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This study describes how maintenance capability should be created during the design and construction phases of construction projects. Purpose of the abstract to define the elements for creating the maintenance capability and the process to be used in construction life cycle projects for buildings.

An inductive and qualitative research method was used to construct the proposed process based on the literature and 18 interviews in two large construction companies.

The results indicate that the maintenance phase is usually overlooked during the design and construction phases, and capabilities are not systematically built. In particular, processes are lacking in data management, causing severe problems in maintenance.

This study presents a process including key requirements and activities for creating maintenance capability in conjunction with the design and construction phases, which is novel to the literature. The validated process can be adapted based on the needs of the construction company.

Industrialized construction (IC) is growing globally as an alternative and supplemental construction concept. High expectations have been set for IC to solve existing problems in the industry and enhance productivity. This study aims to identify the most intriguing challenges hindering industrialized wooden multi-story construction (WMC) in the Finnish context from a contractor’s perspective.

Methodologically, this study was a qualitative, single-case study with an inductive approach. Data were collected through five semi-structured interviews and analyzed using NVivo software. Observations were coded and classified into 10 categories and finally synthesized into 3 themes.

The results revealed that industrialized WMC companies are generating many innovations, primarily occurring at the company level. However, shortages in product systems and operation models, such as concept inflexibility and insufficient design fidelity and quality control practices, hinder the progress of industrialization. The findings also indicate that within the pre-fabrication context, production capacity management and cash flow management are key control factors in industrialized WMC. Strong variation in regulatory interpretation by authorities creates a significant challenge for IC concept development and project management.

This study endorses the existing research findings, highlights a new perspective on challenges in IC and highlights the importance of increasing cooperation between companies engaged in industrialization measures, accelerating the development of individual companies and fostering a more appropriate industry structure.

Industrialized construction has brought about expectations of improved productivity in the construction industry. However, the lack of a commonly accepted definition has created confusion regarding the types of development covered by the industrialized construction umbrella. These inconsistent definitions convoluted the discussion on this phenomenon. This study aims to clarify the definition of industrialized construction through a systematic literature review.

This systematic literature review was conducted according to PRISMA principles. Records were gathered from Scopus and Web of Science. Following the scientometric analysis, content analysis was conducted according to the template analysis approach.

The analysis of 121 articles revealed four main themes related to industrialized construction: 1) the construction concept, 2) construction methodologies, 3) systematization, rationalization and automatization and 4) societal and industrial change processes. Definitions of industrialized construction can be analyzed with seven clusters: 1) prefabrication, 2) standardization, 3) sector, 4) integration, 5) manufacturing practices, 6) technological investment and 7) none. Based on the content analysis, the proposed definition is: industrialized construction is the adoption of practices that minimize project-specific work in construction from the start of the design to the end of the building’s life cycle.

This study proposes a definition for industrialized construction following content analysis of broadly sampled literature. The proposed definition can provide a basis on which developments in the construction industry can be reflected.

This study aims to focus on creating sales capability as part of new product development (NPD). The aim is to define generic requirements for building sales capability as a part of NPD and to propose a necessary process by defining key activities for sales readiness.

An inductive and qualitative research method was used to construct a sales capability creation process based on a current state analysis in seven companies.

The results indicate that the status of companies’ sales-related planning varies during the NPD, and the related activities are not systematically managed. Considering sales early is necessary to enable a smooth and cost-efficient start of sales, and to avoid unnecessary delays and problems in other functions. At the same time, the companies recognise the need for improvement.

This paper presents a potential process including systematic activities for creating sales capability in conjunction with product development, which is novel to the literature. The proposed process is applicable in aligning industrial company needs.