It is this which, for want of a better word, I refer to as a meta-technology. Simpson's book pivots on a distinction between meaning and value. An action is meaningful if it fits into or repeats some life pattern. An action has value when it is an efficient means to some end value. By contrast, the value of this action is simply getting the house painted.
Technology is an attempt to develop means for the ever more effective realization of end values.
To extend this example, imagine the development of a house-painting technology that just drops a large paint bomb from a helicopter. That is, there is no meaningful difference or difference in meaning, because meaning is excluded. Assuming rough dollar price equivalent, the paint bomb will be chosen because it's quicker, takes the least amount of time. When the focus is on the meaning of the house painting, the fact that the painting takes a week is not necessarily experienced as a negative factor, because during the whole time the participants are actualizing the meaning of cooperation. Indeed, the length of time may even be a positive factor in deepening communal feelings and commitments among the neighbors.