| 1. |
- Olander, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
-
Measuring change in a sector - CREDIT Case SE06
- 2010
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This case describes an ongoing initiative in Sweden with the aim of measuring the development of the Swedish infrastructure sector. The reason this case was chose is that it is one, of only a very few, national initiatives with a clear aim of taking an holistic approach to assess the development of one large share of the Swedish construction sector. The purpose of this case is to investigate: – What measures are used – The underlying assumptions for the choice of measure The case study mainly contributes to WP6 (report 4) National benchmarking (WP6) summary In Sweden, apart from the larger Utmärkt Samhällsbyggande a more focused program aimed at improving the competitiveness of the civil engineering part of construction, FIA (Renewal within the civil engineering sector), was launched in December 2003. FIA saw a need to monitor how the civil engineering sector develops, in order to effectively plan and implement development projects. This survey will not directly measure the effect that FIA has on the civil engineering sector. What is measured is the direction of change for the Swedish civil engineering sector during the years that FIA is active. This knowledge could indirectly be used by FIA to initiate additional studies concerning specific subjects that could guide the civil engineering sector in a desired direction. Two main issues are of importance in regard to the CREDIT objectives. 1. The difficulty of getting in the data – although this assessment has been initiated, approved and sponsored by the very top management of the two largest infrastructure clients and even though it is written in the procurement guidelines for both of these organisations that the survey hould be carried out jointly, between the client and the supplier consultant or contractor), it has been extremely difficult to get the survey sent in. Now, both of these two organisations have designated personnel to track down projects and make them fill it out, according to guidelines, and send it in. 2. The main performance the parties in the sector are interested to measure and to keep track of is efficiency and productivity. They are largely uninterested of measuring the performance of the product and/or how it affects the end-users. Similar tendencies have been seen in other national initiatives on housing in Sweden. This is to some extent in large contrast to the views and aim of the CREDIT project.
|
|
| 2. |
- Olander, Stefan, et al.
(författare)
-
Productivity comparisons, are they possible or even desirable?
- 2010
-
Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. - Salford : University of Salford. ; , s. 58-67
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased productivity is of societal good and efforts to achieve this should be a relevant task for all businesses. However, the concept of productivity is not clear as to what is to be measured. This becomes a problem especially when statements are made that the development of productivity in the construction industry is not as good as other sectors of industry. It is not clear if this comparison is relevant or even possible to make. This study aims to address and discuss the problem surrounding productivity measurements and comparison of them and is based on literature reviews that address the problem of evaluating productivity, with special focus on construction productivity. The results show that there is no uniform measure for construction productivity that can be used. Different situation calls for different measures. There unique circumstances for various construction activities, such as housing, commercial, industrial, infrastructure etc, that makes comparison of productivity between them virtually impossible. If statements of productivity are made without the knowledge of what the measures really show or is based on, there is a risk that these lead to misleading conclusions. Every study of productivity needs to be critically scrutinised with a high degree of scepticism. Instead of trying to achieve one uniform measure of productivity a set of key performance indicators can be used instead in order to obtain more qualitative facts about the state of the construction industry.
|
|
| 3. |
- Widén, Kristian, et al.
(författare)
-
Effects of a Lack of Support for Public Private Partnerships : the Swedish Case.
- 2010
-
Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. - Loughborough : Loughborough University. - 9781897911358 ; , s. 668-676
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sweden is part of a small European minority in the perceived societal gain of PPP. After a pilot PPP project in late 1990’s no additional project has been started in Sweden. Although there is interest from both public infrastructure clients and construction companies the national government has very clearly stated that infrastructure projects should be procured in a traditional way where all funding should come from the national budget. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a lack of support for governmental interests in PPP solutions affect the innovative climate of infrastructure investments. Broadly defined, PPP solutions are arrangements where the public sector together with a private partner engages in a long-term co-operation to solve a public need. The opponents in Sweden base their arguments on the viewpoint that it if the state cannot finance a well needed infrastructure project within the national budget there is no need for a private initiative since the state can borrow funds on better terms than a private actor. However, the proponents see PPP as way of not only financing well needed project but also as a way of improving the innovative climate of the infrastructure sector. In short, the opponents only see PPP as an alternative way of financing public projects while the proponents see PPP as a opportunity to improve performance of infrastructure facilities by long-term partnerships and incentives to adopt new and innovative solutions in construction and maintenance. The study presented here shows that the main effects of a lack of PPP solutions is the following: First, the time from an identified need until finished project becomes very long since each project needs to fit in the yearly national budget. Secondly, when national funds are insufficient, well needed infrastructure projects are delayed in the planning process often with no definite new time plan, and very rarely does the government borrow additional funds. Thirdly, there is a tendency to divide large infrastructure facilities in smaller entities in order to fit them in the national budget, which has the effect that the full benefits of the investment are delayed. Finally, and maybe most importantly, the Swedish government’s reluctance to adopt PPP solutions and to finance infrastructure projects in small entities, promotes traditional design and build contracts with very small incentives for adopting new innovative solutions to improve the construction process.
|
|
