Integration in project business : mechanisms for integrating customers and the project network during the life-cycle of industrial projects

This thesis focuses on integration in project business, i.e. how projectbased companies organize their product and process structures when they deliver industrial solutions to their customers. The customers that invest in these solutions run their businesses in different geographical, political and economical environments, which should be acknowledged by the supplier when providing solutions comprising of larger and more complex scopes than previously supplied to these customers. This means that the suppliers are increasing their supply range by taking over some of the activities in the value chain that have traditionally been handled by the customer. In order to be able to provide the functioning solutions, including more engineering hours, technical equipment and a wider project network, a change is needed in the mindset in order to be able to carry out and take the required responsibility that these new approaches bring. For the supplier it is important to be able to integrate technical products, systems and services, but the supplier also needs to have the capabilities to integrate the cross-functional organizations and departments in the project network, the knowledge and information between and within these organizations and departments, along with inputs from the customer into the product and process structures during the lifecycle of the project under development. Hence, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the challenges of integration that industrial projects meet, and based on that, to suggest a concept of how to manage integration in project business by making use of integration mechanisms. Integration is considered the essential process for accomplishing an industrial project, whereas the accomplishment of the industrial project is considered to be the result of the integration. The thesis consists of an extended summary and four papers, that are based on three studies in which integration mechanisms for value creation in industrial project networks and the management of integration in project business have been explored. The research is based on an inductive approach where in particular the design, commissioning and operations functions of industrial projects have been studied, addressing entire project life-cycles. The studies have been conducted in the shipbuilding and power generation industries where the scopes of supply consist of stand-alone equipment, equipment and engineering, and turnkey solutions. These industrial solutions include demanding efforts in engineering and organization. Addressing the calls for more studies on the evolving value chains of integrated solutions, mechanisms for inter- and intra-organizational integration and subsequent value creation in project networks have been explored. The research results in thirteen integration mechanisms and a typology for integration is proposed. Managing integration consists of integrating the project network (the supplier and the sub-suppliers) and the customer (the customer’s business purpose, operations environment and the end-user) into the project by making use of integration mechanisms. The findings bring new insight into research on industrial project business by proposing integration of technology and engineering related elements with elements related to customer oriented business performance in contemporary project environments. Thirteen mechanisms for combining products and the processes needed to deliver projects are described and categorized according to the impact that they have on the management of knowledge and information. These mechanisms directly relate to the performance of the supplier, and consequently to the functioning of the solution that the project provides. This thesis offers ways to promote integration of knowledge and information during the lifecycle of industrial projects, enhancing the development towards innovative solutions in project business.

Electrocoagulation in the treatment of industrial waters and wastewaters

Chemical coagulation is commonly used in raw water and wastewater treatment plants for the destabilisation of pollutants so that they can be removed in the subsequent separation processes. The most commonly used coagulation chemicals are aluminium and iron metal salts. Electrocoagulation technology has also been proposed for the treatment of raw waters and wastewaters. With this technology, metal cations are produced on the electrodes via electrolysis and these cations form various hydroxides in the water depending on the water pH. In addition to this main reaction, several side reactions, such as hydrogen bubble formation and the reduction of metals on cathodes, also take place in the cell. In this research, the applications of electrocoagulation were investigated in raw water treatment and wastewater applications. The surface water used in this research contained high concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM). The effect of the main parameters – current density, initial pH, electric charge per volume, temperature and electrolysis cell construction – on NOM removal were investigated. In the wastewater treatment studies, the removal of malodorous sulphides and toxic compounds from the wastewaters and debarking effluents were studied. Also, the main parameters of the treatment, such as initial pH and current density, were investigated. Aluminium electrodes were selected for the raw water treatment, whereas wastewaters and debarking effluent were treated with iron electrodes. According to results of this study, aluminium is more suitable electrode material for electrocoagulation applications because it produces Al(III) species. Metal ions and hydroxides produced by iron electrodes are less effective in the destabilisation of pollutants because iron electrodes produce more soluble and less charged Fe(II) species. However, Fe(II) can be effective in some special applications, such as sulphide removal. The resulting metal concentration is the main parameter affecting destabilisation of pollutants. Current density, treatment time, temperature and electrolysis cell construction affect the dissolution of electrodes and hence also the removal of pollutants. However, it seems that these parameters have minimal significance in the destabilization of the pollutants besides this effect (in the studied range of parameters). Initial pH and final pH have an effect on the dissolution of electrodes, but they also define what aluminium or iron species are formed in the solution and have an effect on the ζ-potential of all charged species in the solution. According to the results of this study, destabilisation mechanisms of pollutants by electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation are similar. Optimum DOC removal and low residual aluminium can be obtained simultaneously with electrocoagulation, which may be a significant benefit of electrocoagulation in surface water treatment compared to chemical coagulation. Surface water treatment with electrocoagulation can produce high quality water, which could be used as potable water or fresh water for industrial applications. In wastewater treatment applications, electrocoagulation can be used to precipitate malodorous sulphides to prevent their release into air. Technology seems to be able to remove some toxic pollutants from wastewater and could be used as pretreatment prior to treatment at a biological wastewater treatment plant. However, a thorough economic and ecological comparison of chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation is recommended, because these methods seem to be similar in pollutant destabilisation mechanisms, metal consumption and removal efficiency in most applications.

