Modelización bajo el enfoque de dinámica de sistemas de una cadena de abastecimiento para la industria vitivinícola

El proyecto de tesis denominado “Modelización bajo el enfoque de dinámica de sistemas de una cadena de abastecimiento para la industria vitivinícola” busca construir un modelo que aporte una solución óptima al problema logístico encontrado en la cadena de suministro, para que empresas nacionales o internacionales que tengan un funcionamiento similar al del sistema estudiado, puedan tomarlo como ejemplo o referencia. Así mismo, esta investigación pretende encontrar los problemas más frecuentes en cadenas de este tipo con el fin de construir un marco conceptual y teórico fundamentado en la Teoría General de Sistemas (TGS) que genere finalmente un modelo basado en la dinámica de sistemas el cual permitirá a las empresas diseñar y comparar las diferentes intervenciones derivadas del modelo que propicien la generación de capacidades dirigidas al logro de la competitividad de forma perdurable.

The practice of sustainable facilities management: Design sentiments and the knowledge chasm

The construction industry with its nature of project delivery is very fragmented in terms of the various processes that encompass design, construction, facilities and assets management. Facilities managers are in the forefront of delivering sustainable assets management and hence further the venture for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. A questionnaire survey was conducted to establish perceptions, level of commitment and knowledge chasm in practising sustainable facilities management (FM). This has significant implications for sustainable design management, especially in a fragmented industry. The majority of questionnaire respondents indicated the importance of sustainability for their organization. Many of them stated that they reported on sustainability as part of their organization annual reporting with energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction as the main concern for them. The overwhelming barrier for implementing sound, sustainable FM is the lack of consensual understanding and focus of individuals and organizations about sustainability. There is a knowledge chasm regarding practical information on delivering sustainable FM. Sustainability information asymmetry in design, construction and FM processes render any sustainable design as a sentiment and mere design aspiration. Skills and training provision, traditionally offered separately to designers and facilities managers, needs to be re-evaluated. Sustainability education and training should be developed to provide effective structures and processes to apply sustainability throughout the construction and FM industries coherently and as common practice.

Strategic organization in projects and firms through software integration

As integrated software solutions reshape project delivery, they alter the bases for collaboration and competition across firms in complex industries. This paper synthesises and extends literatures on strategy in project-based industries and digitally-integrated work to understand how project-based firms interact with digital infrastructures for project delivery. Four identified strategies are to: 1) develop and use capabilities to shape the integrated software solutions that are used in projects; 2) co-specialize, developing complementary assets to work repeatedly with a particular integrator firm; 3) retain flexibility by developing and maintaining capabilities in multiple digital technologies and processes; and 4) manage interfaces, translating work into project formats for coordination while hiding proprietary data and capabilities in internal systems. The paper articulates the strategic importance of digital infrastructures for delivery as well as product architectures. It concludes by discussing managerial implications of the identified strategies and areas for further research.

From projects into operations: lessons for data handover

Data from civil engineering projects can inform the operation of built infrastructure. This paper captures lessons for such data handover, from projects into operations, through interviews with leading clients and their supply chain. Clients are found to value receiving accurate and complete data. They recognise opportunities to use high quality information in decision-making about capital and operational expenditure; as well as in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Providing this value to clients is a motivation for information management in projects. However, data handover is difficult as key people leave before project completion; and different data formats and structures are used in project delivery and operations. Lessons learnt from leading practice include defining data requirements at the outset, getting operations teams involved early, shaping the evolution of interoperable systems and standards, developing handover processes to check data rather than documentation, and fostering skills to use and update project data in operations

Using a knowledge management evaluation framework for improving an ERP system - a Hong Kong construction industry case study

Organisations need to rely on leadership, information support and human capital in order to ensure a knowledge advantage over their competitors. Knowledge management (KM) provides organisations with sustainable competitive advantage, because it becomes extremely difficult for an organisation to cut expenditure and increase revenue by simply reengineering its business model. Project delivery and success has been traditionally viewed and measured as management of a three-legged stool, with the legs defined as cost, schedule and quality. However, KM can be linked to success by organisations becoming more effective as well as being more efficient.

