scholarly journals Application of the Lean-Agile approach in construction: experiences from a case study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira de Almeida Viana ◽  
Arthur Granato Ferreira Campos ◽  
Jeferson de Souza da Silva ◽  
Pedro Henrique Dutra de Abreu Mancini de Azevedo

The lean-agile approach has already been adopted by several industries such as automotive, technology, apparel and construction. However, despite several studies pointing to its benefits, in construction the use of this approach still suffers from many cultural resistances. Having in mind that the adoption of the lean-agile approach is something that can benefit construction companies, this article aims to demonstrate the practical application of tools and techniques that encompass this approach. Through a single case study using the participant observation technique in a Construction company located in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes, it has been collected and analyzed data from the application of the lean-agile approach in a set of 15 constructions. Thus, this article intends to contribute to the advancement of studies of the lean-agile approach by sharing the practices applied in this research, so that such practices can serve in the future as an input for the development of a lean-agile project management standardized model in the construction field, something that is still little discussed in the literature.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina L. Cole

This article sets forth a performance studies framework for subcultural research: scenarios of style. This embodied epistemology brings together Diana Taylor’s scenario paradigm with interdisciplinary perspectives on style to provide a means for researchers to explore the ways in which style is constitutive of subcultural life. Twenty-five years of involvement in Los Angeles’s vintage Jamaican music scene and four years of fieldwork – comprised of participant observation, oral history interviews and archival research – undergird my theorization. To communicate individual agency and subcultural traditions of style, this article explores a single case study situated within my larger research setting. Because scenarios of style supports embodied, situated understandings of knowledge and is contextually adaptable, this article posits its broader relevancy for fashion studies research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 504-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Meira de Sousa ◽  
Elizabeth Bernardino ◽  
Karla Crozeta ◽  
Aida Maris Peres ◽  
Maria Ribeiro Lacerda

ABSTRACT Objective: to understand the role of the nurse in the collegiate management model of a teaching hospital, in the integrality of care perspective. Method: a single case study with multiple units of analysis, with the theoretical proposition "integrality of care is a result of the care offered to the user by multiple professionals, including the nurse". Data were obtained in a functional unit of a teaching hospital through interviews with 13 nurses in a non-participant observation and document analysis. Results: from the analytical categories emerged subcategories that allowed understanding that the nurse promotes integrality of care through nursing management, team work and integration of services. Final considerations: the theoretical proposition was confirmed and it was verified that the nursing management focus on attending to health care needs and is a strategy to provide integrality of care.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Tkáč ◽  
Radoslav Delina ◽  
Martina Sabolová

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this paper is to identify and determine reasons why construction companies reject some of the request for proposals (RFPS) suitable for them. <br /><strong>Methodology/Approach:</strong> The research has several parts. Within the first part the list of reasons which lead to rejection of RFPS and thus potential client are identified. Then the comparison of differences between groups of rejected RFPS with different configuration is made. The last part of research use Pareto analysis to determine most obvious and most costly reasons of rejection of RFPS. <br /><strong>Findings:</strong> The paper identifies 12 reasons, why construction companies decline to prepare proposal for their potential clients. It also doesn’t confirm that configuration of RFPS has significant impact on the rejection of RFPS. Moreover the results on the other hand showed that insufficient trust represent the main barrier which influences the rejection of RFPS in selected company.<br /><strong>Research Limitation/implication:</strong> The main limitation of the research is that it is based on single case study. Although, the quantitative results have to be generalised very carefully, on the other hand paper provide list of the possible reasons why construction companies decline to compete for an offer. <br /><strong>Originality/Value of paper:</strong> The paper provides unique perspective because apart from traditional attitude, where only the submitted RFPS are evaluated, this paper analyses rejected RFPS and tries to identify and determine reasons why construction companies decide not to prepare proposal and thus reduce the possibility to acquire new contract.</p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermínia Sol ◽  
Marisa P. de Brito ◽  
João Pinto Coelho ◽  
Luís Mota Figueira ◽  
Christopher Pratt ◽  
...  