Enterprise applications migration to the cloud: risks and opportunities

Millions of enterprises move their applications to a cloud every year. According to Forrester Research “the global cloud computing market will grow from a $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020”. Due to increased interests and demand broad range of providers and solutions have appeared in the market. It is vital to be able to predict possible problems correctly and to classify and mitigate risks associated with the migration process. The study will show the main criteria that should be taken into consideration while making decision of moving enterprise applications to the cloud and choosing appropriate vendor. The main goal of the research is to identify main problems during the migration to a cloud and propose a solution for their prevention and mitigation of consequences in case of occurrence. The research provides an overview of existing cloud solutions and deployment models for enterprise applications. It identifies decision drivers of an applications migration to a cloud and potential risks and benefits associated with this. Finally, the best practices for the successful enterprise-to-cloud migration based on the case studies analysis are formulated.

Interaction with industrial customers from a project selling company's perspective

This thesis studied the issue of interaction in industrial buyer-seller relationships. The aim of the thesis was to study the interaction from the seller’s perspective, especially from a project selling company’s perspective. The purpose of the thesis was to offer suggestions for the case company on how to improve interaction. The theoretical part of the study introduced the interaction framework of buyer-seller interaction, and the concept of interaction mechanisms. The focus was on studying the seller’s ways and means to utilize the interaction mechanisms. A case study research was conducted in the empirical part of the study, in which interaction in the case company was observed at a general level and through three different projects. The case company of the study was a project selling company. The case study data was gathered through individual interviews. Content Analysis was used as a research method for analyzing the case study data. Based on the case study findings, the results were drawn. The results indicated what should be done, in order to develop interaction in the case company. Finally, suggestions were provided for the case company on how to improve interaction, and a suggested interaction model was established for the case company. Although the thesis studied the topic from the viewpoint of only one specific company, it also offers outlook for other seller companies to improve their interaction.

Applications of Industrial Statistics

This dissertation examines knowledge and industrial knowledge creation processes. It looks at the way knowledge is created in industrial processes based on data, which is transformed into information and finally into knowledge. In the context of this dissertation the main tool for industrial knowledge creation are different statistical methods. This dissertation strives to define industrial statistics. This is done using an expert opinion survey, which was sent to a number of industrial statisticians. The survey was conducted to create a definition for this field of applied statistics and to demonstrate the wide applicability of statistical methods to industrial problems. In this part of the dissertation, traditional methods of industrial statistics are introduced. As industrial statistics are the main tool for knowledge creation, the basics of statistical decision making and statistical modeling are also included. The widely known Data Information Knowledge Wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy serves as a theoretical background for this dissertation. The way that data is transformed into information, information into knowledge and knowledge finally into wisdom is used as a theoretical frame of reference. Some scholars have, however, criticized the DIKW model. Based on these different perceptions of the knowledge creation process, a new knowledge creation process, based on statistical methods is proposed. In the context of this dissertation, the data is a source of knowledge in industrial processes. Because of this, the mathematical categorization of data into continuous and discrete types is explained. Different methods for gathering data from processes are clarified as well. There are two methods for data gathering in this dissertation: survey methods and measurements. The enclosed publications provide an example of the wide applicability of statistical methods in industry. In these publications data is gathered using surveys and measurements. Enclosed publications have been chosen so that in each publication, different statistical methods are employed in analyzing of data. There are some similarities between the analysis methods used in the publications, but mainly different methods are used. Based on this dissertation the use of statistical methods for industrial knowledge creation is strongly recommended. With statistical methods it is possible to handle large datasets and different types of statistical analysis results can easily be transformed into knowledge.