This paper uses a KM framework, the Knowledge Advantage (K-Adv), developed initially for use by construction organisations. It assesses the impact of leadership and its supporting information communication technology infrastructure on the ability of people (by effectively creating, sharing, disseminating and using knowledge) to facilitate sustainable competitive advantage.

A case study that is presented is based upon the experience of a leading construction company using an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system to demonstrate the effectiveness of KM from a cost management business unit perspective. Results are evaluated using a capability maturity model (CMM) - that forms the core of the K-Adv tool - to help improve processes that meet the needs of the organisation operating in a highly dynamic business environment. The case study is part of a broader doctoral research project that uses action learning to facilitate and measure ERP improvement.

Examining and quantifying the drivers behind alterations and extensions to commercial buildings in a central business district

The drive to undertake building adaptation has increased in momentum, the primary reason being adaptation can be less expensive than new build and conventionally result in faster project delivery times. The issue of sustainable development is another clear driver for adaptation and collectively buildings contribute around half of all greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time governments seek effective and efficient ways of reducing the contribution of cities to climate change and building adaptation appears to offer a practical means of reducing building-related emissions. One example is the ‘1200 building program’ which aims to increase adaptation rates with a target of 1200 city centre office adaptations by 2020 as part of the strategy to achieve carbon neutrality. Through a longitudinal examination of building adaptations it is possible to identify the nature and extent of typical levels of adaptation, as well as determining the inter-relationship between different types of adaptation and building attributes. Melbourne city centre was used for a case study which analysed 5290 building adaptation events between 1998 and 2008. The findings promote the adaptive reuse of buildings in specific circumstances and are directly applicable for increasing sustainability in the built environment. The case study focused on existing buildings in a global city to ensure relevance to urban centres where existing commercial buildings can become part of the solution to mitigate climate change.

Framework for improving the constructability of raised floor systems in Australian office buildings

Despite the great benefits that it can potentially contribute to modern workplace environment, raised floor system (RFS) encountered many barriers in the process of its applications for the fitout of office buildings in the Australian construction industry. Through a set of comprehensive research activities, the significant influence factors (SIFs) and problems associated with the RFS fitout implementation are identified. Further discussion of these SIFs and problems unearths a range of project level critical factors (PLCFs) pertaining to the RFS fitout design, construction, operation and maintenance, which presents firsthand checklists for the project team to review in the project delivery process. These factors need to be accommodated appropriately in order to enhance the implementation of the RFS fitout in Australian office buildings. Following a constructability study, a framework was developed by integrating these SIFs and PLCFs into the delivery of the RFS fitout in an aim to enhance the project constructability and minimize problems in the RFS service performance.

Disputes resolution : can Bim help overcome barriers?

Many researchers consider disputes as part of the project lifecycle. Although preventative actions exist, it is not utterly possible to avoid them. Once the disputes arise, an appropriate resolution technique should be adopted. Common perception is referring to a resolution method either internally or via a third party; which may also be binding by law. The resolution process requires attention to the disputed claims. Hence, deep investigation of the claims and choosing the appropriate method is crucial for the successful project delivery and reputation of the industry.

Preparation of disputed claims and resolution process also faces many debates. Conducting To effective dispute resolution requires attention to proper preparation and presentation of the incurred events. All the required information should be acquired to estimate and present the claim, for a smooth settlement. As an integrated digital model of the project, BIM, stores all the information of the projects in detail. Retrieval of the required information for the disputed issues can easily be obtained from the model. It is also possible to embed the construction schedule, change orders and variations, specifications and financial data such as cash flow along with the multidisciplinary drawings. As this model stores all the information at every particular time and phase, disputes can be concluded quick and accurate.

In this research, using a case study and literature review, disputes and resolution processes are deeply studied. A BIM model is created to investigate benefits on overcoming the challenges; during claiming, and resolution of the disputes. It is seen that the claims are prepared faster and more accurate in a visualized environment provided by BIM. Furthermore, substantiating and presenting the disputes for the resolution purpose was incomparable to the traditional methods. The conclusions recommend that; even the project did not adopt a BIM model earlier; it can be created for a smooth process, during claiming and resolution of disputes.

