Study objects: JM, Folkhem and ABB.Purpose: The purpose with this study are to examine how the supplier relations are in the construction branch and compare that result with how the supplier relations are for ABB a production company.Theoretical: The theoretical chapter illustrates important and relevant parts of supplier relations, purchasing and supplier strategies to give good overview. The theoretical review will combine information from different fields to consent with the research problem.Method: A case study has been made on three different companies, one of the companies was active in the production industry the other two were active in the Construction industry. Data was mainly collected through semi structured interviews on each of the three companies.Conclusions: The size of the company decided which point of view the company had on purchasing, traditional or modern view. All three companies had a centralized purchasing organization but the construction firms were more decentralized than the production company. The reason was that the construction firms were dependent with more flexibility when every construction project is unique..

A persistent problem in the Construction industry is its low margins of profit. It is often difficult to earn money due to low efficiency and high costs. Logistics on the construction site answers for a large amount of these costs and it is therefore of interest to find new, more efficient logistic solutions. The purpose of this thesis is to compare two different logistic systems and further to evaluate which one that is the most efficient and profitable. A comparison is made between the traditional logistic systems used for years and a new logistic system developed by an industry association called BEAst.

This study has been conducted on behalf of Vectura Consulting AB with the purpose to examine how different actors perceive the dimensions of sustainability and sustainable construction. The purpose is also to provide an understanding of existing barriers and opportunities for sustainable construction within the industry and exemplify with different directions for the actors in order to develop sustainability. The study has approach the research problem by using systems theory, developed by Checkland, to identify the relevant system. Other systems theories has been used as an theoretical framework in order to identify barriers and opportunities, which in this study are based on Hughes?s theory about reverse salients and salients.

Everywhere you look in today?s society many kinds of people are constantly interacting with each other. Especially in large groups of people working together, the phenomenon is even greater. In the Construction industry there are many kinds of parts that need to come together in order to get sustainable and successful results. Therefore the relationship between the contractor and the construction client must be at its best.

Background: Studies that have been made in male-dominated organisations shows that only few women have succeeded in advancing to the higher positions in all businesses. Statistics shows that merely 4 % of the managers in all building companies are female. The manager role has earlier always been classified as most suitable for men resulting in barriers for women who strive for management positions. This problem is now very renowned and is called the glass ceiling. To improve the current situation, both the organization's structure and culture, have to be modernized for more women to succeed and get the courage to get into the industry.

The Construction industry develops at a high pace today. Because of this the construction companies has to rethink and try to develop at the same pace. One of the biggest challenges in the Construction industry today is to improve the logistics since improved logistics leads to lower costs. This is something that the construction companies have started to realize and they are beginning to invest more money in order to improve the logistics. It is especially important to have good logistics when the conjuncture turns for the worse.

The  construction  industry  is  a  costly  business  such  in  respect  of  capital  for  most construction defects which then require rework, tear down and rebuild again. This study is  meaningful  awareness  of  tools  that  can  reduce  this  best  through  communication  and information sharing between the parties.  The  construction  industry  is  known  as  temporary  projects  organizations,  where  the construction  project  consists  of  several  actors  who  have  to  communicate  and  share information  between  them  to  avoid  mistakes  later  in  the  build  time.  These  actors  are bounded together thus for the duration of the project, then broken when the project has reached its end. The challenge here is for these actors to apply a tool that can help and simplify communications, information sharing, and perhaps the most important aspect is to  create  a  routine  for  the  association  and  the  shattering  of  these  actors.  To  implement such  behavior  using  a  tool  such  as  BIM  in  the  industry  whose  size  perhaps  is indescribable may be a very hard task.  BIM (Building Information Model) could be seen as the solution to this problem because it  acts  as  a  portal  where  the  actors  involved  must  sign  in  and  communicate,  share information, and eventually create a behavior, a routine for this association and division of  the  actors  following  the  end  of  the  project.  The  technology  could  help  the  involved from  the  beginning  of  the  project,  already  in  the  model  stage,  break  down  and  prevent any construction barriers when the building has been placed in the works.

