Modelling procurement effects on cooperation

Cooperative arrangements, such as partnering, have received increased interest in recent years. Several studies show however that cooperative relationships are not easily achieved in construction. Implementation of cooperative relationships requires changes in several elements of the traditional procurement procedures. The purpose of this paper is therefore to propose and test a sequential model regarding clients’ cooperative procurement procedures. We especially ask: what elements in clients’ procurement procedures facilitate the establishment of cooperation and trust in their relationships with contractors? The model was tested through structural equation modelling. The empirical data required for the test were collected through a survey responded to by 87 Swedish professional construction clients. The empirical results show that cooperative procurement procedures are triggered by clients’ wish to involve contractors early in specification, which has a simultaneous effect on procedures regarding bid invitation and compensation. Furthermore, these simultaneous effects breed a certain kind of partner selection based on task-related attributes, which also has a direct positive effect on trust and above all on cooperation in client–contractor relationships. Besides these implications from the model, the improvement of measurements for future modelling is discussed.Construction; cooperation; procurement;

Virkesanskaffning med hjälp av skördarmätning : för förbättrad styrning av skogliga verksamheter

Sweden is a world-leading actor in the global forest sector and remains in the top league of trading, research, and business operations. Despite being ahead of its competitors, several forest actors struggle with low profitability levels. The profitability index for private wood suppliers decreased by 0.45 units between 2000 – 2020, and sawmills' profitability levels are still low despite investments being record high in 2018 (financial performance due to COVID-19 are not considered). Wood procurement is a decisive process for several forest actor's profitabilities. For forest owners since selling wood is the primary income from their forest, and for sawmills because a large proportion of their costs are due to the procurement. Wood procurement is a complex process, including several participants and steps to complete. Process improvements could increase profitabilities for several actors and motivate further sustainability initiatives. Studies have shown that the process along the wood supply chain can be improved with harvest measurement instead of industry measurement as payment basis. Potential in terms of reduction of lead times and improved supplier relationship are some of the findings. However, no studies have analysed whether waste can be removed and if costs can decrease by applying harvest measurement. This study identified activities, information flows, lead times, and cost drivers within the wood procurement processes of both harvest and industry measurement. It demonstrated how waste, supplier relationship, and total costs are affected by the harvest measurement and identified non-value adding activities. Furthermore, the study explored opportunities for further improvements in the process. A single case study was performed using qualitative methods. Interviews were conducted to perform a value stream map of the process, followed by an activity-based cost analysis to determine cost differences. Lastly, further process improvements were explored by combining the empirical findings with the latest research and development within wood procurement. The result showed that harvest measurement as payment basis enable more flexible management of the logistics and bucking instructions. Overprocessing waste during contracting and making of the final invoicing is reduced. The supplier takes less risk and the cash flow is improved. On the other hand, the buyer takes a higher risk and gets a weakened cash flow. Measurement at the industry becomes non-value-adding. Lastly, lead time from harvest to supplier’recives his payment is reduced by half from eight to four weeks when harvest replaces industry measurement as payment basis. the main reasons for the differences are the change of ownership in the value chain, and the push flow becoming a pull flow in the end of the process when harvest measurement is applied as payment basis. The activity-cost analysis indicates that the supplier’s sales costs increase by 1.7 kr/m3ub, and the acquisition cost for the buyer is reduced by 7.5 kr/m3ub. Moreover, applying a digital contracting and planning process could reduce the acquisition cost further since a lot of the cost originates from time spent on these activities.Sverige är en världsledande aktör inom den globala skogsindustrin och återfinns bland världens främsta inom handel, affärsverksamheter och forskning. Trots en välutvecklande skogsindustri så är lönsamheten låg för flera aktörer. Skogsbruksindexet sjönk med 0.45 enheter mellan 2000 och 2020 för privata skogsägare, samtidigt som sågverks lönsamhet förblir låga trots rekordhöga investeringar under 2018 (finansiellt resultat till följd av COVID-19 ej medräknat). Virkesanskaffning är en avgörande process för flera skogsaktörers lönsamhet. Dels för att virkesförsäljning är skogsägares främsta intäkt från skogen, dels för att virkesanskaffning är en av de främsta utgifterna för sågverk. Virkesanskaffning är en komplex process och förbättringar inom processen skulle kunna leda till ökad lönsamhet för flera aktörer och motivera för ytterliga hållbarhetsarbete. Studier har visat att virkesanskaffning kan förbättras genom att tillämpa skördarmätning som betalningsunderlag i stället för industrimätning. Inga studier undersökt skillnaderna i processen för att avgöra om slöseri kan minskas och hur de totala kostnaderna påverkas genom att tillämpa skördarmätning. Denna studie identifierade aktiviteter, informationsflöden, ledtider och kostnadsdrivare inom virkesanskaffningsprocessen med skördar- respektive industrimätning. Studien demonstrerade hur slöseri, leverantörsrelationer och totala kostnader påverkas när skördarmätning tillämpas som betalningsunderlag, samt aktiviteter som blir icke värdeskapande. Därtill utforskade studien hur virkesanskaffningsprocessen kan förbättras ytterligare. En fallstudie baserat på kvalitativa data genomfördes för att uppfylla syftet, med stöd av teorier kring verksamhetsstyrning. Intervjuer genomfördes för kartläggningen av värdeflödet inom processen, följt av en aktivitetsbaserad kostnadskalkyl för att identifiera kostnadsskillnader. Slutligen utforskades möjliga förbättringar av processen med hjälp av studiens empiriska fynd tillsammans med senaste forskningen och utvecklingen kring virkesanskaffning. Resultaten visade att skördarmätning möjliggör en flexiblare styrning av virkeslogistiken, samt att apteringen kan bättre styras för att möta industrins efterfrågan. Skördarmätning leder till minskat överbearbetnings slöseri under kontrakteringen och slutredovisningen. Leverantören tar en mindre risk och får ett bättre kassaflöde medan köparen tar högre risk och får ett sämre kassaflöde när skördarmäning används som betalningsunderlag. Mätning vid industrin tillför heller inget värde för affärsledet mellan leverantör och inköpsorganisationen när skördarmätning används som betalningsunderlag. Skördarmätning leder även till halverad ledtid från avverkning till utbetalning, reducerad från åtta till fyra veckor. Den aktivitetsbaserade kostnadskalkylen tyder på att leverantörens försäljningskostnader ökar med 1,7 kr/m3 fub och köparens anskaffningskostnader reduceras med 7,5 kr/m3 fub när skördarmätning tillämpas. Att applicera en digital plattform för kontrakteringsprocessen, och en digitaliserad traktplaneringsprocess skulle kunna reducera anskaffningskostnaderna ytterligare då en stor del av kostnaden härstammar från tiden spenderat på dessa aktiviteter

