Development of a collaborative delivery model for industrial engineering projects

Thesis event information

Date and time of the thesis defence

Place of the thesis defence

Auditorium L5, Linnanmaa, University of Oulu

Topic of the dissertation

Development of a collaborative delivery model for industrial engineering projects

Doctoral candidate

Master of Science Tommi Pauna

Faculty and unit

University of Oulu Graduate School, Faculty of Technology, Industrial Engineering and Management

Subject of study

Industrial Engineering and Management

Opponent

Professor Karlos Artto, Aalto University

Custos

Professor Jaakko Kujala, University of Oulu

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Development of a collaborative delivery model for industrial engineering projects

Industrial engineering projects refer to private sector investments involving technical design, equipment production, and facility construction to create or improve production plants and lines for product processing. Industrial engineering projects require resources and knowledge from a large number of actors and interorganisational collaboration between them. Existing project management practices and delivery models do not always provide optimal results. New initiatives, such as collaborative delivery models, have been introduced but have not been widely adopted. There have been implementation failures, and also criticism of their applicability in the context of industrial engineering projects.
The objective of this dissertation is to increase the understanding of the different challenges faced by industrial engineering projects, to identify the implementation challenges of collaborative practices in this context, to analyse and develop appropriate practices to be used, and to present a collaborative delivery model as a solution to better manage industrial engineering projects. A qualitative research approach and different data collection methods, including interviews and observations of workshops and project meetings are used.
This dissertation identifies the typical challenges faced by industrial engineering projects and reveals that many of them are connected to a lack of efficient collaboration between actors. In addition, several challenges in implementing collaboration in these projects are identified. Hence, new knowledge has been developed on why the implementation of collaborative delivery models has been challenging. Furthermore, a better understanding of the role of governmental stakeholders in facilitating the sustainability of industrial engineering projects is provided, and practices for engaging them in collaboration are suggested. Finally, this dissertation introduces an EPCA delivery model that uses a combination of multi-party and bilateral contracts and suggests collaborative practices for project team selection and project management. The developed EPCA model provides a novel way of implementing collaboration in the context of industrial engineering projects.
Last updated: 23.1.2024