Organització de la producció: problemes [versió html]

Aquest manual recull un conjunt de problemes, alguns resolts i d’altres no, que complementen l’aprenentatge en l’àmbit de l’organització de la producció. El seu enfocament està dirigit a estudis universitaris, i pretén ser un complement dels manuals ja existents, mitjançant la resolució dels problemes més habituals a resoldre en l’Organització de la Producció

Organització de la producció: problemes [versió comprimida]

Aquest manual recull un conjunt de problemes, alguns resolts i d’altres no, que complementen l’aprenentatge en l’àmbit de l’organització de la producció. El seu enfocament està dirigit a estudis universitaris, i pretén ser un complement dels manuals ja existents, mitjançant la resolució dels problemes més habituals a resoldre en l’Organització de la Producció

El Outsourcing en la dinámica de sistemas hacia mercados extranjeros

Este trabajo recopila literatura académica relevante sobre estrategias de entrada y metodologías para la toma de decisión sobre la contratación de servicios de Outsourcing para el caso de empresas que planean expandirse hacia mercados extranjeros. La manera en que una empresa planifica su entrada a un mercado extranjero, y realiza la consideración y evaluación de información relevante y el diseño de la estrategia, determina el éxito o no de la misma. De otro lado, las metodologías consideradas se concentran en el nivel estratégico de la pirámide organizacional. Se parte de métodos simples para llegar a aquellos basados en la Teoría de Decisión Multicriterio, tanto individuales como híbridos. Finalmente, se presenta la Dinámica de Sistemas como herramienta valiosa en el proceso, por cuanto puede combinarse con métodos multicriterio.

Análisis de la relación entre la accidentalidad y el incremento de trabajo en un proyecto de la construcción en Colombia durante los años 2012 y 2013

La construcción es una de las industrias que mayores accidentes laborales genera, en esta investigación se realizó un análisis retrospectivo para determinar si existe alguna relación entre la ocurrencia de accidentes y la fecha de entrega de una meta, debido al incremento en la cantidad de trabajo expresado por la cantidad de días y horas extras trabajados, se cuenta con información de la accidentalidad de cinco empresas constructoras de un gran proyecto vial en Colombia en los años de 2012 y 2013. Se analizó la información correspondiente a la nómina de las mismas empresas, con el valor de la nómina mensual, el valor de las incapacidades mensuales y la cantidad de trabajadores por cada empresa en cada periodo. El manejo de los datos se hizo con EXCEL y el análisis estadístico con STATA 11.1, se usó la correlación de Spearman para encontrar la relación entre la cantidad de accidentes acumulados y: la cantidad acumulada de días trabajados en cada mes, la cantidad acumulada de horas extras trabajadas mensualmente y el costo acumulado en porcentaje de la nómina mensual, encontrándose en todos los casos una relación lineal. Por otra parte, se realizó una prueba binomial para establecer la relación de la fecha de entrega de la meta con la accidentalidad 30 días antes y después, encontrando que la accidentalidad aumenta en la proximidad previa a la entrega de la meta

Percepción del riesgo biológico en el personal asistencial en un hospital de alta complejidad de la ciudad de Bogotá.

OBJETIVOS: Identificar la percepción del riesgo biológico de los trabajadores asistenciales del Hospital Central de la Policía Nacional en la ciudad de Bogotá. METODOS: se realizó un estudio analítico de corte transversal para describir la percepción acerca del riesgo biológico en 159 trabajadores asistenciales de un hospital de alta complejidad en la ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia), la información se recolectó por medio de la utilización de la encuesta validada nota técnica 578 (Portell M, Solé M, 2001). Se realizó la caracterización de la población por variables de sexo, edad, tiempo de experiencia y servicio al cual pertenece y se promediaron las respuestas obtenidas para cada ítem encuestado, obteniendo una clasificación para cada dimensión de percepción de riesgo baja (1 a 3), media (4 a 5) o alta (6 a 7). Resultados: De los 159 trabajadores asistenciales encuestados el 80.4% eran de género femenino, el 22.2% pertenecían al servicio de urgencias, el 16,5% al servicio de medicina interna y el 9.5% al servicio de pediatría, de los encuestados el 62.9% fueron auxiliares de enfermería, el 21,4% enfermeras jefes y el 6.9% médicos. Se obtuvo una percepción de riesgo alta (media aritmética mayor de 5) para todas las variables incluidas en la encuesta, demostrando conocimiento de todo el personal acerca de la alta exposición a accidentes de tipo biológico. No se encontró asociación entre la labor desempeñada y la percepción del riesgo biológico, sin embargo, se encontró una asociación entre el tiempo de experiencia del trabajador y una disminución en la magnitud del riesgo percibido (Chi cuadrado de asociación, p=0.042). Conclusiones: Los trabajadores asistenciales identifican la magnitud del riesgo biológico al que se encuentran expuestos en sus labores del día a día, sin embargo, es necesaria una mayor participación por parte del personal directivo y de los responsables de la prevención en temas de reacción ante accidentes y en la valoración del riesgo, especialmente en personas que llevan mucho tiempo desempeñando la labor.

