Abstract
Construction labor productivity (CLP) is affected by various interconnected factors, such as crew motivation and working conditions. Improved CLP can benefit a construction project in many ways, such as a shortened project life cycle and lowering project cost. However, budget, time, and resource restrictions force companies to select and implement only a limited number of CLP improvement strategies. Therefore, a research gap exists regarding methods for supporting the selection of CLP improvement strategies for a given project by quantifying the impact of strategies on CLP with respect to interrelationships among CLP factors. This paper proposes a decision support model that integrates fuzzy multi-criteria decision making with fuzzy cognitive maps to prioritize CLP improvement strategies based on their impact on CLP, causal relationships among CLP factors, and project characteristics. The proposed model was applied to determine CLP improvement strategies for concrete-pouring activities in building projects as an illustrative example. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a systematic approach for selecting appropriate CLP improvement strategies based on interrelationships among the factors affecting CLP and the impact of such strategies on CLP. The results are expected to support construction practitioners with identifying effective improvement strategies to enhance CLP in their projects.
Highlights
Strategy 13, “Apply preventive maintenance to heating and air-conditioning systems to make sure they are in working order”, strategy 11, “Develop clear instructions about the equipment used to transport materials”, strategy 9, “Hold regular meetings with laborers about schedule and remaining tasks”, strategy 7, “Perform project team activities”, and strategy 16, “Hire cheap labor for daily housekeeping tasks”, are the most effective strategies, improving project construction labor productivity (CLP) by 0.0150, 0.0142, 0.0141, 0.0136, and 0.0101, respectively
The provided model consists of three phases, namely, (1) identifying factors and strategies, (2) ranking strategies, which includes the utilization of the two fuzzy MCDM methods of fuzzy AHP and fuzzy
TOPSIS, and (3) quantifying strategies’ impact on CLP, which includes developing an fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) model of CLP in order to quantify the impact of improvement strategies on CLP
Summary
Many activities in the construction sector are labor intensive, so construction labor productivity (CLP) has a significant impact on time, cost, and quality of a construction project [1,2]. CLP is defined as a ratio of output (i.e., installed quantity) to input (e.g., labor work hours) or vice versa. Maximizing CLP is pivotal for enhancing the overall performance of construction projects in multiple areas, such as reducing variances from the primary plan and keeping projects on time and within budget. Construction companies are required to implement various CLP improvement strategies to enhance the level of influencing CLP factors and improve CLP. A CLP improvement strategy is an individual management practice, such as a working method, tactic, or innovation, that construction managers use to improve CLP on their projects
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