Fostering process innovations in construction through industry–university consortium

Lavikka, Rita; Seppänen, Olli; Peltokorpi, Antti; Lehtovaara, Joonas

doi:10.1108/ci-08-2019-0081

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The data collected show an intimate link between leading timber industry stakeholders and universities. Partnering with universities can lead to process innovations [93]. Many architects, engineers, suppliers and supplier-builders have commented on their collaboration with universities.…”

Section: Collaborative Procurement Modes Are Better Suited To Timber Structural Building Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Main Features of the Timber Structure Building Industry Business Models

et al. 2021

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The use of timber as structural building material is growing and a greater number of firms are looking to enter this raising market. Erecting a complex timber building usually involves combining the work of architects, structural engineers, builders, suppliers and/or supplier–builders, all of them having their own business models. The purpose of this research was to uncover the specific nature of business models in the timber structure building industry. First, a thorough mapping of these business models was undertaken. Second, underlying patterns were uncovered within these models. A triangulation method of secondary data, semi-structured interviews and participant observation was used to allow for an in-depth study of 23 stakeholder business models. The analysis shows that knowledge sharing appears as crucial and may be achieved through sustained collaboration. As a result, collaborative contract procurement modes seem to be the most appropriate for timber construction. Tight relationships with suppliers and supplier–builders also appear as prerequisites. Furthermore, stakeholder partnerships with universities appear common in the field, while prefabrication is increasing in popularity. These findings can be useful to grasp the prevailing business models in this industry given the sustained growth of the timber structure building market.

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Section: Collaborative Procurement Modes Are Better Suited To Timber Structural Building Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Main Features of the Timber Structure Building Industry Business Models

et al. 2021

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“…Systemic innovations are industry-defining, mold-breaking changes that diffuse across companies and specialties, often resulting in fundamental changes in how companies operate within the industry (Taylor and Levitt 2004). Systemic innovations often call for an extended, collaboratively coordinated cross-company effort that requires commitment from several actors in the supply network (Lavikka et al 2020), making the implementation burdensome and less likely to succeed than incremental innovations that fit within the predefined boundaries of the industry. Within construction, the industry's fragmented and risk-averse nature sets barriers for employing systemic innovations (Sheffer 2011): fragmentation hinders long-lasting collaboration in innovation activities, and risk aversion leads to low R&D investments in general.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Framework for Systemic Transformation of the Construction Industry

Peltokorpi¹,

Seppänen²,

Lehtovaara³

et al. 2021

Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction

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In the era of customer-driven and digitalized businesses, the construction industry has still demonstrated inadequate performance development. This research aims to disentangle the industry's current problems and present justified paths toward sustainable improvement. Following the design science research approach, the paper develops a conceptual framework about the path toward the systemic transformation of the construction industry. We first argue how current efforts to improve construction system are often limited to changes in sub-systems, namely in a) products, b) processes, c) organizing and people, d) information systems, or e) value creation models, therefore lacking a systemic approach needed for significant and sustainable improvements. We then propose a framework that underlines the need to simultaneously develop all the identified five sub-systems to achieve successful transformation. Three cases are presented as partial solutions to such systemic innovations. The paper provides new insights into how a systemic approach could be utilized when transforming the construction industry. More specifically, takt production is identified as one key driver for systemic change. The theoretical contribution lies in the identified five sub-systems and their parallel development as a source for sustainable transformation. However, the paper is conceptual and limited to three partial cases. More empirical research is needed to validate the framework and to specify the most effective transformation paths.

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“…Even though production systems leveraging takt have been occasionally utilized in Finland in the past, takt production has recently been considered as a basis for a systemic way (meaning that the changes affect the whole construction network) for improving production systems. International benchmarking of the best production system practices, conducted in 2016 by Industry-University consortium consisting of 19 local industry players and a university research group (Lavikka et al 2020), has been a central catalyst for increased interest towards takt production. Moreover, research and knowledge sharing within the consortium have reinforced the national interest in applying takt production into companies' operations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, research and knowledge sharing within the consortium have reinforced the national interest in applying takt production into companies' operations. The implementation results of radically decreased production duration and positive testimonials (Lavikka et al 2020) have received a large amount of attention within the Finnish media, especially in Finland's largest construction magazine Rakennuslehti (e.g., Kivistö 2019, Mölsä 2020, further increasing the momentum within the industry.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The shared results have inspired the top management of several companies, especially the general contractors and public clients, to adopt takt production as a key aspect of their production development initiatives (Lavikka et al 2020). In addition, designers, suppliers, and subcontractors have expressed their interest in implementing takt into their operations, as takt production has been perceived to increase their profitability and situational awareness of the production as well (Lehtovaara et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Takt Maturity Model: From Individual Successes Towards Systemic Change in Finland

Lehtovaara¹,

Heinonen²,

Lavikka³

et al. 2020

Proc. 28th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)

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Interest in takt production has grown globally amongst lean practitioners within the last decade. In Finland, several successful takt implementation cases within the last five years have radically increased the interest in leveraging takted production systems. However, the discussion on how to transform the first success stories of takt production to the systemic improvement of productivity has remained scarce. This study aimed to conceptualize the requirements for systemically implementing takt production within projects and organizations in the form of a maturity level model. The study was conducted as an explorative, qualitative multiple case study. Through synthesizing the learnings of 24 takt implementation cases in Finland, we propose fifteen requirements for effectively implementing takt production, structured in the form of three maturity levels: i) technical takt planning, ii) social integration & takt control, and iii) continuous improvement. The study has implications for the industry players and researchers to develop an understanding of where they are now and where they should focus next to improve their takt production processes to achieve a systemic change. For further research and development, the proposed model should be validated by testing the model with the industry players.

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Fostering process innovations in construction through industry–university consortium

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Main Features of the Timber Structure Building Industry Business Models

Main Features of the Timber Structure Building Industry Business Models

Developing a Framework for Systemic Transformation of the Construction Industry

Takt Maturity Model: From Individual Successes Towards Systemic Change in Finland

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