Course syllabus

Course-PM

BOM025 - Construction, Processes and Management lp4 VT22 (7.5 hp)

The course is offered by the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering as part of MPDCPM.

Welcome to BOM025!

Dear students,

Welcome to Construction, Processes and Management! The course starts on Monday the 21^st of March, at 13:15-16:00. We are looking forward to meeting you.

BOM025 will be held physically (both for the course sessions and the on-site assignments). A hybrid format will be considered only if needed according to the relevant instructions by the state authorities and Chalmers. There are no such instructions at the moment and we do not expect that we will receive any until the end of term. However, if we do have to implement any significant changes down the line, we will notify you in time.

The course's staff wishes you a successful learning experience. We expect you to carry out practical and theoretical assignments to support your learning. Our aim is to prepare you as professionals who can critically reflect on construction processes, production and management, while adopting multiple perspectives.

Contact details

Examiner

Dimosthenis Kifokeris (DK), Assistant Professor PhD, Division of Building Design, ACE, dimkif@chalmers.se

Teachers and supervisors

Martine Buser (MB), Associate Professor PhD, Division of Building Design, ACE, buser@chalmers.se

Mikael Viklund Tallgren (MVT), Research Engineer PhD, Division of Construction Management, ACE, mikaeltallgren@chalmers.se

Rickard Andersson (RA), Doctoral Student Lic, Division of Building Design, ACE, rickande@chalmers.se

Paula Femenias (PF), Professor PhD, Division of Building Design, ACE, paula.femenias@chalmers.se

Bri Gauger (BG), Postdoc Researcher PhD, Division of Architectural Theory and Methods, ACE, bri.gauger@chalmers.se

Gunnar Wengström (GW), Building Engineer MSc, Educator at YRGO, gunnar.wengstrom@educ.goteborg.se

Invited and guest lecturers

Anders Hornstrup Laursen (AHL), Product Specialist, Dalux

Rasmus Ahlstrand (RAH), Researcher PhD, Department of Sociology, Lund University

Pedro Mêda (PM), Researcher/Project Manager MSc, Instituto da Construção, Porto University

Diego Calvetti (DC), Researcher PhD, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Special expert practitioner guests

Jimmy Dahlström, Construction Manager MSc, Head of the Temporary Factory Project at Ramirent & President at Lean Forum Bygg

Jan Kohvakka, Construction Manager BSc, Manager of Business Development and Innovation at Incoord

Patrik Hakenmyr, Business Developer at Poseidon

Possibly more special expert practitioner guests to be confirmed.

Student representatives

Klara Håkansson, klahak@student.chalmers.se 
Johan Främberg, johfram@student.chalmers.se  
Caroline Jakobsson, caroline.jakobsson@outlook.com 
Madhushree Mrutyunjaya Happalad, madhushreemh@gmail.com 
Damilare Omiwole, omiwole@student.chalmers.se 

Course purpose

The construction industry faces a number of major challenges: global competitiveness, global sustainability goals, and impacts on the individuals' physical and mental health. The purpose of this course is therefore twofold: First, developing an understanding of the way construction processes are organized; and second, developing an understanding of the way design and construction companies can implement processes that meet the aforementioned challenges while also minimizing the consumption of resources.

Schedule

BOM025 - Construction, Processes and Management: Course plan 2021/2022 (VT2022, Study Period 4: Monday 2022-03-21 to Sunday 2022-06-05)

TimeEdit schedule (timetable below is the most current version)

A minimum of 80%+ of physical attendance at the course sessions is required. Included in this 80% are all the sessions noted as obligatory (O). However, attending more than just the (O) sessions are needed for you to reach that 80%+.