Logística externa de materiais : dificuldades em obras de construção em Angola

The objectives of this article are to analyze the role of external logistics in the construction sites in Angola and to evaluate the problems inherent in this activity in this country so we can find ways of increasing the rationalization of the production and, as a consequence of that, the competitiveness of Portuguese contractors operating in Angola. In spite of logistics being an administrative process that is incorporated, mainly, in the seriated industrial companies, it must also be applied to the construction industry because it presents unquestionable and vital benefits to its performance. Nevertheless, the evolution of logistics applied to the construction has been poor, which is proved by the limited bibliography in this area. This happens for two reasons: the intrinsic specificities of this industry and the consequent inapplicability of algorithms to rationalize production. Although it’s not viable to approach the logistics of construction through numeric models, it’s not unreasonable to study logistics applied to this area. Despite the fact that an approach to the construction logistics by numeric modeling is not viable, studying this theme continues to be meaningful. In most of the industries and especially in the construction one, the supply of resources (materials, equipments, workmanship or subcontractors) is an essential factor for the success of a business. The optimization of management of the supply chain for the construction industry constitutes one of the ways of optimizing a company and, especially, of increasing the profitability of its operations. Only through an improved logistic efficiency is it possible to take competitive advantage in the current market and, particularly, in the international market. In order for that to happen it is necessary to start making businessmen aware of the specific logistic difficulties in this industry and of ways to solve them either by disclosing them or by making businessmen reflect about them.

Planeamento estratégico de sistemas de informação em empresa de construção

Os Sistemas de Informação têm influenciado a vida quotidiana a um ritmo inesperado e com mudanças significativas na setor da construção, cuja importância é crucial para a economia de qualquer país. Sendo Angola, um país de economia emergente, caracterizado por um mercado em expansão e reestruturação, onde as decisões de Sistema Informação ainda são tomadas de forma isolada, e cada vez mais investidores estão a atuar no país, impulsionando o crescimento, é imperioso para o sector a identificação e exploração de Sistemas de Informação flexíveis e adaptáveis para fazer face as forças competitivas do setor. Partindo desta envolvente a presente dissertação visa ressaltar o reconhecimento da importância do Planeamento Estratégico de Sistemas de Informação-PESI para as organizações atuais. Neste contexto realizou-se o estudo de PESI em torno de um caso concreto numa Pequena Media Empresa, Angolana, a Terponte,SA, cujo objectivo é fornecer a construtora um plano em termos de SI para futuro. Os dados foram recolhidos através da utilização dos métodos qualitativos e quantitativos, sendo os mais pertinentes a análise documental, observação direta, entrevistas, questionários aos órgãos da empresa em estudo e demais intuições. A análise dos dados demonstrou uma deficiente gestão da informação, bem como inexistência de integração aplicacional. A presente dissertação pretende contribuir para o avanço do conhecimento científico no domínio do Planeamento Estratégico dos Sistemas de Informação e para a resolução de problemas específicos nomeadamente nas empresas do setor da construção civil.

The influence of project complexity on estimating accuracy

With the rapid development in technology over recent years, construction, in common with many areas of industry, has become increasingly complex. It would, therefore, seem to be important to develop and extend the understanding of complexity so that industry in general and in this case the construction industry can work with greater accuracy and efficiency to provide clients with a better service. This paper aims to generate a definition of complexity and a method for its measurement in order to assess its influence upon the accuracy of the quantity surveying profession in UK new build office construction. Quantitative data came from an analysis of twenty projects of varying size and value and qualitative data came from interviews with professional quantity surveyors. The findings highlight the difficulty in defining and measuring project complexity. The correlation between accuracy and complexity was not straightforward, being subjected to many extraneous variables, particularly the impact of project size. Further research is required to develop a better measure of complexity. This is in order to improve the response of quantity surveyors, so that an appropriate level of effort can be applied to individual projects, permitting greater accuracy and enabling better resource planning within the profession.

What are the costs of procurement and who bears them?

