scholarly journals Expanding the Building System into a Product Platform for Improved Design and Manufacture – A Case Study in Industrialised House-Building

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Martin Lennartsson ◽  
Fredrik Elgh
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Design Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Design Support ◽  
Effect Analysis ◽  
Building System ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
Improved Design ◽  
House Building

Industrialised house builders in Sweden have been challenged to meet the demand for housing solutions as the population has increased at a faster rate. As a result, the housing industry is currently faced with objectives to improve productivity and internal efficiency while also controlling the production cost of houses without compromising external efficiency. To remain competitive, many companies developed own building system (BS) based on fixed or partially fixed production systems with different prefabrication techniques. The challenges remain in the design phase and proper methods and tools are required to manage it. In many industries, the product platform approach has been used as a means to achieve both internal and external efficiency. However, little attention has been paid in relating the platform approach to building system support in the design phase of Industrialised house building (IHB). Thus, the main purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of the industrialised house building system and outline design support solutions for the building system from a product platform approach. Qualitative research was conducted by linking a single case company working with post and beam building system in combination with a literature review. Empirical data were gathered from five semi-structured interviews and two workshop sections. A cause-effect analysis has been conducted to realize the potential causes of challenges in the design process. The result illustrates a methodology with principle solutions that can be used as design support for the case company as a path forward and improve further from a product platform perspective.

scholarly journals Parametric Modelling of Steel Connectors in a Glulam Based Post and Beam Building System – Towards a Flexible Product Platform Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Martin Lennartsson ◽  
Fredrik Elgh ◽  
Per Johan Persson
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Product Platform ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Building System ◽  
Engineer To Order ◽  
Improved Design ◽  
House Building ◽  
Design And Production

House building projects are distinctive, and the degree of customisation creates bottlenecks in the design process and challenges for production, which results in longer lead time and higher costs. Aligned with a product platform approach, previous studies have introduced cost-effective approaches such as standardisation, modularization, configurators, etc. Still, components that cannot be completely modularized and configured due to high complexity level, may require a lot of engineering efforts during development. A platform approach that can be used to support engineer-to-order products that change over time still needs to be explored. The application of parametric modelling to automate the design process in the construction industry has the potential to further increase both the design and production efficiency. Thus, the objective of this research is to apply parametric modelling in the design of steel connectors used in a glulam based post and beam building system as part of a flexible product platform for increased design and production efficiency. A single case study has been carried out with a Swedish multi-storey house building company. Empirical data were gathered from a workshop with the design team followed by interviews, and document analysis. A computer-supported method for the steel bracket connectors has been developed, that connects post and beam components with pre-defined rules and constraints as part of the platform development. The result contributes to expanding knowledge about the development of a flexible product platform for improved design process and downstream production of customised components with parametric modelling support in the industrial post and beam buildng system.

scholarly journals Supporting the Reuse of Design Assets in ETO-Based Components—A Case Study from an Industrialised Post and Beam Building System

Buildings ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Fredrik Elgh ◽  
Martin Lennartsson
Keyword(s):  
Parametric Design ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Building Components ◽  
Building System ◽  
Engineer To Order ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
House Building ◽  
Modelling Process

The ability to offer customisation has been considered as a competitive advantage for industrialised house building (IHB) companies. Product platform approaches have been acknowledged as one of the prominent ways to improve both internal and external efficiency. However, the use of traditional platform-based strategies does not suffice for the design of engineer-to-order (ETO)-based components in a building system. The purpose of this research is to test and evaluate how the reuse of design assets can be achieved by using a parametric modelling approach to support the design process of ETO-based components in a post and beam building system. This is an additional study using the design platform approach (DPA) that contributes to expanding the knowledge for designing ETO-based components. This research proposes a parametric design platform method developed by following an inductive approach based on the findings from a detailed study on bracket connection with a single case study in a Swedish multi-storey house building company. The proposed method offers flexibility in modelling ETO building components, facilitates design automation, and shows a 20-times improvement in the modelling process. This approach can be used in any building system with ETO-based components by identifying, formalising, and reusing connected design assets. A key finding is that the ETO components can be shifted towards configurable solutions to achieve platform-based design.

scholarly journals Smart Manufacturing Support to Product Platforms in Industrialized House Building

2019 ◽  
pp. 284-292
Author(s):  
Djordje Popovic ◽  
Shamnath Thajudeen ◽  
Alexander Vestin
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Smart Manufacturing ◽  
Parametric Modelling ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Product Platforms ◽  
External Efficiency ◽  
Manufacturing Technologies ◽  
House Building

Swedish house building companies currently face many challenges in terms of fluctuating market demand, need for flexible product offering, non-uniform governmental regulations, high costs, and long lead times. These challenges affect both internal and external efficiency of companies. Product platforms have been used for more than a decade in this industry to improve both internal and external efficiency. However, the industry is still criticized for its inefficient and costly process. Smart manufacturing has emerged as means to improve the efficiency of internal processes and the question is if and how smart manufacturing can complement and support product platforms in industrialized house building. The aim of this study is to explore the potential of smart manufacturing to complement and support product platforms in theory and practice in the context of industrialized house building. A literature review and a multiple case study were chosen to fulfill the study objective. In total fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in two timber house building companies. The data was analyzed within and across cases using four platform assets for categorization: components, processes, knowledge and relationships. The results show that the smart manufacturing technologies are in both theory and practice mainly supporting the process platform asset through developing vertical and horizontal IT systems integration, definition and digitalization of flexible building systems, and transferring explicit drafting and engineering knowledge into parametric modelling tools.