A Method for reducing throughput-time in industrial electronics

Lyhyet toimitusajat tuovat yrityksille kilpailuetua nopeasti muuttuvassa teollisuusympäristössä. Tämän diplomityön ensisijaisena tavoitteena on löytää kirjallisuuden avulla yrityksen käyttöön soveltuva menetelmä, joka soveltuu systemaattiseen läpimenoaikojen lyhentämiseen. Tärkeää on myös varmistaa valitun menetelmän soveltuvuus kohdeyrityksen ympäristöön. Työn toisena tavoitteena on ymmärtää, että minkälaisella panostuksella yhden päivän läpimenoaika voidaan saavuttaa. Kirjallisuustutkimuksen avulla on valittu tarkoitukseen sopiva toimintamalli. Menetelmä on testattu yhdellä tuotantolinjalla ja saadut tulokset sekä palaute osoittavat, että se näyttäisi soveltuvan kohdeyrityksen käyttöön. Tuotantolinjalle on tehty toimintasuunnitelma yhden päivän toimitusajan saavuttamiseksi vuoden 2013 aikana. Haasteen laajuutta koko kohdeyrityksessä on tutkittu erillisessä ideointisessiossa. Session tulosten perusteella on tehty prioriteettilista, joka antaa käsityksen toimitusajan merkittävän lyhentämisen vaatimuksista. Yleisesti ottaen kysynnän vaihtelun hallinta on suurin haaste, mutta useita ratkaisuvaihtoehtoja tämän hallitsemiseksi on tunnistettu.

The Application of Enterprise Architecture Approach to Military Concept Development–Case Study

Abstract—Concept development and experimentation (CD&E) plays an important role in driving strategic transformation in the military community. Defence architecture frameworks, such as the NATO architecture framework, are considered excellent means to support CD&E. There is not much empirical evidence, however, to indicate how enterprise architectures (EA) are applied in the military community or particularly in military CD&E. Consequently, this paper describes and discusses empirical application of the EA approach in CD&E. The research method in the paper is a case study. Situational method engineering (SiME) is used as a framework to adapt the EA approach to the case project of the paper. The findings of the paper suggest that the EA is applicable to CD&E work, although all aspects of the original concept could not be expressed in the EA model of the case project. The results also show that the SiME method can support in applying the EA framework to the CD&E in the case project.

Design of RFID-system for industrial after-sale service

RFID-tekniikka on radiotaajuudella toimivaa etätunnistusta, jossa hyödynnetään RFID-tunnisteiksi kutsuttuja tageja, sekä RFID-lukijoita. RFID-tekniikan käyttökohteet ovat erittäin laajat. Tässä kandidaatintyössä tutkitaan RFID-tekniikan hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia teollisuuden huoltopalvelusuhteessa. Työ keskittyy huollettavien laitteiden etätunnistamiseen mobiileja RFID-lukijoita hyödyntäen. Laitteiden tiedot noudetaan olemassa olevasta tietokannasta web-käyttöliittymän kautta. Koska laitteet koostuvat pääosin metallista, joudutaan tunnistetyyppien valintaa pohtimaan tarkasti. Metallipinnat sekä nesteet vaikuttavat erittäin negatiivisesti useiden tunnisteiden lukuetäisyyteen. Työssä keskitytään vaadittavan järjestelmän suunnittelemiseen aikaisempia tutkimuksia hyödyntäen, mutta itse järjestelmän toteutus ei kuulu tähän kandidaatintyöhön. Lopussa järjestelmän alustava suunnitelma esitellään.

