In the final chapters of the dissertation, current processes in the construction companies along with future developments in the case companies are related to the new ones. In this research it became clear that mobile technologies are not widely used in the construction sector.
Research Question
The new requirements imply the development of new ways of collecting and summarizing information by construction companies. This thesis is a commissioned work that will give a look at the current processes, which take place in construction companies, and possibilities to collect information for the tax authorities under the new regulations.
Commissioning Company Introduction
Aditro, as part of the IT business, is constantly in need of new solutions for their customers. Aditro's purpose is to follow new trends in IT development itself in order to offer new innovative solutions to their customers.
Demarcation
Benefits to Stakeholders
The tax office will also get benefits in the form of an inside look at current processes in construction companies.
Key Concepts
As for myself, I will gain new insights into business process redesign and how business processes can be improved within one company by introducing a new IT. Business process redesign and mobile solutions are two approaches to implementing new technologies in an organization.
Business Process Reengineering
Business Process Reengineering in a Nutshell
This characterization of business processes is typical of BPR researchers and is based on achieving competitiveness in the market. The answer to the second question should be an analysis of possible effects on the company's competitiveness.
Example of a Successful BPR
Davenport himself has a similar definition that also strongly emphasizes how the work is done and not what is done (Davenport 1993, 5).
Revolutionary and Evolutionary Theories of Change in BRP
The absolute strength of the evolutionary approach compared to the theory of change is its people orientation.
Mobile Solutions
- Mobile Technologies
- Characteristics of a Mobile Device
- Mobile ICT in the Construction Industry
- Mobile Technology Adoption
- Mobile Computing
- Selecting Mobile Computing Strategy
The advantages of mobile technologies can be complemented by the characteristics of a mobile device, which can also be seen as advantages. Therefore, the scope of mobile technologies can be very wide and they can serve different purposes.
Case Background
- Construction Industry
- Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is
- Tax Number
- New Reporting Requirements in the Construction Industry
The most important aspect of the law is that a main contractor must collect information about its subcontractor before entering into a contract. In addition, the contractor must submit a justification of the applicable collective labor agreement of its contracting partners. The contract information should include details of the contract (contracting parties, total amount and duration) and transaction data related to the contract (the amount invoiced during the reporting period).
The detailed list of reporting information can be found on the website of the Finnish tax authorities (Finland Tax Office 2013c). The specification for direct data transfers and e-filings can be found on the website of the Finnish tax authorities (Finland Tax Office 2013d).
Research Design
The qualitative research method was chosen to describe the current processes with future applications in construction and to develop mobile phone scenarios. Qualitative research does not make use of measurements and thus no quantitative data is collected in a qualitative approach (Bryman & Bell 2003, 28). According to Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, the qualitative data is based on meanings derived from words, and the aggregated result requires classification into categories.
The aim of this research was to describe or map the processes and, with the understanding of the current situation, to develop mobile phone scenarios. The research included a study area analysis, where different sources that discussed business process redesign and mobile technologies were reviewed using a computer method, and the field research, which involved interviews, observations and collected data analysis.
Case Companies
Lujatalo
Pinta-Asennus
Research Tools
Interviews
We chose Lujatala as one of our examples due to its size and awareness of future requirements in the construction industry. All interviewees were carefully selected based on their awareness and level of involvement in new requirements projects. We decided on this type of interview because some specific questions had to be answered and these answers can be immediately categorized.
The second interview with Lujatalo's supervisor clarified questions that were not answered in interview 1. The initial interview took place in Espoo, at Lujatalo's office, the second interview in Kangasala at Lujatalo's construction site and the third in Lempäälä, at Pinta-Asensun's office.
Observations
Interviews
- Enterprise Resource Planning System
- Tracking System
- Processes on Construction Site
- Future Requirements
- Mobile Phones
From the first contact with Lujatalo, which was made by phone, it was found that Lujatalo was implementing the tracking system at their construction sites. In this connection, the interview with Lujatalo's development manager contains questions about the tracking system. The tracking system in our research is also called a punch clock, time clock, a clock card machine or time recorder.
Since Pinta-Asennus did not use a tracking system in their processes, questions about this part were omitted. The similar situation is with main contractors, since subcontractors' employees, unlike own workers, do not use their tracking system.
