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In the paper a 3D finite element method (FEM) model of induction sealing of multilayer packaging material will be presented. A parametrical analysis of the model has been performed in order to evaluate the behaviour of the system as regards the power supply frequency and insertion of high permeability materials in particular zones of the inductor. Some considerations about the difficulty of implementing the FEM model will be discussed. A comparison with experimental results has been done in order to understand the reliability of the numerical model.

The energy performance gap (EPG) in building construction has been one of the major barriers to the realization of environmental and economic sustainability in the built environment. Although there have been a few studies addressing this issue, studying this topic with a special focus on the project delivery process has been almost overlooked. Hence, this study aims to address the EPG in building construction through the lens of collaborative and life cycle-based project delivery.

In order to realize the objective of this study, the development of a theoretical framework based on the literature review was followed by a qualitative study in which 21 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Finnish project professionals representing clients, design/planning experts, constructors and building operation/maintenance experts to explore their views on the topic under study.

The findings reveal the project delivery-related causes of EPG in building construction. Moreover, the obtained results present a collaborative and life cycle-based delivery model that integrates project and product (i.e. building) life cycles, and it is compatible with all types of contractual frameworks in building construction projects.

Although the findings of this study significantly contribute to theory and practice in the field of collaborative and sustainable construction project delivery, it is acknowledged that these findings are based on Finnish professionals’ input, and expanding this research to other regions is a potential area for further studies. Moreover, the developed model, although validated in Finland, needs to be tested in a broader context as well to gain wider generalizability.

The obtained results reveal the significance and impact of collaborative and life cycle-based project development and delivery on the realization of environmentally sustainable building construction.

Challenges in social housing projects (SHP) in Brazil are mainly related to design and construction quality and cost constraints. Value delivery to end-users must be a goal, however, jointly considered with the restrictions of such developments. In the SHP context, tight cost constraints frequently have a negative impact on delivering value to end-users. The purpose of this paper is to put forward the proposition that value enhancement can be achieved by reallocating costs to better meet the attributes most valued by end-users, without increasing initial project costs.

A set of tools used in value methodology (VM) is adopted to assist a systematic process with the goal of attaining an optimal functional balance between costs and value delivery to end-users. Desired values were indicated by users in a previous study, resulting in an Index of General Significance. A single case study was carried out to test the approach in a SHP. Opportunities for improvement guided by the desired values of end-users were evaluated.

The VM approach suggests that initial project cost constraints do not necessarily induce value loss for end-users, a recurrent problem that designers and stakeholders frequently face in such contexts. Improvements were made possible through simple cost reallocation.

A single case study was carried out to validate this approach. To create a generalized approach for other similar context further tests should be undertaken.

The proposed VM approach was shown to be efficient in assessing decisions which designers and stakeholders must take, bearing in mind cost constraints and improvements in value delivery to end-users.

Currently in Brazil, end-users’ perceptions are rarely considered into the design process of SHP. The research shows that the proposed approach could be used in similar contexts of social housing to enrich the design process and attain higher satisfaction levels.

An important lesson learned was that subjective parameters based on the desired values of end-users could be combined with technical and functional analysis, thus an objective improvement process was devised. The approach can have clear implications for the product development of SHPs to best match the end-user's value propositions, without neglecting financial and economic needs in such a context.

Budget constraints faced by social housing projects (SHPs) developers can lead to poor value delivery to the end-users. Without a structured method to guide the decision-making processes during product development, SHP often fails to meet user needs and aspirations. Function analysis (FA) is an essential step in a value management (VM) study. Still, FA practice in SHP has been treated with secondary importance. This paper aims to propose a method for improving FA practice in the VM process for a Brazilian SHP to achieve optimum benefits.

The research followed Design Science Research (DSR) in a specific single case study context, focusing on solving practical problems while contributing to theory. The method has 11 steps and guides a complete VM exercise. Its development was based on prior VM research. Focus group meetings were held to get feedback about the initial method's version to increase its relevancy and applicability in the studied context.

The proposed method suggests that scarce financial resources in SHP do not necessarily lead to low-value delivery and low-design quality. When FA is fully implemented, opportunities for cost reallocations to enhance value are identified.

VM prior research in construction has not provided a specific method for improving FA practice for social housing developers to enhance value in the context of scarce financial resources.

The purpose of this research is to examine relevant parts of the case of an Italian steel construction company's green field plant design process to identify best practice guidelines for the adaptation and use of value stream mapping (VSM) in the design of lean engineer-to-order (ETO) production systems.

The paper reviews the most relevant literature in the field of VSM and discusses its limitations regarding the application in an ETO environment. Based on the analysis of an industrial case, the original VSM methodology is adapted with a special focus on ETO. Information was collected through multiple site visits and semi-structured interviews with the company's key staff of the project, as well as examination of relevant company documentations.

A set of guidelines was developed on the basis of an industrial case research. In this context, major attention was given to two aspects: the introduction of synchronization points in front of merge-activities in the value stream, and the splitting of customer orders into suitable production orders and equal time increments of work.

The findings of this research are limited due to the focused nature of a case study-based research. However, the obtained results encourage assuming its transferability to similar problems.

This paper provides an original industrial case study with valuable insights for the adaptation of the VSM methodology to batch-of-one ETO environment.