Between sexual assault and compassion: The experience of living with a spouse’s dementia-related hypersexuality—A narrative case-study

Dementia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 147130122110320
Author(s):  
Dovrat Harel ◽  
Tova Band-Winterstein ◽  
Hadass Goldblatt
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Older Woman ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Narrative Case Study ◽  
As If

Background Hypersexuality is one of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia. This symptom can lead to poor quality of life for the person who lives with dementia, as well as for his or her caregiver, who might be exposed to sexual assault. Aim This study aimed to highlight the experience of an older woman living and coping with a spouse who exhibits dementia-related hypersexuality. Method A narrative case-study of a single case was designed, composed of four semi-structured interviews conducted over a 10-month period. The data were analyzed through thematic, structural, and performance analysis. Findings Four phases were revealed, depicting the experience of being a partner and caregiver of a spouse with dementia-related hypersexuality: a) “I need help”: A distress call; b) “It depends how long I agree to go on with it”: Living with the ambiguous reality of dementia-related hypersexual behavior within an ongoing intimate relationship; c) “It’s as if I’m hugging someone who’s no longer alive”: The transition from the previous couplehood identity to a new couplehood identity; and d) “I am just taking care of him as if he is a child”: A compassionate couplehood identity construction. Conclusions Living with a partner with dementia-related hypersexuality is a distressing experience for the caregiver-spouse. Yet, positive memories from a long intimate relationship can lead to the creation of a compassionate identity, which supports the caregiving process, and creates a sense of acceptance and meaning making. This, in turn, enables a positive aging experience. These finding have some practical implications for supporting and intervening in such cases.

scholarly journals Planning for a neighborhood and city-scale green network system in Qatar: the case of MIA Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaello Furlan ◽  
Brian R. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
The State ◽  
Network System ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
The Past ◽  
Neighborhood Scale

AbstractIn the past decade, Doha has witnessed fast-urban growth, an increased population rate, and an over-reliance on the automobile as the main mode of urban transportation. These factors caused social and environmental problems related to (1) the loss of a compact urban pattern, (2) an increased level of air pollution (3) high traffic congestions and (4) increasing landscape fragmentation. In consideration of such concerns, The State of Qatar invested large funds into the urban landscape development of Doha, as envisioned by Qatar National Vision 2030. As a result, in the past five years various parks and/or green areas, such MIA Park, a major public green space located around the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), were planned and developed within metropolitan Doha. The authors argue that this park is currently facing issues and challenges related to (1) accessibility to/from the neighboring districts, and (2) connectivity to/from the neighboring parks. Therefore, this research study aims at assessing the existing conditions of MIA Park, at considering the broader city context and, at recommending strategies for implementing MIA Park’s green network system. It approached the investigative challenge using a multi-pronged comprehensive methodology, that deployed focus groups, semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive network analysis based on graph theory. The findings, revealed through these hybrid research tactics, allowed the researchers to generate a framework to enhance accessibility and connectivity of MIA Park through a green network system, planned at inter-related neighborhood-scale and city-scale levels. While the research examines most notably a single case, it is advocated that the proposed framework represents not just an optional feature pertaining to the case in Doha, but a valuable reference for the sustainable master planning of future cities in the State of Qatar and across the GCC. The paper proffers numerous key contributions, including the critical exploration of manufactured landscapes in Doha Qatar and the delineation of broadly applicable environmental design strategies to improve the fabric and livability of cities.

scholarly journals Education and Sustainability: The Case of Emotions Park

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Dettori ◽  
Federica Caboni ◽  
Ernestina Giudici
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Economic ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Training Model ◽  
Cognitive Tools ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Empirical Observation ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Training Modules

Firms working in the third millennium have to face the challenge of being more sustainable. The complexity and the multidisciplinary nature of sustainability also requires new and specific knowledge. This means the necessity of a critical rethinking of the education system in the way to provide the cognitive tools and applications needed for new generations to address environmental, economic, and social challenges. In this perspective, the role of the school it is crucial, above all, to encourage attention to include sustainability as a theme on educational programs, focusing on the promotion of its multiple dimensions. Interdisciplinary sustainability programs are emerging globally, but little is known about the learning in these educational contexts.Therefore, the current research explores training modules used in the activities of a park to verify how students can receive a sustainable education from primary school; whether and in which way education can be a driver for the promotion of sustainable development; and whether it is effective to insert eco-activities such as eco-games, eco-campus, and eco-sports in the training modules from primary school onwards. For this purpose, the paper employed a single case study approach using the Emotions Park as a teaching plan. In particular, game and sports constantly accompany the training process by creating interdisciplinary links with different study subjects (e.g., civic education, environmental education, communication). Through the eco-activities, an innovative way to promote environmental and sustainability education was explored as a training model. Outdoor play, observation, and stimulation of the senses have proved powerful learning tools, and key to the acquisition of skills. Research data were collected observing the behavior of a sample of 22 participants and through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with educators, employee and students. The empirical observation suggests that inserting the sustainability principles as a topic in didactic programs provides the cognitive tools and applications needed for the new generations to address environmental, economic, and social challenges.

