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- Mohammadi, Mohammad
(författare)
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Risk Management in Tunneling Projects : Estimation and Planning
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cost overruns and schedule delays are frequently observed occurrences in the construction of transport infrastructure projects. Such phenomena lead to the mismanagement of significant amounts of both public and private resources.An examination of the literature reveals that uncertainty stands out as one of the potential primary causes of cost overruns and schedule delays. To address the impact of uncertainty on time and cost estimations in transport infrastructure projects, probabilistic approaches can be employed. In this doctoral thesis, first a conceptual risk model has been formulated specifically for the purpose of enhancing time and cost estimations in tunneling projects. This risk model serves as a tool to scrutinize and contrast existing probabilistic time and cost estimation models for tunnel projects, aiming to identify potential areas for improvement. Furthermore, the conceptual model is utilized to delve into the factors influencing the accuracy of subjective assessments regarding the input parameters in time estimation models. It also explores methods for incorporating the role of tunneling phases into the subjective assessment of these input parameters.Then, enhancements and updates are introduced to the existingKTH model for time and cost estimation in tunneling projects. This model primarily targets three main sources of uncertainty: variability in construction performance, geological uncertainties, and the potential incidence of disruptive events. The analysis and improvements related to modelling of construction performance involve three sequential steps. In the first step, the construction process is modeled using the work breakdown structure (WBS), enabling a more realistic assessment of tunneling time. Subsequently, in the second step, PERT distributions are employed to model the uncertainty in the duration of unit activities, compared to the commonly used triangular distributions. The third step involves a detailed examination of a real tunnelling project's data to identify components contributing to construction performance variability for unit activities. This analysis pinpoints three main components: typical performance variability, minor performance delays, and minor machinery delays. These components are integrated into the KTH model, resulting in its further update concerning construction performance variability. A novel approach is introduced into the KTH model by leveraging the Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm within the framework of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation to address geological uncertainties along the tunnel route. This method facilitates round-by-round simulation of the tunneling process and allows the model to accommodate uncertainty in the critical path for tunneling projects involving multiple headings. These enhancements aim to improve decision-making processes and mitigate risks associated with schedule delays and cost overruns. Additionally, the magnitude of disruptive events are now modeled as stochastic variables, an improvement on the original version of the KTH model.
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| 2. |
- Rosander, Lilly
(författare)
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Adhocracy in the Bureaucracy : Practices of implementing collaborative contracting in infrastructure client organizations
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The building of infrastructure is a capital and resource-demanding activity, generally carried out in large interorganizational projects. Most infrastructure clients are public entities, implying that contracting processes are governed by public procurement regulations. Many infrastructure projects have high requirements for sustainability, both regarding impact on the local environment and the climate footprint. In addition to this, the construction often takes place in urban areas. To manage this complexity and uncertainty it has, over the past decades, become more common for public clients to apply procurement strategies that aim at fostering a good collaboration and integrate processes between client and contractor. Despite examples of advantages with such collaborative contracting the results vary and the institutionalization of collaborative contracting practices has proven difficult. Additionally, concepts and models vary between contexts and are hard to compare. How clients develop their procurement strategies and project practices, therefore, merits close attention. When the public sector uses procurement as tools to achieve their strategic goals, it is reasonable to analyze such decisions and processes as cases of policy implementation. Still, however, a large part of existing research on procurement of collaborative contracting focuses on a single project. By directing focus toward the organization as a whole, and on the implementation process of procurement strategies in several projects over time, the thesis aims to increase the understanding of how new organizational practices develop at different levels in public project-based organizations.The empirical foundation of the thesis is a longitudinal case study that follows the implementation of a new procurement strategy in the Swedish Transport Administration over seven years. The material includes data from seven projects that all used a two-stage Early Contractor Involvement model (called High collaboration). The case also includes material from the permanent organization, mainly in the Purchasing department. The five papers in the thesis analyze the implementation process from several perspectives, with specific attention to the characteristics of the organization as both public and project-based and how these features influence routines, legitimacy, learning and collaboration at different levels. The study adopts a practice perspective where interviews and observations focus on the actions and experiences of the individuals in the study. The result shows that there is a strong project autonomy, which is reinforced both by the project-based structure and by the public character of the client organization. Subsequently, there are few overarching structures at the central level to develop routines and procurement strategies in collaboration with the projects and suppliers. Thus, project managers have had a great influence on the finalization of project-specific procurement models and experiences has principally been shared between individuals, resulting in large variations between projects and limited organizational learning. Nonetheless, decisions in the permanent organization still influence the conditions at the operational project level, by dedicating resources and focusing attention on the topmanagement priorities. At the central level, collaborative contracting, as a concept has had varying legitimacy over time, and the initial problems in some of the seven projects gained considerable strategic importance by reinforcing such pendulum movements. Legitimacy seeking at higher organizational levels has also contributed to a variation in concepts and models, further complicating structured learning in the field of collaborative contracting.The thesis contributes to the construction management literature by providing deeper insights into why procurement models and collaborative practices vary between projects. Furthermore, the results contribute to project studies by expanding the understanding of how the specific character of public project-based client organizations impacts on learning processes for collaborative contracting. Finally, the thesis is relevant for public procurement research, as well as for practitioners in infrastructure and public procurement, since it provides novel insights into how the project-based nature of anorganization affects implementation and procurement processes.