Journal Staff

A myelopoiesis gene signature in circulating leucocytes, exemplified by increased myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3) mRNA levels, has been reported in patients with active anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody associated vasculitis (AAV) and to a lesser extent during remission. We hypothesized that this signature could predict disease relapse. mRNA levels of PR3, MPO, selected myelopoiesis transcription factors (CEBPA, CEBPB, SPIB, SPI1) and microRNAs (miRNAs) from patient and control peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) were analyzed and associated with clinical data. Patients in stable remission had higher mRNA levels for PR3 (PBMCs, PMNs) and MPO (PBMCs). PR3 and SPIB mRNA correlated positively in control but negatively in patient PBMCs. Statistically significant correlations existed between PR3 mRNA and several miRNAs in controls, but not in patients. PR3/MPO mRNA levels were not associated with previous or future relapses but correlated to steroid treatment. Prednisolone doses were negatively linked to SPIB and miR-155-5p, miR-339-5p (PBMCs) and to miR-221, miR-361, miR-505 (PMNs). PR3 mRNA in PBMCs correlated with time since last flare, blood leucocyte count and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Our results show that elevated leucocyte PR3 mRNA levels in AAV patients in remission do not predict relapse. The origin seems multifactorial, but to an important part explainable by prednisolone action. Gene signatures in patients with AAV undergoing steroid treatment should therefore be interpreted accordingly

Property and Empire: The Law of Imperialism in Johnson v. M’Intosh

Chief Justice\u27s Marshall\u27s opinion in Johnson v. M\u27Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.)543 (1823) has long been a puzzle, both in its doctrinal structure and in long, strange dicta which are both triumphal and elegiac. In this Essay, I show that the opinion becomes newly intelligible when read in the context of the law and theory of colonialism, concerned, like the case itself, with the expropriation of continents and relations between dominant and subject peoples. I examine several instances where the seeming incoherence of the opinion instead shows its debt to imperial jurisprudence, which rested on a distinction between two bodies of law: one governing relations between civilized nations, the other relations between civilized governments and the imperfect sovereigns of other nations. I then show how Marshall\u27s long dicta reflect the then-prevalent view of the hsitorical progress of societies from hunter-gatherer to commercial orders, with each stage corresponding to a particular set of property institutions.This historical theory lent intelligibility to the legal distinctions between civilized and lesser or imperfect sovereigns by claiming that the latter occupied earlier stages of development and that civilized nations were legally permitted to overrride the property institutions of primitive societies in order to induce progress. The dicta, then, provide the frame for the reasoning of this case, just as the theory of historical progress framed the jurisprudence of colonialisn in general

Refined SRP Stack Memory Analysis by Exploiting Critical Sections for Shared Resources

International audienceIn this paper we refine previous results on stack memory analysis for SRP based systems. For a task J we associate the section of code in between a resource request and release of R to a sub-task J R . If J R is implemented as a function, the stack usage of J R can be accounted for locally (and not part of the initial allocation for J as done in previously published work.

