Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity Research Articles

Exploring internal factors affecting construction labor productivity in Mumbai: a study using RII and fuzzy logic

Exploring internal factors affecting construction labor productivity in Mumbai: a study using RII and fuzzy logic

A Meta-Analysis of Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity in the Middle East

Despite the importance of the construction sector for economic development, labour productivity in construction is lower than the productivity of other sectors. Construction productivity has been declining continuously for decades, especially in developing countries. The challenges of low productivity in construction are considered chronic problems. This has raised concerns among construction stakeholders to address the myriad of challenges that are undermining labour productivity growth. This study performed a metadata analysis of factors affecting construction labour productivity (CLP) growth in the Middle East. A systematic review of existing studies on labour productivity in construction was presented. Ten studies from the Middle East were selected for metadata analysis. The key factors affecting CLP in the region were identified and quantitative data from the selected studies were synthesised. Effect summaries derived from the analysis revealed that delays in responding to requests for information, inadequate workers’ supervision, a shortage of skilled labour, the extent of change orders and clarity of technical specifications are the major factors affecting construction productivity. The study is limited to journal articles published in the Scopus database between 2000 and 2020. Middle East contractors can adopt the study’s interventions to develop productivity improvement strategies for their organisations.

The impact of COVID-19 on construction labor productivity: the case of Turkey

PurposeThe aim of this study is to measure the impact of the factors affecting construction labor productivity by focusing on different types of construction works during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, as well as discuss solutions and immediate actions.Design/methodology/approachThis research was conducted in two steps. First, a quantitative survey was carried out to determine the dimension of factors negatively affecting construction labor productivity and the loss rate of different construction works from the employee perspective. The factors were identified through a literature review. The crucial relationships were highlighted as a result of a statistical analysis. Second, a survey was performed to determine the loss rate through a comparison of man-hour values before and after the beginning of the pandemic from the employer perspective. After an analysis and comparison of the results, semi-structured interviews were performed to discuss all findings and discover ways to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on construction labor productivity.FindingsThe results of the study clearly show that construction labor productivity was deeply affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Legal obligations, such as social distancing, wearing masks, and limitations on the number of workers, have been major drivers for lower labor productivity. Such obligations have a profound impact on interior construction works, especially based on teamwork. Concerning employer and labor-related factors, problems with getting payments on time, loss of income, and financial hardships are the leading factors resulting in decreased worker performance. Excavation, insulation, and plastering works were determined as the most affected construction works under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.Research limitations/implicationsThe quantitative portion of this study is limited to a sample of respondents in the Turkish construction industry. Further research is necessary to provide an in-depth review into construction labor productivity in other countries with a larger respondent sample. Another limitation is sourced by the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may turn out that some findings are outdated. Despite these limitations, the insights from this study may enable employers to understand the major drivers and deep impacts of labor productivity loss by uncovering the main vulnerabilities during the pandemic. Recommended measures may also help policy-makers and stakeholders in the construction industry take necessary and immediate actions to ensure better construction labor productivity.Originality/valueThe study may contribute to a better understanding of a pandemic's impact on labor productivity by focusing on both employee and employer perspectives, especially in developing countries. The paper may help employers decide which priority measures are required for each construction work separately. The study is crucial not only for minimizing the negative effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on labor productivity but also for preparing for the post-pandemic era.

The effect of management control on labour productivity of labour-intensive works in Ghana

In Ghana, many construction projects end in dispute, because contractors are unable to meet the completion time. As many construction operations are labour intensive, the question of labour productivity becomes paramount, especially as higher productivity levels usually translate into superior profitability, competitiveness, and income. This article aims to examine the management control factors affecting construction labour productivity in Ghanaian construction firms. It assesses the measuring techniques that are used to improve labour productivity in the construction firms. The article also determines the relationship between management control and labour productivity on labour-intensive works in Ghanaian construction firms. The study adopted a quantitative research design that used a questionnaire-based descriptive survey. Records available at the Ghana Social Opportunity Project (GSOP) indicate that 920 professionals are involved in labour-intensive works on road infrastructure. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 40 districts involved in road construction projects; 560 respondents were considered for the study. The summary of the data consisted of means, standard deviations, percentages, cross-tabulations, and frequencies. Principal axis factor analysis revealed three (3) components with eigenvalues above 1 that may influence labour productivity of labour-intensive works on road construction. These components are effective communication, supervision technique, and design inadequacies. Construction managers must monitor workforce performance by ensuring that the three factors influencing management control are considered.

