Factors affecting construction labour productivity: a case study of Jordan

Abstract

Improving productivity in construction is a way of increasing profit with little or no increase in cost. Labour productivity in construction in developing countries, including Jordan, is relatively low and needs to be improved significantly. The objective of this paper is to describe and analyse the factors that affect construction labour productivity. To achieve this goal, a questionnaire survey containing 27 questions (variables) was conducted. It was sent to 200 engineers and foremen who work for contractors. The 90 returned responses were statistically analysed by calculating the average, standard deviation, and RII of each variable. The results of a Spearman correlation‒rank‒coefficient test showed that no significant differences existed between the responses of the engineers and foremen. It was concluded that the top three ranked dimensions were ‘Productivity increases as experience increases’, ‘Financial incentives increase productivity’, and ‘Trust and communications between management and workers increase productivity’. Furthermore, the data was analysed using the principal components method of factor analysis. Of the 11 extracted factors, only five were considered, while the others were dropped since the observed variables had low loadings on these factors. Contractors and officials can benefit from this study in understanding factors affecting productivity, and act upon that understanding.