O: Obligatory

Week	Course day	Date/time	Persons	Topic	Room
12	1 (O)	Monday 21 March 13:15 - 16:00	DK, MB, MVT	Introduction, practical information Processes in construction Introduction to Assignment 1: Literature seminar Introduction to Assignment 2: Site manager interview Group formation, presentation and course expectations Session literature: Process Perspectives	SB-H3
12	2	Thursday 24 March 09:00 - 11:45	DK	Productivity in construction Performance measurement Session literature: Performance & Productivity	SB-H3
13	3 (O)	Monday 28 March 13:15 - 16:00	DK, MVT	Lean construction Special guest: Jimmy Dahlström Session literature: Lean Construction	SB-H3
14	4 (O)	Monday 04 April 13:15 - 16:00	DK	Quality and defects in construction Special guest: Jan Kohvakka Session literature: Quality	SB-H3
14	5 (O)	Thursday 07 April 09:00 - 11:45	PF, DK	Renovation processes Special guest: Patrik Hakenmyr Session literature: Renovation	SB-H3
16	6 (O)	Thursday 21 April 09:00 - 11:45	AHL, MB	Guest lecture : Anders Hornstrup Laursen (Dalux)	SB-H3
17	7	Monday 25 April 13:15 - 16:00	MVT	On-site work environment and safety Session literature: Work Environment & Safety During week 17, the students are welcome to book supervision meetings for Assignment 1	SB-L516
17	8 (O)	Thursday 28 April 09:00 - 11:45	BG, MB, DK	Diversity, sexism, LGBTQ+ marginalization, and macho culture in construction Session literature: Diversity During week 17, the students are welcome to book supervision meetings for Assignment 1	SB-Η3
18	9	Tuesday 03 May 09:00 - 11:45	MB, RA	Waste management in construction Session literature: Waste Management	SB-H4
18	10 (O)	Thursday 05 May 09:00 - 11:45	RAH, DK	Structures of subcontracting in the Swedish construction sector Session literature: Structures of Subcontracting	SB-H3
19	11 (O)	Monday 09 May 13:15 - 16:00	DK, MVT, MB	Presentation of Assignment 1 (Groups 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13)	SB-H5
19	12 (O)	Tuesday 10 May 09:00 - 11:45	DK, MVT, MB	Presentation of Assignment 1 (Groups 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)	SB-H3
19	13	Thursday 12 May 09:00 - 11:45	DK	Operations strategy and change Session literature: Corporate & Operations Strategy	SB-H6
20	14 (O)	Monday 16 May 13:15 - 16:00	DK	Industrialization of building processes Session literature: Industrialized Construction During week 20, the students are welcome to book supervision meetings for Assignment 2 - but DK will only be available on 16/05 and 17/05	SB-H3
20	15	Tuesday 17 May 09:00 - 11:45	PM, DC, DK	Digital Building Logbook: a window to the future Added slot for student supervision Session literature: Digital Building Logbook During week 20, the students are welcome to book supervision meetings for Assignment 2 - but DK will only be available on 16/05 and 17/05	SB-L200
21	16 (O)	Monday 23 May 09:00 - 16:00	DK, GW, MB	Seminar on Assignment 2 Closing plenary session	SB-H3

Course literature

The course's literature consists primarily of scientific papers. Most of said literature items are readily available through Chalmers Library, but are also uploaded on the course's Canvas page. Following a flipped classroom format, the students are expected to read the corresponding Session literature before each session. The literature items are divided into mandatory and supplementary (optional) ones. When it comes to each session's slideset, those are generally uploaded some time before each respective session.

Process Perspectives

Mandatory

• Kadefors, A. (1995). Institutions in building projects: Implications for flexibility and change. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 11(4), 395–408.
• Kao, C.C., Green, S., and Larsen, G. (2009). Emergent discourses of construction competitiveness: localized learning and embeddedness. Construction Management and Economics, 27(10), 1005-1017.
• Li, H., Arditi, D., and Wang, Z. (2012). Transaction-related issues and construction project performance. Construction Management and Economics, 30(2), 151-164.

Supplementary

• Raja, J.Z., Green, S.D., Leiringer, R., Dainty, A. and Johnstone, S. (2013). Managing multiple forms of  employment in the construction sector: implications for HRM. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(3), 313–328.
• Cho, K., Hong, T. and Hyun, C.T. (2013). Space Zoning Concept-based Scheduling Model for Repetitive Construction Process. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 19(3), 409-421.

