overcoming all these barriers in order to ensure effective interaction and sharing of innovation capabilities through their networks. This study suggests the main conditions and elements which can contribute to overcoming the barriers against effective interaction on innovative capabilities among SMEs.acceptedVersio

A Handbook for Product development using 3 Dimensional Concurrent Engineering

This report is intended as guide for manufacturing enterprises wanting to try 3- Dimensional Product Development for themselves. It is built on experiences from aconcrete Product Development Project, but here the participants have been anonymised. The main results are a set of Guidelines for performing an effectiv3DCE process,organised following a Stage-Gate process where there exists predefined given Oppdragsgiver: Norwegian Industry CompanypublishedVersio

Analyzing electrical installation labor productivity through work sampling

Purpose The construction industry is a labor-intensive industry, hence, the presence of labor with high productivity at each stage of the project plays a significant role in achieving project success. The purpose of this paper is to provide real-life empirical data about the current level of construction productivity, in this case electrical installation work, within construction projects in Norway. In addition, it was of interest to identify the areas which have the highest potential for improvement of labor productivity. Design/methodology/approach This study considers the construction labor productivity through an elaboration on productive vs unproductive time within construction projects. It is based on a “frequency study” done on eight construction projects in Norway. The “work sampling” method has been used for collection of empirical data. For each project, four electricians were observed an entire working day and the amount of time they spent on performing each activity was recorded every 60th seconds. The activities observed were based on a predefined set of activities. Findings The results of the observations show that on average, 61.1 percent of the time was direct value-added work. This number is significantly better than what is normally discussed as being productive time. However, the findings also show that there is still potential for improvement. The activities that have the highest potential for improvement include “material transfer,” “amendments to already executed installation,” “personal needs” and “waiting times.” Practical implications The study results will be of immense benefit to managers of construction projects as well as managers of construction organizations in enhancing their project performance and productivity. Originality/value This paper contributes both theoretically and empirically to the current discussion and findings on labor productivity and its relation to project success. The results presented in this paper have important implications of labor productivity in construction projects and future studies in the area of project performance

Analyzing electrical installation labor productivity through work sampling

Purpose The construction industry is a labor-intensive industry, hence, the presence of labor with high productivity at each stage of the project plays a significant role in achieving project success. The purpose of this paper is to provide real-life empirical data about the current level of construction productivity, in this case electrical installation work, within construction projects in Norway. In addition, it was of interest to identify the areas which have the highest potential for improvement of labor productivity. Design/methodology/approach This study considers the construction labor productivity through an elaboration on productive vs unproductive time within construction projects. It is based on a “frequency study” done on eight construction projects in Norway. The “work sampling” method has been used for collection of empirical data. For each project, four electricians were observed an entire working day and the amount of time they spent on performing each activity was recorded every 60th seconds. The activities observed were based on a predefined set of activities. Findings The results of the observations show that on average, 61.1 percent of the time was direct value-added work. This number is significantly better than what is normally discussed as being productive time. However, the findings also show that there is still potential for improvement. The activities that have the highest potential for improvement include “material transfer,” “amendments to already executed installation,” “personal needs” and “waiting times.” Practical implications The study results will be of immense benefit to managers of construction projects as well as managers of construction organizations in enhancing their project performance and productivity. Originality/value This paper contributes both theoretically and empirically to the current discussion and findings on labor productivity and its relation to project success. The results presented in this paper have important implications of labor productivity in construction projects and future studies in the area of project performanc

Analyzing electrical installation labor productivity through work sampling

Purpose The construction industry is a labor-intensive industry, hence, the presence of labor with high productivity at each stage of the project plays a significant role in achieving project success. The purpose of this paper is to provide real-life empirical data about the current level of construction productivity, in this case electrical installation work, within construction projects in Norway. In addition, it was of interest to identify the areas which have the highest potential for improvement of labor productivity. Design/methodology/approach This study considers the construction labor productivity through an elaboration on productive vs unproductive time within construction projects. It is based on a “frequency study” done on eight construction projects in Norway. The “work sampling” method has been used for collection of empirical data. For each project, four electricians were observed an entire working day and the amount of time they spent on performing each activity was recorded every 60th seconds. The activities observed were based on a predefined set of activities. Findings The results of the observations show that on average, 61.1 percent of the time was direct value-added work. This number is significantly better than what is normally discussed as being productive time. However, the findings also show that there is still potential for improvement. The activities that have the highest potential for improvement include “material transfer,” “amendments to already executed installation,” “personal needs” and “waiting times.” Practical implications The study results will be of immense benefit to managers of construction projects as well as managers of construction organizations in enhancing their project performance and productivity. Originality/value This paper contributes both theoretically and empirically to the current discussion and findings on labor productivity and its relation to project success. The results presented in this paper have important implications of labor productivity in construction projects and future studies in the area of project performance.submittedVersionpublishedVersio