DEVELOPING SOCIAL CAPITAL WITHIN COMPANIES THROUGH ENTERPRISE 2.0

Whereas external social media has been studied, hyped and integrated into companies´ strategies, an insignificant concentration has been put on internal social solutions, which companies provide increasingly to their personnel. An enterprise focusing solely on the benefits of external social media might end up underestimating the true potential embedded in social business. The purpose of this thesis was to examine how social collaboration can be depicted as a structuration process in an Enterprise 2.0 environment. Furthermore, this thesis sought to reveal the benefits, challenges and possibilities of social business. This thesis focused on researching Enterprise 2.0 at the workplace. The studied Enterprise 2.0 solution was IBM Connections. The qualitative research methodology was an extensive case study. Three companies took part into this thesis and all in all 12 employees were interviewed. Additionally, seven IBM Social Business Experts were interviewed in order to receive a better understanding of the phenomenon. Three research questions were designed to fulfill the purpose of this thesis. The research questions were: 1. How are the dimensions of social capital structured through collaboration? 2. How does agency form in Enterprise 2.0? 3. How does social collaboration emerge as a result of the interplay between agency and dimensions of social capital in an Enterprise 2.0 environment and creates outcomes such as trust, identification and knowledge? The main research findings indicate that social collaboration increases trust, identification and knowledge by giving employees more capabilities to do their work. Consequently, social collaboration increases company performance by making individuals and groups more effective. The support of top management is crucial in making Enterprise 2.0 successful, because it is more a cultural than a technological change. Power agency, the lack of top management support and old established work ways such as email and databases work as barriers to social collaboration.

Lectio praecursoria : Systems between information and knowledge : in a memory management model of an extended enterprise

VTT Jouni Meriluodon valtio-opin alaan kuuluva väitöskirja Systems between information and knowledge : in a memory management model of an extended enterprise tarkastettiin 21.6.2011 Helsingin yliopistossa.

Diversification benefits for a Finnish non-industrial private forest investor: Real Estate Investment Trusts in the USA

This thesis examined both domestic and international forest investment options for a Finnish non-industrial private forest investor. The focus was on forest-based investment instruments. The influence of movements of currency exchange rates on foreign returns were also taken into account. Annual data from 1995 to 2011 was used. The main portfolio optimization model in this study was the Mean-Variance model but the results were also validated by using the Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall models. In addition, the exchange rate risk hedging was established by using one-week-maturity forward contracts. The results suggested that 75 % of the total wealth should be invested in Finnish private forests and the rest, 25 %, to a US REIT, in this case Rayonier. With hedging, the total return on the portfolio was 7.21 % (NIPF 5.3%) with the volatility of 6.63 % (NIPF 7.9%). Taxation supported US investments in this case. As a conclusion, a Finnish private forest investor may, as evidenced, benefit in diversifying a portfolio using REITs in the US.

Customer Segmentation in Industrial Markets - CASE: Labelstock Company

The aim of this thesis is to study segmentation in industrial markets and develop a segmenting method proposal and criteria case study for a labelstock manufacturing company. An industrial company is facing many different customers with varying needs. Market segmentation is a process for dividing a market into smaller groups in which customers have the same or similar needs. Segmentation gives tools to the marketer to better match the product or service more closely to the needs of the target market. In this thesis a segmentation tool proposal and segmenting criteria is case studied for labelstock company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business area customers and market. In the developed matrix tool different customers are planned to be evaluated based on customer characteristic variables. The criteria for the evaluating matrix are based on the customer’s buying organizations characteristics and buying behaviour. There are altogether 13 variables in the evaluating matrix. As an example of variables there are loyalty, size of the customer, estimated growth of the customer purchases and customer’s decision-making and buying behaviour. These characteristic variables will help to identify market segments to target and the customers belonging to those segments.