The costs of procurement are transaction costs which are separate from the direct costs of a project. In this paper discussion is concentrated on costs of tendering. Types of cost, including money costs and opportunity costs, short-term and long-term costs, private and social costs are defined and examined in relation to various types of product and methods of procurement. The costs of the contractor and of the client are considered and tentative conclusions drawn as to who bears these costs in the short-run and in the long run. They may fall on the parties to the process for the particular project, on other contractors and clients or on society as a whole.

Knowledge sharing: Context, confusion and controversy

Project managers in the construction industry increasingly seek to learn from other industrial sectors. Knowledge sharing between different contexts is thus viewed as an essential source of competitive advantage. It is important therefore for project managers from all sectors to address and develop appropriate methods of knowledge sharing. However, too often it is assumed that knowledge freely exists and can be captured and shared between contexts. Such assumptions belie complexities and problems awaiting the unsuspecting knowledge-sharing protagonist. Knowledge per se is a problematic esoteric concept that does not lend itself easily to codification. Specifically tacit knowledge possessed by individuals, presents particular methodological issues for those considering harnessing its utility in return for competitive advantage. The notion that knowledge is also embedded in specific social contexts compounds this complexity. It is argued that knowledge is highly individualistic and concomitant with the various surrounding contexts within which it is shaped and enacted. Indeed, these contexts are also shaped as a consequence of knowledge adding further complexity to the problem domain. Current methods of knowledge capture, transfer and, sharing fall short of addressing these problematic issues. Research is presented that addresses these problems and proposes an alternative method of knowledge sharing. Drawing on data and observations collected from its application, the findings clearly demonstrate the crucial role of re-contextualisation, social interaction and dialectic debate in understanding knowledge sharing.

A review of the use of demonstration projects to achieve widespread adoption of innovative practices

The UK construction industry has embarked on one of the largest experiments in the implementation of innovative technologies and practices in its history. Following Rethinking Construction[1], generally known as the Egan Report, the Movement for Innovation was established with the aim of using demonstration projects as practical examples of innovation in order to encourage others to follow the example. The number of demonstration projects has exceeded the original plans and more are being added. This paper reviews the approach in terms of the practice of using demonstration projects to achieve widespread take up of innovation, the modifications to the programme and its management and considers future developments to improve its, effectiveness.

Horses for courses: Relating innovation diffusion concepts to the stage of the diffusion process

The research uses a sociological perspective to build an improved, context specific understanding of innovation diffusion within the UK construction industry. It is argued there is an iterative interplay between actors and the social system they occupy that directly influences the diffusion process as well as the methodology adopted. The research builds upon previous findings that argued a level of best fit for the three innovation diffusion concepts of cohesion, structural equivalence and thresholds. That level of best fit is analysed here using empirical data from the UK construction industry. This analysis allows an understanding of how the relative importance of these concepts' actually varies within the stages of the innovation diffusion process. The conclusion that the level of relevance fluctuates in relation to the stages of the diffusion process is a new development in the field.

The diffusion of innovations within a UKCI context: An explanatory framework

The UK Construction Industry has been criticized for being slow to change and adopt innovations. The idiosyncrasies of participants, their roles in a social system and the contextual differences between sections of the UK Construction Industry are viewed as being paramount to explaining innovation diffusion within this context. Three innovation diffusion theories from outside construction management literature are introduced, Cohesion, Structural Equivalence and Thresholds. The relevance of each theory, in relation to the UK Construction Industry, is critically reviewed using literature and empirical data. Analysis of the data results in an explanatory framework being proposed. The framework introduces a Personal Awareness Threshold concept, highlights the dominant role of Cohesion through the main stages of diffusion, together with the use of Structural Equivalence during the later stages of diffusion and the importance of Adoption Threshold levels.

Critical success factors for competitiveness of contractors: A China study

Gaining or maintaining a “contractor's” competitive advantage is not easy as it is determined by a large number of factors. Identification of critical success factors (CSFs) allows one to reduce the vast number of factors to some manageable few but vital ones. Based on the CSFs, contractors' limited resources such as money and manpower can be allocated and aligned appropriately for yielding a maximum outcome of overall competitiveness. This paper describes the CSFs identified from a survey study carried out in Mainland China. The ranking analysis of the survey results shows that 35 factors are rated as critical for determining the competitiveness of a contractor. Factor analysis reveals that the 35 CSFs identified can be grouped into eight clusters, namely, project management skills, organization structure, resources, competitive strategy, relationships, bidding, marketing, and technology. The CSFs in this study provide a vehicle for guiding a contractor in managing its resources in order to improve competitive advantage. The study also provides insights into the management of competitiveness for contractors that are operating in the particular context of the Chinese construction industry.