Observations
At the time of the interviews, none of our case companies had mobile phones in their use. From the point of view of our interviewees, it is difficult to fully automate these processes, as it would require everyone to use the same standard. Every day, a supervisor must manually transfer his employees' working hours from ASC to their internal payroll software to Mepco's time registration system, which has a common interface with the payroll system.
Overtime calculation is also done in the Mepco time recording system, which is able to automatically interpret working and weekend hours. At the beginning of our research, we identified three research questions to be answered by the end of our project.
Current Processes in the Construction Industry
Current Processes at Lujatalo
Process diagram for collecting and sending information to the tax authorities at Lujatalo OY. registered in the tax number register. If a worker is not in the register, a company must request a registration from the tax administrator. I received information from our interviewee that the Tax Administration is developing their own internet service, after which information will be received from "Veronumero.fi" with name and tax number.
Below, I have made a comparison between the data requested by the tax authorities and the data stored by Kohdefileto. Table 2 clearly shows that Kohdefileto can submit all the necessary information to the tax authorities.
Current Processes at Pinta-Asennus
Secondary data showed that there are two approaches to re-engineering business processes: revolutionary and evolutionary. The main differences between radical and evolutionary change are time and costs (Jarvenpaa & Stoddard 1998). The decision to reengineer Lujatalo came from top management and brought enthusiasm and motivation.
Here, a revolutionary approach was used in the planning of the upcoming changes, and evolutionary tactics were followed in the implementation.
Future Developments
At the same time, kohdefidoto can receive information from the register of tax numbers and send information related to an employee and his working hours to the tax authorities upon request. At the same time, a timesheet interfaces with payroll, and on a daily basis, information about the hours worked by all employees can be obtained from a software-based payroll system, so supervisors do not need to report hours worked. of their employees separately. . The main difference occurs in the supervisor's role, as he does not need to manually enter employee hours into various systems.
As we have seen from our observations, subcontractors are not included in the tracking system. Since different providers use different interfaces, this integration is unlikely to happen at this time.
Mobile Phones Scenarios
Exchange
In this scenario, the mobile phones will display the same function as the Access Control System. The payroll can be linked to another system such as Kohdefileto where all data can be synchronized (Figure 14). This scenario will be suitable for those who do not need to report extensive data to the tax office.
This could be a small subcontractor like Pinta-Asennus OY, where manual work will not take much time. Mobile applications for sending work hours already exist, so there is no need to use a specially developed application, but commercially available ones can be used.
Control
Thus, a mobile network could be used instead of a WLAN, so that employees would be independent from a specific construction site. Data from the Control application can be synchronized with the main ERP system and payroll and can also be used in various analyses. Reporting to the tax office can be done through the main ERP system, which can have the same interface with a similar IT system as Kohdefiledo (Figure 15).
Reporting to Tax Authorities
This application could also include tax numbers and website names to simplify reporting. As a result of this reform, construction companies are obliged to send more information about their employees on site to increase the transparency of salary reporting. The preliminary amount of data planned to be requested from construction companies is enormous, so some standard must be developed to manage to collect all necessary data meaningfully.
The survey found that larger companies have taken steps to create a faster way to collect and ship the materials they need.
Interpretation of the Results
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy carried out a reform of construction companies to tackle the gray economy. By using mobile devices, employees will be independent from the necessity of carrying a clock card machine along with moving from one place to another. It requires large investments on the part of the company and not only material investments, but also investments in training employees.
The research question of this thesis was: how can necessary information for the Finnish Tax Administration be collected and used in payroll calculation in the construction industry by integrating mobile devices. This thesis showed two ways to collect necessary information and further use it in payroll; one with the help of the clock card machine and the other through mobile devices.
Validity and Usefulness of the Results
Arranging interviews and arranging appointments is the most time-consuming part of the research, unless it is done at one well-known company. Collecting secondary data can also be a challenge unless a clear picture of the research results is clear. Towards an understanding, through action research, of the socio-organizational issues affecting the adoption and diffusion of mobile technology in a small to medium-sized South African construction company.
The extent and development of the underground economy of 31 European and 5 other OECD countries from 2003 to 2012: some new facts. How the integration of mobile devices can collect the necessary information for the Finnish Tax Administration and use it in the calculation of wages in the construction industry.
Own Professional Development and Learning
Overlay Matrix
Interview Guide