Purpose With fierce competition in capturing tourists, it is crucial that destinations be prepared to adapt and to refresh their event portfolio. The purpose of this paper is to look into the decision-making process that led to the development of a new festival in a middle-sized city, Tomar, in Portugal. Design/methodology/approach This study analyses the creation process of the Knights Templar Festival, in Tomar, a new event focusing on the Templar history of the city. A retrospective outlook on the evolution of the event is given. Primary data were collected via quantitative survey analysis and semi-structured interviews. The theoretical scope is events and placemaking. Findings The strengths and weaknesses of the region influenced the conception and setting up of this particular event. This awareness is important for cities in meeting the challenges and opportunities that event portfolio diversification calls for. Research limitations/implications This paper helps us to understand the motives and challenges in establishing a new event in the city, through the analysis of a single case study of a European middle-sized city. Simultaneously, it is a longitudinal in-depth case of the first editions of a new historically focused event. Practical implications Several practical implications can be derived to the case of Tomar. Overall, it is key that cities align the focus of new events with the city’s identity (as Tomar did). Originality/value This paper presents an in-depth and longitudinal case study, from the moment of the creation of a new event to its fourth edition, mapping the decision-making process, highlighting the learning curve of the decision makers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Coelho Amestoy ◽  
Vânia Marli Schubert Backes ◽  
Maira Buss Thofehrn ◽  
Jussara Gue Martini ◽  
Betina Hörner Schlindwein Meirelles ◽  
...  

This study aimed to understand the main conflicts experienced by nurses-leaders in the hospital environment, as well as the strategies adopted to face them. The study reflects a qualitative descriptive type approach, which was used in the case study as research strategy. The study included 25 nurses who worked in three hospitals in the city of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. Information where obtained in the months of May to December of 2010 through semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation and dialogical workshops. Data were analyzed using the Thematic Analysis. The results demonstrated the predominant of interpersonal conflicts involving the multidisciplinary team, nurses and the nursing staff. Adopting a participatory leadership, based on dialogue emerges as a strategy for coping with conflicts in the hospital environment.


IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malena Ingemansson Havenvid ◽  
Håkan Håkansson ◽  
Åse Linné

Purpose – The authors argue that the construction industry is characterised by a fragmented business context with three main features: the project-based character, the strong focus on price in all parts of the supply chain along with the great importance of suppliers. This fragmentation has been identified as problematic for the industry’s ability to innovate and engage in renewal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this further by focusing on how construction companies manage renewal in a fragmented business context. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use an in-depth case study of a housing project in Sweden to discuss how firms manage renewal in a fragmented type of business environment. The authors identify the challenge of achieving renewal in an individual construction company as an issue of handling intra- and inter-organisational issues in both intra- and inter-project environments. Findings – The case study indicates that renewal can be partly handled and managed through long-term business relationships and partly through opening up to new business relationships. Moreover, innovations and learning developed in other projects can be used in the focal project, and due to a repetitive task it is possible for the construction company to use a core network of individuals and organisations to enhance overall renewal among actors. Research limitations/implications – The study needs to be supported by further empirical observations. The paper encourages IMP scholars to further investigate projects from an industrial network approach. Practical implications – The study shows that the internal resources of firms can be used systematically to create continuity in a multi-project organisation, and that relationships can be used to bridge learning and innovation among actors across projects. Originality/value – The paper addresses why firms in fragmented (project-based) businesses might struggle with achieving renewal in a novel way by outlining and investigating four organisational challenges they must handle.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angélica Mônica Andrade ◽  
Patrícia Pinto Braga ◽  
Maria Ribeiro Lacerda ◽  
Elysangela Dittz Duarte ◽  
Laerte Honorato Borges Junior ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the knowledge standards that found nursing practices in the home care setting. Method: qualitative study using a single case study strategy, supported by the dialectical methodological framework. Thirteen nurses who work in home care services from two municipalities in Minas Gerais, Brazil, participated. The data were obtained in 266.5 hours of participant observation and 8 hours and 58 minutes of interview and submitted to Critical Discourse Analysis. Results: empirical knowledge was revealed to be fundamental for clinical, managerial and educational care at home. The adaptations specific to this environment require aesthetic knowledge. The relational and educational actions, the decisions responsible for benefiting the individual and his family, the doubt and willingness to learn when dealing with unpredictable cases and the assessment of the socioeconomic conditions of the family, represent, respectively, personal, ethical, lack of knowledge and sociopolitical aspects present in the practice of nurses in home care. Conclusion: the particularities of home care trigger different patterns of knowledge to ensure creative, sensitive, human and responsible care. Innovation and availability to learn are part of nurses' performance in home care. The need for differentiated training is reinforced in order to respond to the increasing complexity in this field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-249
Author(s):  
Päivikki Kuoppakangas ◽  
Juha Lindfors ◽  
Jari Stenwall ◽  
Tony Kinder ◽  
Antti Talonen