In the Construction industry the number of female managers is very low, only four percent (SCB, 2010). In fact, women with management positions has risen by six percentage overall, the last seven years (SCB, 2010). If women in managerial positions continue to grow at this rate, the proportion of women managers will be equal to that of male managers in 2033. More women are needed in the maledominated Construction industry in particular because it is deemed that they have a different way of thinking and acting (Granér, 1994). Nelton (1991) believes that companies can take advantage of female managers to be more competitive on the market, the reason why is because women can see other possibilities when solving problems. Rapacioli (2010) argues that the recruitment of women into management positions not only benefits the individual itself but also the company. We have used a qualitative study with a deductive approach. Six respondents from the same company were interviewed, two of them have management positions and the other four were underemployed.The research question of this paper is: What differences and similarities are seen between male and female leadership in terms of their characteristics in the Construction industry?The purpose of this paper is to examine similarities and differences in leadership in the Construction industry where the focus is on the female and male characteristics. To fulfill our purpose we chose a qualitative study. We have interviewed six respondents at one company in the Construction industry. Two of the six respondents have management positions and the remaining four are employed. In this paper we have concluded that there are some differences and similarities between men and women´s leadership in terms of their characteristics.

Recently there have been a lot of talk a about the financial crisis and recession. This is understandable since the crisis, which initially was limited to the U.S. now has spread its concern globally in form of bankruptcies, less investment and lots of people have lost here jobs. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the financial crisis have affected the Construction industry relating to market and personnel, but also examine what measures the construction companies have taken. The examination was carried out by information received from the majority of construction-related websites which then was followed up with interviews in the various construction sectors.

This thesis is written at WSP management and investigates the practice of pre-project planning and feasibility studies at Swedish construction companies, through the study of the ongoing feasibility study of the mall Sturegallerian in Stockholm, and through interviews with experienced project managers in the Construction industry. There is currently a big span in the way Swedish construction companies plan the pre-project phase and the aim of this thesis is to present a more generic and standardized way that helps minimize project risks and maximize efficiency and profit. The result is a generic model which can be used in pre-project planning. The model describes the phases in the preproject planning process and the activities that span these phases. Is also describes the categories of professions that need to participate in the preproject planning group and which activities that each profession executes. The other result is a list of factors that need to be considered for a well performed pre-project phase, as found during the interviews. Among others the thesis stresses the importance of involving the client as a key participant in the process.

The Swedish Construction industry is dominated by men; however this is starting to change. The average age of Construction Engineers is high and approximately 40 per cent of the employees will retire by the year 2015. Currently, female engineers dominate the graduating classes of Swedish Universities but this is not reflected in the Swedish Construction industry.With so many female engineers available, why is this? Does it require a change in company culture and their condition of work to attract them? Is it the attitude towards women in the industry among the employees that has to be changed? Or is it a woman?s thoughts and prejudices of the industry that creates obstacles?The purpose of this final thesis is to describe how contracting firms in the Construction industry can make themselves more attractive for female engineers. To reach the purpose, a study among salaried employees and craftsmen was conducted.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how medium-sized construction companies adapt and how they choose to reorganize their operations in relation to the recession. The study has as its theoretical starting point theories about organizational learning, the impact of the economy on construction companies and strategies for dealing with recessions. The method used to conduct the study was semi-structured interviews with representatives from 15 different construction companies. The results of the study show that they used several strategies to adapt and reorganize the business in accordance with the recession. Some construction companies had to make cost savings as a result of the recession.

This report, written by Ma?ns Ridze?n and Jonas Stenberg, presents the thesis carried out the spring of 2012. The authors met the first time in 2008, when they started their studies at Uppsala University. Since then they have completed various projects, both within and without the university. This study is based on a theory that was first conceived when Jonas Stenberg did his internship in the summer of 2010.

AbstractThe importance of good construction planning affects the final costs of the production and the timing of the project. Planning for building projects has been studied with the aim of identifying how three week planning appears in the Construction industry today.A case study has been conducted in Navisworks Simulate to assess whether the software is suitable to connect the task schedule with the BIM model to create a 4D model. 4D models are used for performing 4D construction simulation to visualize the project. In order to use the benefits of the model, investment in equipment and software is required. This means higher costs for the companies.

AbstractThe importance of good construction planning affects the final costs of the production and the timing of the project. Planning for building projects has been studied with the aim of identifying how three week planning appears in the Construction industry today.A case study has been conducted in Navisworks Simulate to assess whether the software is suitable to connect the task schedule with the BIM model to create a 4D model. 4D models are used for performing 4D construction simulation to visualize the project. In order to use the benefits of the model, investment in equipment and software is required. This means higher costs for the companies.