Digital forestry plan in the operational activities : a case study based on the role of the digital forestry plan in the operational activities and the attitudes towards the tool

I de flesta branscher sker idag ett intensivt arbete med att digitalisera sina verksamheter för att undvika att bli omsprungna av konkurrenter. Inom skogsbranschen sker en rad utvecklingsinsatser som drivs av den starka och historiska effektiviseringskulturen som branschen präglas av. Denna studie ämnar ge en bild av vad den digitala transformeringen av skogsbruksplanen har lett till. I denna studie undersöks hur den digitala skogsbruksplanen används i den operativa verksamheten hos en skogsägarförening. De olika delprocesserna som identifieras användas sedan för att fånga upp tjänstemännens attityd emot det digitala verktyget. Studiens empiri har samlats in genom nio telefonintervjuer. Intervjuerna har gjorts på Södra skogsägarna på verksamhetsområden Växjö och Vetlanda. Studiens resultat tyder på att det finns ett antal delprocesser i den operativa verksamheten där den digitala skogsbruksplanen tillämpas. Det är framförallt under delprocessen rådgivning som den digitala skogsbruksplanen tillämpas i arbetet. Under rådgivningsprocessen tycks verktyget fungera som ett sekundärt beslutsunderlag och ett effektivt kommunikationsverktyg. Resultatet visade även att den digitala skogsbruksplanen kan tillämpas i alla delprocesser som skogsinspektorn är aktiv i, medan skogsvårdsledaren kan använda sig av den digitala skogsbruksplanen i vissa delprocesser och produktionsledaren använder den inte i någon delprocess. Attityderna emot den digitala skogsbruksplanen varierade något bland respondenterna. Generellt tycks den fungera som en motivationsfaktor i delprocesserna uppsökning, rådgivning, traktplanering, rådgivning kring skogsvård och kvalitetsuppföljning medan den fungerar som en hygienfaktor i delprocesserna rådgivning och kontraktering. Den digitala transformeringen av skogsbruksplanen tycks därmed ha lett till ett positivt utslag på tjänstemännens arbete eftersom den digitala skogsbruksplanen bidrar idag till effektivitet, prestation, trygghet och tillfredställelse i själva arbetet.In most industry branches, intensive work is currently being done to digitize their operations in order to avoid being outsmarted by competitors. In the forest industry, a number of development efforts are being made, which is driven by the strong and historical efficiency culture that this industry is characterized by. This study aims to give a picture of what the digital transformation of the forestry plan has led to. This study investigates how the digital forestry plan is used in the operational activities of a forest owners' association. The various sub-processes are identified and then used to capture the internal attitudes towards the working digital tool. The study's empirical data were collected through nine telephone interviews. The interviews have been conducted at the southern forest owners in the Växjö and Vetlanda business areas. The results of the study indicate that there are a number of sub-processes in the operational activities where the digital forestry plan is applied. It is mainly during the subprocess advisory that the digital forestry plan is applied in the work. During the counselling process, the tool seems to act as a secondary decision and an effective communication tool. The result also showed that the digital forestry plan can be applied in all sub-processes in which the forest inspector is active, while the forest management leader can use the digital forestry plan in some sub-processes and the production manager does not use it in any sub-process. The attitudes towards the digital forestry plan varied somewhat among the respondents. Generally, it seems to act as a motivating factor in the sub-processes outreach, counselling, planning, tract planning, forest management and quality follow-up, while it acts as a hygiene factor in the counselling and contracting processes. The digital transformation of the forestry plan thus seems to have led to a positive impact on the work of the officials, since the digital forestry plan today contributes to efficiency, performance, security and satisfaction in the work itself

