Digitalization of processes in the construction production phase: A case study from the Norwegian construction industry Navn:
Master thesis
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2825201Utgivelsesdato
2021Metadata
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- Master of Science [1622]
Sammendrag
The construction industry represents the building blocks of society, crucial for
driving economic growth and long term development (Foulkes & Ruddock, 2007;
Ofori, 2015). The industry is, however, characterized as being fragmented and
complex (Dallasega, 2018). Additionally, a productivity decline has been identified,
directing attention to the importance of digitalization in construction (Agarwal et
al., 2016). A variety of research can be found regarding digitalization of different
phases and levels of a construction project. Through dialogue with the Norwegian
construction contractor Veidekke, the need for further investigation into the
construction production phase was revealed. Thus, we have identified the research
question “How does digitalization influence construction production
processes?”. To answer this question, the various processes digitalized in the
construction production phase have to be investigated, hence our first sub-question
“What type of processes in the construction production phase have been
digitalized?”. Furthermore, to understand the influence of digitalization on the
identified processes, we have developed our second sub-question “What are the
perceived benefits and challenges of digitalization of construction production
processes?”.
Our research is based on a qualitative case study of Veidekke, as we find this to be
a suitable approach to gain valuable in-depth insight to our research question. The
case study consists of data collected from two of their large construction projects in
Oslo, namely Ulven and Frysja, where we have conducted semi-structured
interviews with project participants. Moreover, we have utilized the process of
systematic combining, going back and forth between the literature and our
empirical evidence to develop the findings. To conclude our thesis, we highlight
that there are a wide variety of perceived benefits and challenges to digitalization
of construction processes in the production phase. Furthermore, we found that there
are intermediary benefits that influence the perceived performance and results of
implemented digitalization. The findings of our research further revealed that
digitalization efforts have been made at different levels in the production phase,
shedding light on how the collective digitalization efforts, both out on site and in
the on-site office, should be considered. Indeed, the efforts of the on-site office were
found to have an indirect influence on the construction production phase.
Beskrivelse
Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Business, Logistics, operations and supply chain management - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2021