scholarly journals Sustainability Practice of a Multinational Oil Company in Nigeria: A Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Charles Afam Anosike
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
High Level ◽  
Oil Company

Environmental degradation and socioeconomic dilemma continue to affect agricultural productivity in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Several works of literature confirm the high level of pollution and contamination of land and water as a result of over 50 years of oil production in the region. The effects of environmental pollution continue to aggravate the hardship of the local people, which generates development friction, threaten oil operation, and mutually contrive relational efforts, by so invoking mistrust between oil companies and the host communities. Sustainability programs of oil companies often provide the channel to engage and promote community relations from which projects are conceived and executed. Despite sustainability efforts of oil companies, the region continues to experience oil spills and environmental degradation.Hence, the current research explores the sustainability efforts of a multinational oil company to establish whether the company’s leadership makes environmental considerations and to identify possible corrections that could be adopted to achieve sustainable value. For this purpose, the paper employed a single case study approach using open-ended interview sessions in collecting data. Research data were gathered from a sample of 20 experienced sustainability practitioners of the oil company, partnering nonprofit organizations, and community leaders through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were segmented and categorized. The data analysis process revealed several themes regarding the challenges and shortfalls of sustainability programs in the region. The evidence found suggests that implementing a transparent and inclusive sustainability management system is essential to enable a systems view in contemplating sustainability programs. In so doing, oil MNCs leaders could enable effective environmental consideration in their sustainability programs to help reinvigorate productive agriculture and ensure continuing oil operation.

Three stages of entrepreneurial orientation: the founder’s role

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjörn Ljungkvist ◽  
Börje Boers ◽  
Joachim Samuelsson
Keyword(s):  
Entrepreneurial Orientation ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the development of the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) over time by taking a founder’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on an in-depth single-case study. It combines semi-structured interviews in the company with archival data, such as annual reports, press clips and interviews in business magazines. Findings The results indicate that the EO dimensions change from being personalized and directly solution-oriented to being intangible value-creation-oriented. Originality/value By suggesting ownership-based EO configurations, this study contributes insights into how different ownership forms propel EO. These configurations – that is, personal, administrative based and intangible focused – show the impact of the EO dimensions and provide a systematic and theoretical understanding of EO change over time.

scholarly journals Developing Workforce Capability in Nonprofits Through Effective Leadership

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Byrnes Smoyer ◽  
Rocky J Dwyer ◽  
Janice K. Garfield ◽  
Brandon D. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Full Range ◽  
The United States ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Full Range Leadership ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Nonprofit Leaders

Leaders of nonprofit organizations in the United States must build workforce capabilities to meet increasing demands for services. This single-case study explored strategies nonprofit leaders used to build workforce capability to address increasing service demands. The conceptual lens for this study was the full-range leadership theory. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior executives of a single nonprofit organization located in the Midwestern region of the United States, which included internal organizational and workforce performance data, strategy plans, annual reports internal and external financial documents, and publicly available information. Four major themes related to building workforce capacity emerged from a thematic analysis of the data: (1) an emphasis on employee development, (2) the expansion of technology systems, (3) a concentration on developing a culture of autonomy and trust, and (4) the introduction of processes and measurements. The findings from this study might contribute to positive social change by providing nonprofit leaders with strategies and data to support a deeper understanding of how to effectively build workforce capability to address increasing service demands.

scholarly journals The Mechanisation and Automation of the IBS Construction Approach in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Syariazulfa Kamaruddin ◽  
Mohammad Fadhil Mohammad ◽  
Rohana Mahbub ◽  
Khairani Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Modern Method ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Current State ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
Building System ◽  
Open Access Article

The objective of the main research is to investigate the current state of implementation of mechanisation and automation in the Industrialised Building System (IBS). The aim of this paper however, is to provide an overview on the implementation of mechanisation and automation in the IBS construction approach. Questionnaire survey and semi structured interviews were conducted to collect the viewpoints among contractors and manufacturers of IBS to ensure the richness of the data collected. The results illustrated that although most respondents have agreed on most critical issues in the implementation of mechanisation and automation, they were not ready to move forward. These responses were quite consistent across the professions. Keywords: Modern method of construction (MMC); industrialised building system (IBS); mechanisation and automation; environment. eISSN 2514-751X © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v3i10.324

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