Abstract

This qualitative thesis seeks to explore how you succeed in setting up sustainable changes in the workflow on Aarsleff Rail´s construction sites, with a specific focus on reducing idle time on large construction machinery. The thesis will examine how the company can influence and change routines, as well as accelerate behavioral change, across its construction sites. The thesis is motivated by the industry’s current responsibility for large CO2-emissions and the forthcoming challenges in creating a more sustainable industry. While a great deal of research is currently being devoted to developing technical solutions and more sustainable materials, there appears to be little focus on behavioral change and adapting workflows to more sustainable processes. Therefore, this thesis aims to understand how a company can incorporate sustainable processes and workflows on their construction sites and furthermore identify the challenges it may face.

The thesis’ theoretical framework combines Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Change Communication. By utilizing ANT, the thesis aims to understand the sociotechnical networks constructed on and around construction sites, thereby gaining insight into the actors and programs currently dominating these areas. Furthermore, ANT helps identify how a new sustainability program could be incorporated into the network and how actors could be enrolled in the program. Change communication works as a more practical and tangible theory that sheds light on how change processes should be communicated and how individuals read and interpretate the communication. The thesis is grounded in fieldwork, focusing primarily on eliciting perspectives from construction site personnel through interviews. These are further nuanced by interviews with relevant office personnel and insights from successful initiatives within Per Aarsleff A/S.

The main finding of the thesis is that current workflows and processes can be made more sustainable on construction sites. However, safety and economic aspects are currently established as obligatory passage points and are working as antiprograms to a reduction in idle time. Therefore, the current network must be completely disrupted to ensure that all three programs are compatible and can coexist. This will naturally lead to new negotiations regarding responsibilities and the role of each actor in the new network, which will take time to stabilize. To ensure a smooth transition and stability in the network, the project identifies different key actors who are essential to enroll. Specifically, the machines, machine instructors and the foremen on construction sites are seen as actors who can ensure change. Focusing on individuals, it is found that one must ensure that the change and new workflows align with how construction workers see themselves and their work, thereby making it fit for their enactment. Furthermore, it was found that construction workers are not motivated by sustainability but rather seem to focus on economic aspects and professional pride in their daily work. Lastly, camaraderie and sense of togetherness on the sites are important factors in the workers' everyday lives, so new initiatives should avoid undermining these, as this could lead to criticism and antiprogram sentiment.

Based on these findings, the discussion focuses on how construction workers should be enrolled in the new sustainability program. While there is no such thing as a perfect translation, Michel Callon's four stages of translation — problematization, interessement, enrollment and mobilization — should be carried out successfully to ensure a stable network. More specifically, it is established that, in former processes, Aarsleff Rail failed to achieve all four successfully and therefore never managed to establish a stable network incorporating a focus on reducing idle time. It is recommended that different terms and tools from change communication are utilized to ensure the success of these four stages; sensemaking and enactment seem to play an essential role in this. The analysis and discussion conclude that the combination of actor-network theory and change communication provides a useful framework for understanding and initiating sustainable change processes in workflows and routines. This is because ANT provides a broader perspective on the complex sociotechnical network that is being changed, while change communication offers more practical tools for initiating change processes.