Wernicke, B (2020) Diversity of flow in production improvements in house building. PhD thesis, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden.
Abstract
Flow is a complex construct and has developed differently in different research fields. Some of the interpretations are included within this thesis and categorized in two main perspectives: (1) the individual flow perspective as defined in positive psychology and (2) the system flow perspective based on notations from supply chain management, lean production, construction management, and operations management. Both flow perspectives have at least one commonality which bases this thesis: to improve something towards a desirable condition. In positive psychology, that something is human wellbeing, and the system perspective focuses on entities that need to be combined to facilitate production. Both flow perspectives have been developed independently without clear consideration of each other, even though several theoretical sources indicate relevant relations between them. This thesis addresses that theoretical gap and aims to describe how system flows and individuals flow are related in initiatives intended to improve production in house building. The thesis is operationalized by a flow framework based on system flows and individuals’ flow. Within three different cases of improvement initiatives, qualitative data is analysed to exemplify how flow relations occur in the researched settings. Findings of quantitative patterns of traced flow relations exemplify flow relations and can inspire practitioners in assessing how the different flows are addressed in ongoing improvement initiatives and what other potential flows that could be addressed in future improvements. This thesis concludes that relations between flow on system level and flow on individual level can occur in improvement initiatives in house building production settings, thus exemplifying the Diversity of Flow in Production Improvements in House Building. Theoretically, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the flow concept in construction management, visualizes the diverse understanding of flow, and advocates that flow should not be treated as homogenous at any level.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Stehn, L and Erikshammar, J |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | psychology; operations management; house building; lean production; supply chain management; wellbeing |
| Index terms: | practitioner, lean production, psychology, well-being, operations management |
| Subjects: | behavioral psychology, mental health and wellbeing, practitioner, manufacturing engineering, management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here