Profiling the Value of Industrial Maintenance Services

Industrial maintenance can be executed internally, acquired from the original equipment manufacturer or outsourced to a service provider, and this concludes in many different kind of business relationships. To maximize the total value in a maintenance business relationship it is important to know what the partner values. The value of maintenance services can be considered to consist of value elements and the perceived total value for the customer and the service provider is the sum of these value elements. The specific objectives of this thesis are to identify the most important value elements for the maintenance service customer and provider and also to recognize where the value elements differ. The study was executed as a statistical analysis using the survey method. The data has been collected by an online survey sent to 345 maintenance service professionals in Finland. In the survey, four different types of value elements were considered: the customer’s high critical and low critical items and the service provider’s core and support service. The most valued elements by the respondents were reliability, safety at work, environmental safety, and operator knowledge. The least valued elements were asset management factors and access to markets. Statistically significant differences in value elements between service types were also found. As a managerial implication a value gap profile is presented. This Master’s Thesis is part of the MaiSeMa (Industrial Maintenance Services in a Renewing Business Network: Identify, Model and Manage Value) research project where network decision models are created to identify, model and manage the value of maintenance services.

Integration of Electronic Commerce and Enterprise Systems

The necessity of EC (Electronic Commerce) and enterprise systems integration is perceived from the integrated nature of enterprise systems. The proven benefits of EC to provide competitive advantages to the organizations force enterprises to adopt and integrate EC with their enterprise systems. Integration is a complex task to facilitate seamless flow of information and data between different systems within and across enterprises. Different systems have different platforms, thus to integrate systems with different platforms and infrastructures, integration technologies, such as middleware, SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture), ESB (Enterprise Service Bus), JCA (J2EE Connector Architecture), and B2B (Business-to-Business) integration standards are required. Huge software vendors, such as Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP suggest various solutions to address EC and enterprise systems integration problems. There are limited numbers of literature about the integration of EC and enterprise systems in detail. Most of the studies in this area have focused on the factors which influence the adoption of EC by enterprise or other studies provide limited information about a specific platform or integration methodology in general. Therefore, this thesis is conducted to cover the technical details of EC and enterprise systems integration and covers both the adoption factors and integration solutions. In this study, many literature was reviewed and different solutions were investigated. Different enterprise integration approaches as well as most popular integration technologies were investigated. Moreover, various methodologies of integrating EC and enterprise systems were studied in detail and different solutions were examined. In this study, the influential factors to adopt EC in enterprises were studied based on previous literature and categorized to technical, social, managerial, financial, and human resource factors. Moreover, integration technologies were categorized based on three levels of integration, which are data, application, and process. In addition, different integration approaches were identified and categorized based on their communication and platform. Also, different EC integration solutions were investigated and categorized based on the identified integration approaches. By considering different aspects of integration, this study is a great asset to the architectures, developers, and system integrators in order to integrate and adopt EC with enterprise systems.

Modelling flexible asset management in industrial maintenance companies and networks

The tightening competition and increasing dynamism have created an emerging need for flexible asset management. This means that the changes of market demand should be responded to with adjustments in the amount of assets tied to the balance sheets of companies. On the other hand, industrial maintenance has recently experienced drastic changes, which have led to an increase in the number of maintenance networks (consisting of customer companies that buy maintenance services, as well as various supplier companies) and inter-organizational partnerships. However, the research on maintenance networks has not followed the changes in the industry. Instead, there is a growing need for new ways of collaboration between partnering companies to enhance the competitiveness of the whole maintenance network. In addition, it is more and more common for companies to pursue lean operations in their businesses. This thesis shows how flexible asset management can increase the profitability of maintenance companies and networks under dynamic operating conditions, and how the additional value can then be shared between the network partners. Firstly, I have conducted a systematic literature review to identify what kind of requirements for asset management models are set by the increasing dynamism. Then I have responded to these requirements by constructing an analytical model for flexible asset management, linking asset management to the profitability and financial state of a company. The thesis uses the model to show how flexible asset management can increase profitability in maintenance companies and networks, and how the created value can be shared in the networks to reach a win-win situation. The research indicates that the existing models for asset management are heterogeneous by nature due to the various definitions of ‘asset management’. I conclude that there is a need for practical asset management models which address assets comprehensively with an inter-organizational, strategic view. The comprehensive perspective, taking all kinds of asset types into account, is needed to integrate the research on asset management with the strategic management of companies and networks. I will show that maintenance companies can improve their profitability by increasing the flexibility of their assets. In maintenance networks, reorganizing the ownership of the assets among the different network partners can create additional value. Finally, I will introduce flexible asset management contracts for maintenance networks. These contracts address the value sharing related to reorganizing the ownership of assets according to the principles of win-win situations.