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The purpose of this paper is to provide a tangible example of organisational solutions in effective design for manufacturing (DfM) in a large information and communications technology (ICT) company.

An interview study was carried out in a leading ICT company to clarify the practical realisation of DfM, and the current challenges encountered. The interviews covered all the key persons involved in DfM and related processes, in a case company that has successfully applied DfM for over a decade.

The paper shows the importance of a separate management organisation for coordinating the requirements of internal functions. With relation to the case company, this organisation, in contrast to the literature, is located in production, not in product development. Despite the successful application of DfM, the case company still has challenges in exploitation of related data systems.

This paper describes one of the top companies in its field. However, the obtained results could vary to some degree, should a wider set of companies be included in the study.

Managers of other companies could learn from this example at three levels: organisational solutions for DfM, its practical realisation, and the challenges encountered.

The existing literature is relatively scarce on organisational implications of DfM implementation. This paper identifies a functional organisational location, structure and practical realisation for effective DfM.

Requirements management has become a challenge for new product development (NPD) as products are getting increasingly complicated and customer segments more fragmented. The purpose of this paper is to provide new ideas for improving requirements management in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

A qualitative interview study is carried out in the ICT sector to clarify the current challenges in requirements management. The results of the interview study are analysed using a benchmark from the automotive industry. This benchmark is chosen, as the automotive industry is a developed business sector that has streamlined its business processes, including its requirements management.

The paper shows how ICT can benefit from the experience of the car industry on issues such as managing customer needs throughout the NPD process, overflow of data and communicating requirements with suppliers.

Using another sector as a benchmark is not a straightforward process and results cannot be directly copied. Fresh ideas are, however, obtainable when a well‐developed benchmark is used and results are applied flexibly. Deeper analysis on individual areas indentified here might be interesting topics for further study.

The paper shows that managers in the ICT sector should pay more attention to their requirements management and serving the needs of internal customers. The requirements management of the Japanese automotive industry is a potential source for improvement initiatives.

The paper provides new perspectives for the requirements management of the ICT sector by benchmarking the Japanese automotive industry.

Aims to explore the Six Sigma methodology as a method for developing CI capability. More specifically, the focus is on the role of management in the improvement of processes. Any type of organizational improvement process requires visible leadership and effective management to be successful. In high‐performance organizations, in particular, in which the Six Sigma methodology is currently gaining ground, managers allocate resources to the improvement activities they regard as crucial for the organization's success. Six Sigma is an improvement methodology that aims to increase business performance through a solid and accurate business focus. As the adoption of the Six Sigma methodology is still at an early stage in Finnish business life, presents preliminary case study findings. The findings imply that managers should adopt and internalize the Six Sigma philosophy first to give sufficient support to the implementation process. Furthermore, additional attention should be paid to the development of measurement systems and real time reporting systems, which is initially a managerial responsibility.

This research examines factors that determine the improvement of the Russian supply chain sustainability. The strategic business model incorporates ecological, social and economic aspects.

Considering Trans-Siberian Railway as a typical case, the study selected several cases or the parts of the primary rail connection with the affiliation of important neighbouring countries. The study uses quantitative analyses of a variety of size parameters (e.g. volumes of traffic, logistics costs, delivery distance and air pollutants).

The empirical findings stress that supply chains should favour in the future railway (or intermodal) connections for piggyback and containerised cargo. Herein lays the reason for the examination of all traditional factors affecting the modal choice and their complementation by the parameters to measure sustainability throughout the supply chains. The inclusion of the green practices positively affected the environmental, social and economic performance of the new approach.

This research focuses on the delivery of cargo in containers and semi-trailers within wagons through the overland corridors. Despite the restrictive empirical findings within the national transport system, some elements can be representative of the international supply chains, provided that intermodal services are the most appropriate for the transportation over long distances.

Clients, media and regulatory bodies stress the consideration of environmental aspects at all stages of a global supply chain. Therefore, their adoption into strategic imperatives of local supply chains becomes inevitable.

An assessment of supply chains for longer distance transportation in Russia has not taken sustainability into account within cost analyses.

Purpose – This chapter explores the nature of spatial change processes in the urban–rural fringe of Ireland's capital city, Dublin. These areas have experienced rapid population growth between 1991 and 2002 in changing social structures, a rapidly changing built and natural environment, and increases in commuting. The chapter investigates how coalitions of community interests have responded to these spatial changes through opportunities for public participation in local governance processes.

Methodology/approach – We adopt a qualitative approach to assess the relationship between residents’ associations and the local state through a detailed empirical examination of the activities of residents’ associations within the rural–urban fringe.

Findings – Community and residents’ groups are very active in attempting to shape land-use and spatial planning policy outcomes with a complexity of motivations for engaging with the planning process, beyond simplistic portrayals of Not In My Back Yard-style local opposition to any change. However, attempts to influence policy outcomes were undermined by powerful developer and landowning interests, resulting in a deep-seated cynicism towards the public participation process, particularly with regard to the relationship between developers and councillors, and the probity of the planning system.

Implications/value of chapter – The limited ability of community interests to influence policy represents the economic and political reality of the development process, where the strategies and tactical behaviour of a few dominant interests and embedded power relations can compromise a deliberative and participatory policy process.

The purpose of this paper is to adopt a multiple case-study approach, of three companies, in order to identify the factors affecting Lean Six Sigma (L6σ) implementation in service industry.

Secondary data were collected through companies’ documents, written procedures and quality assurance policies. Primary data were collected through a number of in-depth interviews with managers and quality experts.

