Critical essay: sociotechnical construction

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociotechnical drivers are shared with construction.

Origins (1950’s Coal Mining)	Future Application (21st Century Construction)
Large scale coal cutting machinery led to a simplification and specialization of the miners’ tasks.	The commoditization of construction work, and increased job standardization in the post Egan-era, led to a simplification and specialization of construction tasks?
The method of working became driven by the needs of the mechanized method with the pattern of the shift and its social organization changing as a result.	The method of working became driven by the needs of an increasingly enterprise driven construction environment, and its social organization changed as a result?
This new organization required an intermediate level of supervision and management that was previously absent.	This new construction organization required more intermediate levels of supervision and management, and a more complex supply chain, that was previously absent?

Adapted from Walker et al. (2008).

Table 2. The future: Sociotechnical Construction (STC) maps onto relational project delivery approaches such as IPD.

Key Features of Relational Project Delivery Approaches (Lahdenpera 2012)	Examples of practical sociotechnical interventions (Pasmore et al. 1982)
Cooperative culture	Autonomous work groups
	Open feedback on performance
	Self-inspection and maintenance
	Action groups
Team formation
	Selection of peers
Administrational consistency	Status equalization
	Facilitative leadership
Planning emphasis
	Managerial information used by operators
Teamwork premises	Reward systems
	Minimal critical specification
	Skills development
Operational procedures	Action groups
	Peer review
	Minimal critical specification

Authors’ original.

Figure 1. Sociotechnical Construction is a whole system approach that is about shifting projects along a continuum from technical optimisation to joint optimisation.

A diagram with a list of key phrases describing business as usual on the left, a list of key phrases describing sociotechnical construction on the right, and a slider bar graphic in the middle showing movement towards the right-hand list.

Figure 2. The present: Sociotechnical Construction (STC) maps to the strategic aims of the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal and is able to inform an overall delivery approach.

A flow diagram showing how core STC principles feed into a specific delivery approach, which feeds into a broader focus on project outputs, feeding into headline benefits to safety, delivery etc.

Table 3. Critical success factors identified by the London 2012 Olympics Learning Legacy (Bolt et al., 2012) are highly relevant to the houses of parliament restoration and renewal programme.

LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS CONSTRUCTION PERFORMANCE
INFLUENCE LAYER (Bolt et al. 2012)	Success factors (Bolt et al. 2012)	Sociotechnical construction (STC)
DIRECT LEVEL INFLUENCES	Competence	STC is about enhancing human capital
	Motivation and morale	STC is about job enrichment
	Teamworking	STC is about high performance teams
	Situational awareness	STC is about cohesive teams
	Fatigue	STC is about adaptability at the team-level
	Health and wellbeing	STC is about job enrichment
	Frontline comms.	STC is values-based
	Availability of information and advice	STC is about supporting teams
	Compliance	STC is about teams that are inherently stable and self correcting
	Availability of suitable human resources	STC can help to improve the image of construction and make it attractive
	Quality of inspection and maintenance	STC is about improved quality outcomes
	Equipment and material suitability	STC is about matching technology to people
	Internal working environment	STC is about an improved internal working environment
	Operating conditions	STC is about human-centred working conditions
ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL INFLUENCES	Recruitment and selection	STC is about enhancing human capital
	Training	High performance team working can be trained
	Procedures and permits	STC can be used to put people to work in more optimum ways
	Planning and risk assessment	STC methods can be used to plan and risk assess work
	Incident management and feedback	STC methods can be used to manage risks and create learning organizations
	Supervision	High performance team supervision can be trained
	Management	STC favourably impacts the management task
	Comms.	STC is values based and this can be reflected positively in comms.
	Culture	STC is values based and can drive positive culture change
	Equipment and material purchasing	STC is about matching technology to people
	Inspection and maintenance policy	STC methods can help to shape policy
	Design	There are numerous STC design methodologies
	Audit and monitoring	STC methods can help define what needs to be measured
Policy level influences	Contracting strategy	STC approaches align to the Construction Playbook
	Leadership, ownership and control	STC foregrounds responsible autonomy
	Standards and culture	STC is values based and can drive positive culture change
	Organizational structure	STC can inform organizational design
	Management systems and KPI’s	Sociotechnical leading indicators, metrics and KPI’s.
	Worker engagement	STC is about job enrichment
	Finance and profitability	STC helps deliver quality and value
ENVIRONMENTAL LEVEL INFLUENCES	Political influence	STC aligns to
	Regulatory influence	STC aligns to health and safety regulation, the Building Safety Bill, safety case regulations etc.
	Market influence	STC aligns with desired forms of supply chain ecosystem
	Societal influence	STC aligns to the safety, (mental) health and wellbeing agenda
	Industry standards	STC aligns to the Construction Playbook (and similar)

Furthermore, they map to the values, principles and methods of Sociotechnical Construction (STC) [Authors’ original].

Walker, G.H., et al., 2008. A review of sociotechnical systems theory: A classic concept for new command and control paradigms. Theoretical issues in ergonomics science, 9 (6), 479–499.

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Lahdenpera, P., 2012. Making sense of the multi-party contractual arrangements of project partnering, project alliancing and integrated project delivery. Construction management and economics, 30 (1), 57–79.

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Pasmore, W., et al., 1982. Sociotechnical systems: a north American reflection on empirical studies of the seventies. Human relations, 35 (12), 1179–1204.

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Bolt, H.M., et al., 2012. Pre-conditioning success – analysis of human and organizational factors. Learning Legacy: Lessons Learned from the London 2012 Games construction project. London: Olympic Delivery Authority.

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