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| 3. |
- Kadefors, Anna, Professor, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Relational contracting in Nordic construction – a comparative longitudinal account of institutional field developments
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. - : Emerald Publishing. - 1753-8378 .- 1753-8386. ; 17:8, s. 22-46
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Relational contracting is increasingly being applied to complex and uncertain construction projects. However, it has proved hard to achieve stable performance and industry-level learning in this field. This paper employs an institutional perspective to analyze how legitimacy for relational contracting has been produced and challenged in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, including implications for dissemination and learning. Design/methodology/approach: A collaborative case study design is used, where longitudinal accounts of the developments in relational contracting over more than 25 years in four Nordic countries were developed by scholars based in each country. The descriptions are underpinned by literature sources from research, practice and policy. Findings: The countries share similar problem perceptions that have triggered the de-institutionalization of traditional contracting practices. Models and policies developed elsewhere are important sources of knowledge and legitimacy. Most countries have seen pendulum movements, where dissemination of relational contracting is followed by backlashes when projects fail to meet projected outcomes. Before long, however, relational contracting tends to re-emerge under new labels and in slightly new forms. Such a proliferation of concepts presents further obstacles to learning. Successful institutionalization is found to rely on realistic goals in combination with broad competence development at the organizational and industry levels. Practical implications: In seeking inspiration from other countries, policymakers should go beyond contract models to also consider strategies to manage industry-level learning. Originality/value: The paper provides a unique longitudinal cross-country perspective on the field of relational contracting. As such, it contributes to the small stream of literature on long-term institutional change in the construction sector.
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| 4. |
- Rosander, Lilly, et al.
(författare)
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Samverkan i infrastrukturprojekt : Erfarenheter av tvåfaskontrakt i Trafikverket 2015–2023
- 2024
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Trafikverket upphandlade varor, tjänster, och byggentreprenader för nästan 62 miljarder SEK 2022 och har ett uppdrag att särskilt verka för innovation, effektivitet och produktivitet på den svenska anläggningsmarknaden. Som en del i sitt strategiska arbete har Trafikverket tagit fram en kontraktsmodell för ökad samverkan och tidig involvering av entreprenören, något som också har efterfrågats av entreprenadföretagen. Internationellt används ofta begreppet Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) för den här typen av kontrakt, och syftet kan vara att öka möjligheterna att anpassa projektens innehåll till förändrade förutsättningar, få in entreprenörens produktionskunskap i projekteringen eller att alls få anbud på projekt med stora risker.Trafikverkets modell benämns Samverkan Hög med Tidig Entreprenörmedverkan (TEM) och ingår i Trafikverkets övergripande affärsstrategi från 2016 (TDOK 2016:0199). Den baseras på ett tvåfaskontrakt, där entreprenören upphandlas för att i ett första steg gemensamt med beställaren ta fram en teknisk lösning och en riktkostnad, med en option på kontrakt för detaljprojektering och byggande.I den här rapporten redovisar vi resultaten från ett doktorandprojekt som har följt de sju första TEM-projekten i Trafikverket under tiden 2016–2023, baserat på framför allt intervjuer och projektdokumentation. Erfarenheterna från projektens uppstart och tidiga skeden har beskrivits i en omfattande delrapport (Rosander, Kadefors och Eriksson, 2020). Denna slutrapport har ett mer övergripande perspektiv och fokuserar på lärande över tid på projektnivå, organisationsnivå och branschnivå. Sammantaget är erfarenheterna av TEM i fallstudieprojekten huvudsakligen positiva och de intervjuade projektledarna uppfattar att modellen har stor potential och i flera fall har varit avgörande för att kunna genomföra projekten. Man har i varierande grad mött utmaningar, men dessa har framför allt varit relaterade till kontraktsupplägg och tidiga skeden i de första projekten. TEM-modellen har tagits fram i samverkan med branschen och styr inte hur projekten ska arbeta på en mer detaljerad nivå. Även om projektledarna i allmänhet uppskattar sådan frihet ser många ett stort värde i stöd, handböcker, mallar och utbildningar som kan skapa bredare samsyn kring vad samverkan innebär i praktiken. Det har dock saknats en tydlig struktur och tillräckliga resurser inom Trafikverket för att ta vara på projektens erfarenheter och driva sådan systematisk utveckling. Istället har lärandet till stor del skett direkt mellan individer, vilket har resulterat i stora variationer mellan projekt. Tidiga negativa händelser har också fått stor strategisk betydelse medan mer positiva erfarenheter och lösningar inte har uppmärksammats.I rapporten relaterar vi dessa erfarenheter till utvecklingen av samverkansinriktade kontraktsformer i ett längre perspektiv, där ständigt nya modeller och begrepp införs när de tidigare får kritik. I det sista kapitlet formulerar vi ett antal rekommendationer som främst fokuserar på hur Trafikverket kan öka långsiktigheten i förändringsarbete kopplat till nya upphandlingsmodeller. Framför allt behövs då tvärfunktionella strukturer på den permanenta nivån som kan utveckla och erbjuda olika former av stöd i nära samarbete med både projekten och leverantörer.
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