The analysis of qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews with managers in all three cases resulted in the emergence of variety of critical success factors (CSFs) regarding L6σ implementation in service industry. As it can be seen the great majority of the factors have been identified in all three cases. Moreover the analysis shows that there are two categories of factors emerged.

This study has four major contributions. First, it provides an intergraded multi-factor framework regarding the implementation of L6σ in service industry. In particular, this study contributes with three more particular factors that influence the implementation of L6σ in services, namely, top-management active involvement, HR support activities, and practices and systems. Second, it focusses on the responses of managers, who play the critical role in the adoption of L6σ. Third, supports and expands current literature on the key success factors of L6σ application. Finally, it provides future ideas to explore and develop more the suggested L6σ framework.

Purpose – This chapter aims at analysing the spatial pattern of the impending shortage of rural labour in North Karelia, Finland. The focus of the analysis is on forestry, which has a demand for labour that is spread evenly over the entire region.

Methodology – Future population development up to 2020 is predicted by roll-up calculation model, which reveals the future potential of local labour in forestry by area type.

Findings – Economic development shapes the socio-economic landscape. The economic boom since the mid-1990s towards advanced production and services has led to the strengthening of a concentrated regional structure in North Karelia. Forest resources are increasingly being utilized through labour living in the municipal centres, as the supply of competent labour in the distant and core rural areas has been on the decline. Therefore, in the future municipality centres will have to supply the labour force for forestry and its associated services within a reasonable commuting distance.

Practical implications – In order to enable the efficient use of forest resources in the future new policy options such as more efficient forest management through the enlarging of the forest holdings to be harvested, the use of foreign labour, contract work and the better utilization of redundant rural housing and infrastructure should be considered as an addition to the traditional engineering approaches aimed at increasing mechanization. At any rate, if nothing is done, the aim of making more intensive use of forest resources and converting the forest biomass to energy may not be achieved in a region such as this.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a wireless strain sensor for measuring large strains. The sensor is based on passive ultra high‐frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and it can be embedded into a variety of structures.

Silver ink conductors and RFID tags were printed by the screen printing method on stretchable polyvinyl chloride and fabric substrates. The development of the strain‐sensitive RFID tag was based on the behavior of the selected antenna and substrate materials. Performance of the tags and the effect of mechanical strain on tag functioning were examined.

The results showed that large displacements can be successfully measured wirelessly using a stretchable RFID tag as a strain‐sensitive structure. The behavior of the tag can be modified by selection of the material.

New tag designs, which are more sensitive to small levels of strain and which have a linear response will be the subject for future work. Tag performance under cyclic loading and in a real environment will also be investigated. Future work relating the investigation of practical applications and the system designing for the strain sensor will also be required.

Printing is fast and simple manufacturing process which does not produce much waste or material loss. The sensor is a new application of printed electronics. It also provides new opportunities for system designers.

The paper provides a new kind of wireless strain sensor which can be integrated into many structures (i.e. clothes). The sensor is a new application of printed electronics and it is made from novel materials.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate, how the use of a joint-use strategy of Lean and Six Sigma can improve flexibility, robustness, and agility. Telecom manufacturing has been under tremendous change after dot.com bubble burst in the early 2000, and new competition has originated from Asia. Being successful requires now more than before, and joint-use of strategies is one option to survive.

A single case study from a Swedish company operating in the telecom manufacturing was conducted. In particular, a Six Sigma project was followed and analyzed during 2002. However, the outcome of the Six Sigma project has been studied in longitudinal manner until 2014.

The Lean Six Sigma strategy ensures flexible, robust, and efficient processes. However, to make them more agile in order to sustain in today's highly competitive environment, something more is required. This could include staff training, strengthening company culture and collaborating with key partners in the supply chain.

This study is limited to large company that usually has a lot of resources and choices where to put the strategic emphasis as well as has level of control of the supply chain operations. The situation could be very different in small and medium-sized companies and thus it may be more difficult to realize the Lean Six Sigma strategy in such environment. On the other hand, the processes in these companies are often less complex.

This research provides guidance on how to manage the Lean Six Sigma strategy in order to ensure more flexible, robust, and efficient processes as well as how to perform a Six Sigma project in Lean environment, in a proper manner.

This research provides guidance to companies regarding the applicability and properties of the Lean Six Sigma strategy. The paper will also serve as a basis for other companies and industries, on how to survive in difficult times.

The research problem in this study is how a client (as a project owner) should organise early stakeholder involvement and integration in the front-end phase of a project. This study aims to create normative managerial statements as propositions from the client's perspective and to combine them into a set of activities enabling efficient organisation in the front-end phase of a hospital construction project.

Action design research (ADR) was carried out in a large hospital construction project where the first author acted as an “involved researcher” and the other authors acted as “outside researchers”.

The authors created seven normative managerial propositions that were verified by the case project stakeholders and developed a managerial framework describing the client's essential stakeholder involvement and integration activities in the front-end phase of a hospital construction project based on these propositions. The authors have also depicted the subphases of the front-end phase: value definition phase in the client permanent organisation, value proposition phase in the client Programme Management Office (PMO) and finally development phase in the alliance organisation ending on the final investment decision.

The collaborative contract delivery model enables the early involvement and integration of stakeholders. It has been somewhat surprising to note the extent to which collaborative contracts change the client role in the project front-end. The results offer practical activities for how clients can manage front-end activities in collaborative contracts.

The case project offered a platform to analyse how the collaborative contract delivery model changes the emphasis of activities in the front-end of a project. One of the key benefits of collaborative contracts is that development, design and delivery occur partially in parallel, thereby enabling contributions from production to be included in the design and development. The benefit of having a real-life case under study provides the possibility to triangulate and analyse rich data, however limited by the qualitative case method.