During 2020, the COVID-19 crisis expanded the use of digital tools in public health and social care. The aim of this qualitative, single-case study was to scrutinize how homecare professionals experienced meaningfulness in their work in the midst of a crisis and with the utilization of the videophone in long-term homecare service provision. The empirical data consisted of 20 thematic interviews carried out among homecare professionals and their managers in the city of Tampere, Finland. The results indicated that the videophone can generate significance, self-realization and broader purposes among homecare professionals, thus providing meaningfulness for work in the midst of a crisis and continuous work-related changes. In addition, a crisis may support change in the meaningfulness of e-welfare in work-related tasks and aid in overcoming reluctance amongst public-sector social care (homecare) professionals towards an e-welfare initiative: the videophone (VideoVisit).


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-423
Author(s):  
Arthur Antonio Silva Rosa ◽  
Etienne Cardoso Abdala ◽  
Luciana Oranges Cezarino

Goal: The present study aimed to analyze how sustainability of suppliers affect the sustainability of a wholesaler-distributor located in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Design / Methodology / Approach: A qualitative approach was chosen using the case study and content analysis as methodologies and the main instrument for data collection was the interview. Results: The results suggest a direct relationship between the sustainability of the focal company and that of supply chain members, so that the alignment of Triple Botton Line (TBL) practices along the chain is essential to emphasize the effects of these practices and for the company to be considered sustainable, as indicated by sustainable supply chain concepts. Limitations of the investigation: The main limitation was the use of a single case study, which does not allow the generalization of results to other companies. Practical implications: It was possible to analyze the relationship between the sustainable practices of suppliers and the focal company to confirm the need to align sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. The results suggest that companies could improve their performance in environmental, social and economic terms if they observe and evaluate the sustainability of their suppliers, reducing environmental risks and future losses. Originality / Value: In terms of literature, this is a topic that has not been explored yet in terms of the applicability of sustainability in the supply chain, especially in practical issues in the wholesale sector.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-52
Author(s):  
Maria Aguilar Solano

Abstract: This paper discusses a research methods approach to investigate phenomena in interpreting studies based on a triangulation of qualitative methods. It discusses the concept of triangulation, as developed in the social sciences by Campbell and Fiske (1959), with an emphasis on the process of combining and integrating multiple methods. It reviews previous applications of triangulation in translation and interpreting studies and describes the advantages of systematic triangulation for empirical research. The implications of this approach for future research in public service interpreting concerning the trustworthiness of the interpretative nature of qualitative inquiry are also discussed. To demonstrate the practical application of triangulation in public service interpreting settings, this paper draws on a case study conducted by the author where triangulation of participant observation, focus groups and audio-recorded interaction was employed. The integration of the different research methods utilized, as well as the findings derived by triangulation, are illustrated through examples from this study.Resumen: Este artículo presenta un enfoque metodológico basado en la triangulación de métodos de investigación cualitativos y el cual facilita el estudio de fenómenos de la interpretación en los servicios públicos. Se analiza el concepto de triangulación desarrollado por Campbell y Fiske (1959) y se hace énfasis en el proceso de combinación e integración de múltiples métodos. Se revisan aplicaciones de la triangulación dentro los estudios de traducción e interpretación y se describen las ventajas de la triangulación sistemática para la investigación empírica. También se tratan las implicaciones que tiene este enfoque para futuras investigaciones en interpretación en servicios públicos con respecto a la confiabilidad de la tarea interpretativa que desarrolla el investigador en los estudios cualitativos. Para demostrar la aplicación práctica de la triangulación en este campo, este artículo se basa en un estudio de caso realizado por el autor en el que se utilizó la triangulación de observación participante, grupos focales y grabaciones en audio de eventos interpretados. La integración de los diferentes métodos de investigación utilizados, así como los resultados derivados de la triangulación, se ilustran a través de ejemplos de este estudio


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