Renskötseln i Skandinavien : förutsättningar för sambruk och konflikthantering

Samemas hemområde kallas för Sapmi och sträcker sig från Kolahalvön genom den nordliga delen av finska Lappland och de nordliga delarna av Sverige till nord Norges atlantkust Inom detta område har den samiska kulturen sitt starkaste fäste. Renskötseln i Norden skiljer sig åt mellan länderna på flera punkter. Den norska renskötseln är till exempel den betrogenaste och utgörs av flera olika distrikt och i vissa delar av landet ligger sommarbetesmarkerna vid kusten och vinterbetesmarkerna i inlandet, medan det kan vara motsatta förhållandena i andra delar av landet. I Sverige kan man dela upp renskötseln i följande.tre former: den som bedrivs av fj. ällsamebyar, skogssamebyar och av koncessionssamebyar. Där skogs-och fjällsamebyarna flyttar sina renar mellan åretruntbetesmarkerna och vinterbetesmarkerna under året. Renskötseln i Finland är den som är minst variationsrik, där hålls renarna på samma marker åretrunt Det pågår konflikter i samtliga länder mellan rennäringen och övriga markanvändare. I regel så handlar konfliktema i Sverige och Norge om det råder renskötselrätt i vissa delar av renskötselområdet eller ej. När det gäller Finland så anser inte rennäringen att skogsbruket visar tillräcklig hänsyn i sina skogsbruksåtgärder, det existerar även svåra motsättningar mellan den ickesamiska befolkningen och den samiska i finskalappland. För att försöka minska konfliktema mellan skogsbruk och rennäring har man i länderna böljat nyttja olika former av samråd. I Sverige existerar två olika former, en enligt skogsvårdslagen och en enligt FSCs kriterier. I Norge ska samråd ske enligt plan -och bygglagen vid planering av olika former av markanvändning inom LNF-kategorin (lantbruks-, natur- och frilutslivsområdet) dit även rennäringen hör. Sedan måste även båda parter vara överens vid övriga ingrepp som starkt påverkar och eller är olämpliga för rennäringen. Betydelsen av samråden och strategisk planering kommer även att öka i framtiden. När det gäller Finland så har Metsähallitus som förvaltar statens skogar tillsammans med den finska renägarföreningen arbetat fram en överenskommelse där en av punktema tar upp samråd. Det finska certifieringssystemet FFSC innehåller även två kriterier som bland annat innebär att skogsbruket ska förhandla med rennäringen. !LO-konventionen 169 är mycket aktuell i samtliga länder. Norge är det enda landet av de tre som har ratificerat konventionen och i Finland och Sverige utreder man just nu vad som krävs för att även de ska kunna ratificera konventionen. Det stora problemet i samtliga länderna är gränsdragningsfrågan. V ad innefattar egentligen renskötsel området? Norge är det land som har gått längst vad det gäller att stifta nya lagar och göra om de gamla samt utöka hänsyn i skogsbruket för att underlätta för rennäringen. Detta har inneburit att bevisbördan numera ligger på markägaren, det är han som ska bevisa att renskötselrätt inte existerar på hans mark. Staten har även rätt att expropriera mark som samer har förlorat i tidigare rättegångar. Vidare så står även den norska staten för kostnaderna vid upprättandet av avtal mellan renägare och markägare. Man är även mera restriktiva med att hugga gammal skog i utsatta delar av renskötselområdet Detta har lett till att man på flera håll anser att konfliktema på senare år har minskat När det gäller certifieringsfrågan så är Sverige det enda landet där majoriteten av skogsmarken i renskötselområdet är FSC-certifierad. De övriga länderna har i stället valt att PEPC-certifiera sina skogar. En av skillnaderna mellan organisationerna är att FSC tar större hänsyn till ursprungsbefolkningarnas rätt att bruka skogen än PEFC. Några möjliga anledningar till dessa skillnader mellan länderna är att skogsbruket är mycket viktigare för Finland och Sverige än vad det är för Norge, varför man i Norge har varit mer villiga att ratificera konventioner och stifta nya lagar som gynnar rennäringen. Norge är även det land med den största andelen samiska invånare, vilket skulle kunna innebära att deras röst väger tyngre. Att konfliktläget i Norge på senare år förbättrats innebär nog att de nya lagarna och reglerna gett effekt, eftersom att situationen är så pass likartad i de övriga länderna så skulle nog effekten bli den samma om de även infördes i de övriga länderna. Men för att det ska vara möjligt måste någon vara beredd att stå för kostnaderna.The Sami home area is called Sapmi, stretching from the Kolapeninsula, the northern parts of Finnish Lapland, the northern parts of Sweden to the Norwegian Atlantic barder. It's in this area that the Sami culture has its stronghold. The ways in which reindeer herding is conducted in Norway, Finland and Sweden are quite different in many aspects. For example, the most diverse ways of herding reindeer are found in Norway, where the reindeer area consists of several different districts. In some parts of the country, the summer pastures are located by the coast and the winter ones are inland, while in other areasit can be in an opposite way. In Sweden, reindeer herding is conducted by three different groups; the mountain Sami villages, the forest Sami villages and the concession Sami villages. The mountain Sami villages and forest Sami villages move the reindeers between all-the-year pastures and the winter pastures through the year, while the concession Sami villages stay in the winter pastures during the whole year. The Finnish reindeer herding .has less variations. There are reindeers kept in the same land all the time. In all these countries, conflicts are presiding between the reindeer industry and other land users. In general, the conflicts in Sweden and Norway come from the issues if there are reindeer herding rights in some parts of the reindeer herding area. In Finland, the reindeer industry doesn't think that the farestry takes enough consideration into their farestry actions. Among non-Sami residents, there is also very severe hostility towards the Sami population in the Finnish Lapland. In order to reduce the conflicts, all these countries have tried using different kinds of consultation procedures. In Sweden, two different forms exist; one is according to the farestry act and the other is by the FSC-criteria. According to Norwegian Plan-and building law, consultation should be conducted when the planning of different forms of land uses falls into the LNF-category (agriculture- , nature- and the open-air activities area), which reindeer herding also belongs to. Both parties must also agree that the operations which have a strong impact or are unsuitable for the reindeer herding. The impact of consultation procedures will also increase in the future. In Finland, Metsähallitus that manages the state' s forests has reached an agreement with the reindeer herders' organization, in which consultation procedures are one of the points. Even the Finnish certification FFSC system consists of two criteria, which, among others, means that the farestry should negotiate with the reindeer industry. The ILO-convention nr 169 is of current interest in all these countries. Norway is the only country, of the three, that has ratified the convention. Finland and Sweden are investigating what need to be done before they can ratify the convention. The main problem in all three countries is the issue of barder. What is really the reindeer herding area? When considering making new laws, rewriting the old ones and making the farestry give more consideration towards reindeer herding are important. It seems that Norway is the country that has done most, which has resulted in that nowadays the landowners have the obligation of proof. It is they who should show in the la w court that reindeer herding rights don't exist on his ground. The state has also right to expropriate the ground that the sami has lost in earlier trials. Furthermore, the state pays for the expense when a contract is signed between reindeer herdersand land owners. In Norway, it is also more restricted to cut old growths forests in vulnerable parts of the reindeer herding area. According to many voices, this has resulted in that the conflicts have decreased in number. With the issue of certification being considered, Sweden is the only country, where the majority of the forests in the reindeer herding area are FSC-certified. The other countries have instead ehosen to PEFC-certify the majority of their forests. An important difference between the two organizations is that FSC takes bigger concem to the native people' s right to manage the forests. An explanation of the differences among the countries could be that the forestry sector is much more important for Finland and Sweden than .for Norway, which is w hy Norway is more willing to ratify conventians and make new laws that benefit the reindeer industry. Norway is also the country having the biggest proportion of Sami inhabitants, which could explain why their voices could have a stronger impact. That the conflict situation in Norway seems to have been improved in recent years could indicate that the new laws and rules are effective. Since the situation is so similar in all of the countries, these laws and rules would probably have the same effect in Finland and Sweden. However, if i t is going to be possible, someone must be willing to pay for the expense

