Denna rapport behandlar hur grön omställning i små och medelstora företag inom svensk tillverkningsindustri kan påskyndas. Utgångspunkten är att dessa företag behöver öka sin kunskap om hur hållbarhetsfrågor kommer påverka deras verksamhet och framtida konkurrenskraft och utifrån denna kunskap genomföra ett omställningsarbete. För att underlätta denna gröna omställning bedrivs ett stort antal satsningar ofta finansierade av offentliga myndigheter såsom den svenska innovationsmyndigheten Vinnova. Rapporten utgör en del av en förstudie tillika följeforskningsprojekt, benämnt IFGO (interaktiv forskning för grön omställning), och inriktas mot fem VINNOVA-finansierade program/projekt som avser att utveckla metoder för, samt stödja den gröna omställningen hos huvudsakligen små och medelstora tillverkande industriföretag. 

Syftet med denna rapport är att förmedla kunskap om program för att stödja grön omställning i svensk tillverkningsindustri och vidareutveckla denna kunskap, samt att kategorisera ett urval av sådana program som finansierats av Vinnova.  

Förstudien resulterade i sex slutsatser vilka bedöms ha avgörande betydelse för en storskalig och verkningsfull stöttning av små och medelstora tillverkande företags gröna omställning. Flertalet av slutsatserna kan vara brett tillämpbara för hela näringslivet. 

Working life of today faces challenges. There is a fast pace in technical and organisational development and continual demands for increased performance. In order to manage the increasing complexity in work systems, there is a need to take a holistic view on operations. One such view is the systems concept of Humans, Technology and Organisation (HTO). The aim of this report is to describe the HTO concept, how it was developed, and how it can be used to develop work and work systems, understand humans at work, and understand contributing factors to organisational performance and individual well-being. The core of the HTO model is human work activity and how it is carried out within a work system consisting of humans, technology and the organisation. Focussing on human work activity generates knowledge about work conditions, needed competences and collective interaction, but also understanding about outcomes of the activities – the systems performance. H, the Humans in the work system, can be understood from different perspectives, for example as biological systems, information processing systems, individuals with unique personal traits and experiences, or as members of social groups. The H can thus in itself be regarded as a sub-system within HTO. In a similar way, T, Technology, includes several facets, such as tangible tools and machinery, intangible IT systems and software, and environmental characteristics that are technologically designed. The same applies for O, Organisation, consisting of both formal aspects (e.g. written work instructions and follow-up systems) and informal aspects (e.g. organisational culture and informal work practice). Applying HTO in practice generates several types of outcomes: 1) HTO to design products shows that it can be beneficial for productivity, quality and individual safety; 2) HTO to analyse and understand complex work may shed light on complex work in practice, the influences between the individual and the work system, and gaps between prescribed, standard work and how it is carried out in practice; 3) HTO to understand safety shows that it is achieved through systems thinking, thus technology needs to be designed to match human capabilities, and HTO barriers should be in place to prevent accidents; and 4) HTO to improve health and productivity may result in workplace redesign, increased individual well-being and business productivity. HTO has several uses, such as a theoretical framework, an analytical tool, and a method for a holistic view on human work, but also as a tool for visualisation and design. 

The overall aim of this paper is to draw combined, all-embracing conclusions based on a long-term multidisciplinary research programme on recycling centres in Sweden, focussing on working conditions, environment and system performance. A second aim is to give recommendations for their development of new and existing recycling centres and to discuss implications for the future design and organisation. Several opportunities for improvement of recycling centres were identified, such as design, layout, ease with which users could sort their waste, the work environment, conflicting needs and goals within the industry, and industrialisation. Combining all results from the research, which consisted of different disciplinary aspects, made it possible to analyse and elucidate their interrelations. Waste sorting quality was recognized as the most prominent improvement field in the recycling centre system. The research identified the importance of involving stakeholders with different perspectives when planning a recycling centre in order to get functionality and high performance. Practical proposals of how to plan and build recycling centres are given in a detailed checklist. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purpose - This paper aims to identify conditions affecting sustainability of Lean implementations in Swedish psychiatric healthcare, from a socio-technical perspective. Design/methodology/approach - Longitudinal focus group interviews were conducted with 24 first-line managers within Swedish psychiatric healthcare. The analysis was made using Cherns ten socio-technical principles and a framework for sustainable development work in healthcare. Findings - The most critical socio-technical principles for a sustainable Lean implementation were boundary location; power and authority; and compatibility. At hospital level, socio-technical principles were inhibited by the weak ownership of the Lean implementation. However, strong ownership at division level meant the same principles were supported. Unclear goals made follow-ups difficult which had negative effects on the learning processes in the Lean implementation. The role and responsibility of first-line managers were unclear in that they perceived they lacked power and authority resulting in negative effects on the participation - an important sustainability concept. Originality/value - Empirically based papers assessing Lean implementations in psychiatry are rare. This study is a contribution to the research area of sustainable Lean implementations in healthcare. The practical implication of this study is that decision makers, senior managers, first-line managers and psychiatrists can be supported in reaching sustainable implementations of Lean.