Time, Cost, and Environmental Impact Analysis for Sustainable Design at Multiple Building Levels

Construction projects are complex endeavors that require the involvement of different professional disciplines in order to meet various project objectives that are often conflicting. The level of complexity and the multi-objective nature of construction projects lend themselves to collaborative design and construction such as integrated project delivery (IPD), in which relevant disciplines work together during project conception, design and construction. Traditionally, the main objectives of construction projects have been to build in the least amount of time with the lowest cost possible, thus the inherent and well-established relationship between cost and time has been the focus of many studies. The importance of being able to effectively model relationships among multiple objectives in building construction has been emphasized in a wide range of research. In general, the trade-off relationship between time and cost is well understood and there is ample research on the subject. However, despite sustainable building designs, relationships between time and environmental impact, as well as cost and environmental impact, have not been fully investigated. The objectives of this research were mainly to analyze and identify relationships of time, cost, and environmental impact, in terms of CO2 emissions, at different levels of a building: material level, component level, and building level, at the pre-use phase, including manufacturing and construction, and the relationships of life cycle cost and life cycle CO2 emissions at the usage phase. Additionally, this research aimed to develop a robust simulation-based multi-objective decision-support tool, called SimulEICon, which took construction data uncertainty into account, and was capable of incorporating life cycle assessment information to the decision-making process. The findings of this research supported the trade-off relationship between time and cost at different building levels. Moreover, the time and CO2 emissions relationship presented trade-off behavior at the pre-use phase. The results of the relationship between cost and CO2 emissions were interestingly proportional at the pre-use phase. The same pattern continually presented after the construction to the usage phase. Understanding the relationships between those objectives is a key in successfully planning and designing environmentally sustainable construction projects.

Sponsorship and IT vendor management of projects

Project sponsorship is assumed to be critical to the success of information systems development and implementation. However, there is limited research on the effect of vendor-based sponsorship on the management of information technology (IT) projects. This paper contributes to that emerging body of evidence. Drawing on literature on psychological contract, management control and project sponsorship, the authors propose that vendor-based sponsors influence project performance in two main ways. One is to protect project quality by renegotiating contract with the client; and the other is to resource the project. Based on a survey of senior managers in IT services vendor organisations, it reports that project sponsorship improves the quality, but not the cost or timeliness, of vendor delivery of IT projects. The findings suggest that IT services vendors can improve their project delivery capability by appointing project sponsors.

Learnings, case studies and guidelines for establishing shared and collaborative service delivery in the non-government sector: Evaluation of the Multi-Tenant Service Centre (MTSC) Pilots Project

This report presents learnings, case studies, guidelines and resources for non-government organisations that are planning to implement shared or collaborative arrangements with other agencies. It summarises results from an evaluation of the implementation phase of the Multi-Tenant Service Centre (MTSC) Pilots Project, which was completed in June 2008. This evaluation shows that developing and implementing shared and collaborative arrangements is a complex process that presents many risks, challenges and barriers to success, but can have many potential benefits for non government organisations. As this report makes clear, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this process. The MTSC Pilots Project was conducted by the Department of Communities (DoC), Queensland Government, as part of its Strengthening Non-Government Organisations strategy. The objective of the MTSC Pilots initiative was to co-locate separate service providers in an appropriately located centre, operating with effective and transparent management, which enabled service providers to improve client services. Three MTSC consortiums in Mackay, Caboolture and Toowoomba were selected as the pilots over a four year period from 2006 – 2010.

Investigation of Changes in Prescribed and Voluntary Job Roles in Community Service Delivery for People who have Intellectual Disabilities after the Implementation of the 3 Rs; Rights, Respect and Responsibility Project

The purpose of this thesis was to explore whether there is change in organizational citizenship behaviours in community agency staff following agency adoption of a rights - based service philosophy. Four community agency support staff were interviewed to investigate how residential care providers in services for persons who have intellectual disabilities describe their voluntary job related behaviours following training about human rights. The major finding was that the participants were actively engaged in displaying civic virtue, courtesy, and altruism discretionary behaviours. There was evidence of a post rights training shift in communication patterns with support staff reporting that they used language that prom,oted and advocated for human rights, and reported increased communication exchanges among persons supported by the agency, support staff and managers. Participants also suggested that the individuals they support asserted their rights more frequently and they were more active in their own life choices following rights training.

A review of the sediment delivery ratio techniques component of the Highland Silver Lake watershed project /

Prepared in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service, USDA.