Performance & Productivity

Mandatory

• Bassioni, H., Price, A., and Hassan, T. (2004). Performance Measurement in Construction. Journal of Management in Engineering, 20(2), 42-50.
• Beatham, S. Anumba, C., Thorpe, T., and Hedges, I. (2004). KPIs: a critical appraisal of their use in construction. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 11(1), 93-117.
• Bröchner, J., and Olofsson, T. (2012). Construction productivity measures for innovation projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 138(5), 670-677.

Supplementary

• Bourne, M., Neely, A., Platts, K., and Mills, J. (2002). The success and failure of performance measurement initiatives: perceptions of participating managers. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 22(11), 1288-1310.
• Crawford, P., and Vogl, B. (2006). Measuring productivity in the construction industry. Building Research & Information, 34(3), 208-219.
• Dubois, A., and Gadde, L.E. (2002). The construction industry as a loosely coupled system: implications for productivity and innovation. Construction Management and Economics, 20(8), 621-631.
• Neely, A., Gregory, M., and Platts, K. (2005). Performance measurement system design: a literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 25(12), 1228-1263.

Lean Construction

Mandatory

• Gao, S., and Low, S.P. (2014). The Toyota Way model: an alternative framework for lean construction. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence,  25(5-6), 664-682.
• Kifokeris, D. (2021). Variants of Swedish lean construction practices reported in research: a systematic literature review and critical analysis. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147(7), 05021005.
• Koskela, L. (2020). Theory of lean construction. In: Tzortzopoulos, P., Kagioglou, M., and Koskela, L. (eds.). Lean construction: Core concepts and new frontiers (1-13). London: Routledge.

Supplementary

• Büchmann-Slorup, R. (2014). Applying critical chain buffer management theory in location-based management. Construction Management and Economics, 32(6), 506-519.
• Green, S., and May, S. (2005). Lean construction: arenas of enactment, models of diffusion and the meaning of ‘leanness’. Building Research and Information, 33(6), 498-511.

Quality

Mandatory

• Love, P.E.D., Smith, J., Ackermann, F., and Irani, Z. (2018). The praxis of stupidity: an explanation to understand the barriers mitigating rework in construction. Production Planning & Control, 29(13), 1112-1125.
• Koch, C., and Schultz, C.S. (2019). The production of defects in construction – an agency dissonance. Construction Management and Economics, 37(9), 499-512.

Renovation

Mandatory

• Ástmarsson, B., Jensen, P.A., and Maslesa, E. (2013). Sustainable renovation of residential buildings and the landlord/tenant dilemma. Energy Policy, 63, 355-362.
• Femenias, P., Jonsdotter, L., Forsemalm, J., Punzi, E., Bogdanova, E., Thodelius, C., and Granath, K. (2019). Residential movements in connection to renovation of rented multi-residential housing: A pilot study. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 297(1), 1-9.

Work Environment & Safety

Mandatory

• Grill, M., Pousette, A., Nielsen, K., Grytnes, R, and Törner, M. (2017). Safety leadership at construction sites: the importance of rule-oriented and participative leadership. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health, 43(4), 375-384.
• Koch, C. (2013). From crew to country - local and national construction safety cultures on construction sites. Construction Management and Economics, 31(6), 691-703.
• Thörnqvist, C., and Bernhardsson, S. (2015). Their own stories: How Polish construction workers posted to Sweden experience their job situation, or resistance versus life projects. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 21(1), 23–36.

Supplementary

• Baarts, C. (2009). Collective individualism: the informal and emergent dynamics of practising safety in a high‐risk work environment. Construction Management and Economics, 27(10), 949-957.
• Ju, C., and Rowlinson, S. (2014). Institutional determinants of construction safety management strategies of contractors in Hong Kong. Construction Management and Economics, 32(7-8), 725-736.

Diversity

Mandatory

• Tatum, B.D. (2000). The complexity of identity: “Who am I?". In: Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W.J., Hackman, H.W., Zuniga, X., Peters, M.L. (Eds.). Readings for diversity and social justice: An anthology on racism, sexism, anti-semitism, heterosexism, classism and ableism (9-14). New York: Routledge.

Waste management

Mandatory

• Byggföretagen (2019). Resource and waste guidelines for construction and demolition. Stockholm: Byggföretagen.

Structures of subcontracting

Mandatory

• Woolfson, C., Thörnqvist, C., and Sommers, J. (2010). The Swedish model and the future of labour standards after Laval. Industrial Relations Journal, 41(4), 333–350.