frågan om vilka konsekvenser lean och kvalitetsutveckling får för arbetsmiljö och lärande är avgörande för de anställdas acceptans av dessa koncept, men också avgörande för konceptens systemeffektivitet. Hur dessa samband ser ut har behandlats i ett flertal artiklar (Landsbergis, 1999; Westgaard och Winkel, 2007; Hasle et al., 2012; Adler and Borys, 1994; Adler and Cole, 1995; Appelbaum, 1996). Inriktningen på förändringarna och den kultur som finns i organisationerna synes spela avgörande roll för utfallet. Samtidigt finns det anledning att mera i detalj studera dessa samband. Det finns också studier som har kopplat ihop arbetsförhållanden och lärande. Utifrån definitioner på vad som karaktäriserar det goda arbetet har lärande och möjligheter att utvecklas lyfts fram som viktiga faktorer (Thorsrud, 1969). Detta kapitel syftar till att beskriva olika konsekvenser som kan uppstå för lärande och arbetsmiljö i samband med att organisationer inför lean eller initierar kvalitetsutveckling i sin verksamhet. Ett andra syfte är att koppla dessa konsekvenser till de förändringsansatser som genomförs.

Visual requirements are high when sorting mail. The purpose of this visual ergonomics intervention study was to evaluate the visual environment in mail sorting facilities and to explore opportunities for improving the work situation by reducing visual strain, improving the visual work environment and reducing mail sorting time. Twenty-seven postmen/women participated in a pre-intervention study, which included questionnaires on their experiences of light, visual ergonomics, health, and musculoskeletal symptoms. Measurements of lighting conditions and productivity were also performed along with eye examinations of the postmen/women. The results from the pre-intervention study showed that the postmen/women who suffered from eyestrain had a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and sorted slower, than those without eyestrain. Illuminance and illuminance uniformity improved as a result of the intervention. The two post-intervention follow-ups showed a higher prevalence of MSD among the postmen/women with eyestrain than among those without. The previous differences in sorting time for employees with and without eyestrain disappeared. After the intervention, the postmen/women felt better in general, experienced less work induced stress, and considered that the total general lighting had improved. The most pronounced decreases in eyestrain, MSD, and mail sorting time were seen among the younger participants of the group. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Swedish recycling centres are manned facilities for waste collection. There is no special category in the official injury statistics for employees at recycling centres, which precludes a straightforward analysis of reported occupational injuries. This study aimed at identifying the frequency of reported accidents and diseases and the type of events that contribute to such injuries at recycling centres, based on official injury statistics. The employees were identified as being affected by more than three to five times as many accidents compared with the total workforce in Sweden. The reported accidents had occurred during a wide range of situations, but most frequently during manual handling of waste. Reported work-related diseases were mostly associated with musculoskeletal disorders, mainly due to heavy lifting. A more detailed classification of sanitation professions and workplaces in the official injury statistics would facilitate future studies of injuries in a specific professional category, e.g. employees at recycling centres. Suggestions for prevention are given.

Statement of Relevance: The present article describes all reported work accidents and diseases among employees at recycling centres from 1992 to February 2005. It also highlights the problem of identifying new working groups in the official statistics and gives advice for a detailed classification to facilitate such future studies of injuries.

This paper addresses a number of issues for work environment intervention (WEI) researchers in light of the mixed results reported in the literature. If researchers emphasise study quality over intervention quality, reviews that exclude case studies with high quality and multifactorial interventions may be vulnerable to quality criteria selection bias. Learning from failed interventions is inhibited by both publication bias and reporting lengths that limit information on relevant contextual and implementation factors. The authors argue for the need to develop evaluation approaches consistent with the complexity of multifactorial WEIs that: a) are owned by and aimed at the whole organisation; and b) include intervention in early design stages where potential impact is highest. Context variety, complexity and instability in and around organisations suggest that attention might usefully shift from generalisable proof of effectiveness to a more nuanced identification of intervention elements and the situations in which they are more likely to work as intended. Statement of Relevance: This paper considers ergonomics interventions from perspectives of what constitutes quality and proofo. It points to limitations of traditional experimental intervention designs and argues that the complexity of organisational change, and the need for multifactorial interventions that reach deep into work processes for greater impact, should be recognised.