Bedrock Erosion in Swedish Spillways - A Methodology for Assessing Design Pore Pressures Aimed for Design of Erosion Mitigation Via Reinforcement of the Rock Mass

This article presents a collection of literature and data that enables calculations of hydraulic pressures inside a structurally simplified rock mass. The causation between the pressure in the rock mass and the near plane-parallel turbulently flowing waters on natural surfaces of igneous rock is expressed. The article is mainly aimed at rock reinforcement calculations given magmatic rock types with high durability and large block size

The role of harvester measurement in the wood supply chain

Forest industries manage their wood supply chains for sustainability, efficiency, and value creation. Roundwood measuring is a crucial part of wood procurement to achieve the best total value and sharing of benefits between business partners in the supply chain. Industrial measurement is the dominant measuring technique used in Sweden, but the use of harvester measurement has gained increasing interest over the last decade. In this study, we analyzed how harvester measurement affects the wood procurement process regarding operations, supplier relationships, and total costs. The data was gathered through interviews with the analysis being supported by theoretical frameworks of lean thinking, supplier relationship management, and total cost of ownership. Harvester measurement has the potential to increase incentives for the purchaser to preserve the value created and improve control of the supply chain, thus leading to more efficient resource use. It also improves supplier relationships due to a simpler price list, which ultimately increases transparency. Lastly, forest industries may increase their profitability levels and competitiveness due to increased supply chain surplus and reduced total costs. Further research on quantitative measures is required to assess the significance of these effects, as well as the entire sustainability impact on the wood supply chain