Corporate & Operations Strategy

Mandatory

• Bygballe, L., Håkansson, H., and Jahre, M. (2013). A critical discussion of models for conceptualizing the economic logic of construction. Construction Management and Economics, 31(2), 104-118.
• Koch, C., and Friis, O. (2015). Operations strategy development in project based production – a political process perspective. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management,  26(5), 501-514.

Supplementary

• Styhre, A., and Josephson, P.E. (2006). Revisiting site manager work: stuck in the middle? Construction Management and Economics, 24(5), 521-528.

Industrialized Construction

Mandatory

• Brege, S., Stehn, L., and Nord, T. (2014). Business models in industrialized building of multi-storey houses. Construction Management and Economics, 32(1-2), 208-226.
• Linner, T., Bock, T., (2012). Evolution of large‐scale industrialisation and service innovation in Japanese prefabrication industry. Construction Innovation, 12(2), 156-178.

Supplementary

• Meiling, J.H., Sandberg, M., and Johnsson, H. (2014). A study of a plan-do-check-act method used in less industrialized activities: two cases from industrialized housebuilding. Construction Management and Economics, 32(1-2), 109-125.
• Viking, A., and Lidelöw, S. (2015). Exploring industrialized housebuilders’ interpretations of local requirements using institutional logics. Construction Management and Economics, 33(5-6), 484-494.

Digital Building Logbooks

Supplementary

• Mêda, P., Calvetti, D., Kifokeris, D., and Kassem, M. (2022). A process-based framework for digital building logbooks. In: Hall, D. (ed.). Proc. 2022 European Conference on Computing in Construction. In press.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: Study plan (the description below is the most current version)

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course the student should be able to understand and apply theories, concepts and techniques on construction processes, especially during production and with a managerial perspective. This competence includes:

• The ability to identify and select the proper theory and approach to tackle challenges related to construction process, organisation, and management.
• The ability to draw practical insights from theories on, indicatively, human activities in construction processes, other process theories, and lean construction.
• The ability to analyze of the role of site management and project management, and their relationship to complex environments.
• The ability to appraise productivity and performance concepts (their advantages and disadvantages).

Content

The course integrates theoretical approaches with practical cases, with a focus on how construction processes should be led and organized. Key concepts include, but are not limited to:

• Processes
• Management
• Lean construction
• Industrialized construction
• Performance measurement

Organization

The course includes mandatory seminars and presentations, where the Chalmers rules of absense apply. BOM025 consists mainly of the following learning activities:

• Flipped lectures
• Guest lectures from the industry and academia
• Cases and exercises
• Two group assignments

Examination form

The examination of the course is related to achieving the goals mentioned earlier in the learning outcomes, and is done by two assignments:

• Assignment 1 - Literature seminar: A group work counting for 30% of the final grade. The timeframe for preparing, supervising, and presenting the assignment is noted in the Course schedule above. In particular, the introduction for Assignment 1 will take place on Monday 21/03, the supervision meetings during week 17, the uploading of the paper on Canvas on Friday 29/04, and the final presentation on Monday 09/05.
• Assignment 2 - Site study and manager interview: A group work counting for 70% of the final grade. The timeframe for preparing, supervising, and presenting the assignment is noted in the Course schedule above. In particular, the introduction for Assignment 2 will take place on Monday 21/03, the supervision meetings during week 20, the final presentation on Monday 23/05, and the uploading of the paper on Canvas on Thursday 25/05. After forming groups on Monday 21/03, you will all be assigned to a site manager working at a construction site, in order to work on this assignment.

If there are special reasons for doing so, the course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above - e.g. in case a student has acquired a decision from Chalmers on receiving educational support due to disability.

Changes made since the last occasion

The students' assessment from the previous academic year (2020/2021) were taken into thorough account. The course's examiner and staff opted for continuing with the course's content and attributes that gathered a positive feedback (e.g., the flipped format in sessions), and modified or updated the course content and attributes that received some kind of well-founded criticism. For example, an apparent student-identified lack of professional and practitioner perspectives is being tackled with inviting special expert practitioner guests.