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- Adamsson, Niklas, 1977-
(author)
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Interdisciplinary integration in complex product development : managerial implications of embedding software in manufactured goods
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Incorporating electronics and software systems into manufactured goods is becoming very common in manufacturing companies. New technical functions, increased flexibility, and compensation for mechanical design weaknesses are some key drivers of this technological change in our everyday products. The automotive industry exemplifies this trend, since approximately 80–90% of new functions in cars are based on electronics and software, and it is expected that at least a third of the total cost of a car will eventually be accounted for by electronics and software. However, one of the main downsides of this technological trend is the increasing number of quality issues related to these new technologies, something usually claimed to be a result of the increased product development complexity. Previous research into product development management has mainly concentrated on either physical products or software systems, but not concurrently on both. Additionally, much of the research has concentrated on issues of integrating marketing, R&D, and manufacturing in these companies, and has treated the engineering disciplines in R&D as a homogenous group. Motivated by this change in technology content and the lack of research into complex product development and especially into integration between engineering disciplines, the present work investigates how to increase operational performance in multidisciplinary engineering organizations. This work has especially focused on interdisciplinary integration and the feasibility of various so-called integration mechanisms, such as building common physical facilities, job rotation programs, the implementation and use of information and communications technology, and computer-aided engineering tools. Both qualitative and quantitative research has been performed, involving 11 different companies and over 300 respondents. Supported by the present findings, it is demonstrated that interdisciplinary integration is a crucial factor to consider, and it is concluded that certain integration mechanisms stand out as more important than others. Organizational structure, work procedures and methods, training, social systems, and computer-aided engineering were the five types of mechanisms that displayed the greatest potential for improvement. It is further concluded that the ability to successfully match the body of practices to current products is essential, since there is a high risk of current practices becoming out-dated with respect to the technology content. Furthermore, inadequate identification of or managerial ability to establish the currently most important interfaces complicate the choice of trade-offs between various technologies that are found to be essential to cope with the inherent dynamic complexity. The organizational powerbase is often re-positioned in the studied organizations, and the loss of decisive power can result in a demoralizing ignorance of newly established disciplines and their design practices. Additionally, rigid structures and counterproductive traditions can reduce the potential gains accruing from new boundary-spanning innovations, so organizational responsibilities and mandates must be declared unambiguously, in many cases differently from how they have been in the past. Based on these conclusions, it is suggested that managers in organizations like those studied must be able to do the following: cultivate software knowledge in all parts and levels of the product development organization; reassess their recruitment strategies; organize for interdisciplinary collaboration; articulate and communicate the technology fusion strategy to all disciplines; and realize and disseminate the fact that product launches do not only concern manufacturability.
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| 2. |
- Moscati, Annika, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Information Exchange between Construction and Manufacturing Industries to Achieve Circular Economy : A Literature Review and Interviews with Swedish Experts
- 2023
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In: Buildings. - : MDPI. - 2075-5309. ; 13:3
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The construction industry is responsible for 32% of the world’s consumption of natural resources, causing 850 million tons of construction waste in the European Union alone. The construction and manufacturing industries mostly apply a linear economy model, where resources are used once and then disposed of. As a response, the concept of a circular economy (CE) was introduced with the aim of keeping materials within a closed loop and regaining their value in the end-of-life phase. This paper aims to investigate the different CE strategies in the construction industry and the related manufacturing industry and how these strategies can be supported by digital technology. The 11Rs framework has been used as a reference within the concept of CE through a scoping literature review, in which 117 articles were reviewed. The analysis focused on the frequency of the various Rs in papers, as well as their applications and possible implementation. Seven interviews were conducted with Swedish experts to obtain industry perspectives and thereby specify a potential research gap related to CE. According to the study, existing research for the application of CE by construction companies has not been fully explored. There is also a lack of knowledge about CE and its benefits, as well as poor collaboration between different stakeholders, both in information sharing and processes. Findings suggest that all stakeholders in the industries need to make efforts to change their strategies if the transition to CE is to occur.
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| 3. |
- Neumark, Thomas, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of phenoxymethylpenicillin treatment of acute otitis media in children aged 2-16
- 2007
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0281-3432 .- 1502-7724. ; 25:3, s. 166-171
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective. To study the clinical recovery from acute otitis media (AOM) in children, 2-16 years of age, managed with or without treatment with phenoxymethylpenicillin (PcV).Design. An open, prospective randomized trial. Children aged between 2 and 16 years, presenting with one- or double-sided AOM (without perforation) with symptom duration of less than four days, were included. The children were randomized to PcV for five days or to no primary antibiotic treatment. A health score and compliance were registered on a daily basis for seven days. Setting. A total of 32 health centres and 72 GPs in south-east Sweden.Subjects. Children aged 2-16 presenting with earache. Main outcome measures. Recovery time, symptom duration, frequency of complications (up to three months) and consumption of healthcare services independent of treatment with or without antibiotics.Results. A total of 179 patients carried out the trial, 92 were randomized to PcV, 87 to no primary antibiotic treatment. The median recovery time was four days in both groups. Patients who received PcV had less pain (p <0.001) and used fewer analgesics. There were no significant differences in the number of middle-ear effusions or perforations at the final control after three months. Children randomized to PcV treatment consulted less (p <0.001) during the first seven days.Conclusions. Our investigation supports that PcV treatment of AOM does not affect the recovery time or complication rates. PcV provided some symptomatic benefit in the treatment of AOM in otherwise healthy children, aged 2-16 years.
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| 4. |
- Neumark, Thomas, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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Spontaneously draining acute otitis media in children : An observational study of clinical findings, microbiology and clinical course
- 2011
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases. - : Informa Healthcare. - 0036-5548 .- 1651-1980. ; 43:11-12, s. 891-898
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Conclusion: The study indicates that an active ‘‘wait and see’’ policy during the first 3 days can be justified in most children with otorrhea but antibiotics should be considered in children who initially present with abundant purulent secretion and pulsating eardrum. Objectives: To study the clinical recovery of acute otitis media (AOM) with otorrhea in children managed initially without antibiotics. Methods: Children aged 2-16, presenting with AOM and spontaneous otorrhea, were followed. Specimens for bacterial investigations were obtained, and symptoms were registered on daily basis. The main outcome measures were the frequency of patients treated with antibiotics due to persisting AOM within 9 days in relation to clinical and bacteriologic findings and new AOM within 3 months. Results: Twelve of 71 children who completed the trial received antibiotics during the first nine days due to lack of improvement, one child after 16 days due to recurrent AOM and six had new AOM after 30 days. A.otitidis was found in 23 samples, S.pneumoniae in 12, S.pyogenes in 6, F.nucleatum in five. M.pneumoniae, C.pneumoniae and F.necrophorum could not be detected Antibiotics were prescribed more extensively to patients with pulsating eardrum and abundant purulent secretion. All patients with presence of S.pyogenes received antibiotics.
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