Motivational Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity: A Review

Research on motivational factors affecting construction labor productivity (CLP) has attracted numerous researchers worldwide many years so far. This study aims to review studies on motivational factors affecting CLP from the outcomes of previous studies. Based on a comprehensive review, publications on this domain were analyzed in terms of geographical distribution, adopted research methods, common motivational factors, and knowledge gaps. The findings indicated that the majority of studies were carried out in the Asia continent, followed by Europe, Africa, and America. Also, almost studies adopted methods of empirical research for identifying and evaluating of motivational factors with a prevalent procedure that includes five stages, namely, identifying motivational factors based on a review of existing literature; pilot study; data collection; data analysis; and concluding critical motivational factors. Additionally, the results also revealed that the mostly identified motivational factors contain rewards; good relationship; promotion opportunities; job security; good supervision; the amount of salary; and a good work environment. It is recommended that engineering managers, project managers, employers should use the findings of this study to make policies or decisions to ensure effective management and improve construction workforce productivity.

A meta-analysis of factors affecting labour productivity of construction SMEs in developing countries

PurposeThe global construction industry is significant to economic development, whereas the sector, particularly its small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have continued to suffer from low labour productivity for decades. This has given rise to the concern of relevant construction stakeholders on the need to address the challenges undermining labour productivity growth in construction. Hence, this study aims to conduct a meta-data analysis of factors that hamper productivity growth of construction SMEs in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of existing studies relative to factors affecting construction labour productivity (CLP) is presented. Thereafter, eight developing countries-based studies that are specific to SMEs were selected for meta-data analysis using relative importance index values from the studies.FindingsThe essential productivity influencing factors were identified and quantitative data of the selected studies were synthesised. The effect summaries derived from the meta-data analysis revealed that the most significant factors that negatively affect CLP amongst SMEs include: workers’ skills, inadequate training, rework, management style and incentive to labour.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited to scientifically analysed secondary data relative to SME contractors in developing countries.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study can be adopted by construction stakeholders to evolve productivity growth policies for construction SMEs in developing countries.Originality/valueSynthesis of quantitative data of different studies has lent deeper insight into a more realistic and scientific precision of factors affecting labour productivity of construction SMEs.

An Assessment of Labour Productivity Influencing Factors in the Construction Industry: A Case study of Zaria, Nigeria

In this research, factors affecting construction labour productivity in Zaria, Kaduna state was assessed. The research seeks to identify the factors affecting labour productivity in the research area. It is believed that this information will aid site managers and the construction professionals on decisions to take in-order to limit these controlling factors thereby leading to an improved level of efficiency in labour force, increase product labour productivity and reduce cost and time over runs on construction projects. The research adopted a quantitative research approach with the use of questionnaires as an instrument for data collection from site managers at construction sites in Zaria. Sixty-seven questionnaires were administered on construction sites within Zaria and Forty-one were returned giving a sixty-one percent response. The Questionnaire sought to assess the perception of site managers on factors affecting construction labour productivity. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics analysis to obtain frequencies, mean and Relative Importance Index (RII). RII was used to rank the factors. Thirty-Nine out of the Forty-One factors researched indicated high severity with the RII ranging between 0.60 RII < 0.80. The research revealed that external forces tend to affect construction labour productivity more than Site factors and Human Labour Factors. This can be attributed to the fact that site factors and Human Labour factors can be controlled by the site engineers while the external factors cannot be really controlled by the site engineers. The survey also revealed that Rain, Conflict with project stakeholders, Skill of labour, and Financial Crisis had a very high severity in affecting construction labour productivity on the construction sites in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic in Construction Labor Productivity: A Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis

This research aims to identify and analyze the various factors affecting construction labor productivity covering the period from December 9, 2020 - January 31, 2021, a year after it was declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Due to the pandemic effect, the local government units in four selected study areas imposed intermittent Enhance Community Quarantine on all places to control the Coronavirus spread in compliance with the health department protocol. Fifty-five questionnaires returned out of 63 distributed are tabulated according to each group-related factor. The correlation analysis resulted in the highest coefficient value of 0.89 between the CTDEO and contractor groups. Meaning, most respondents have the same perception of the factors affecting construction's low labor productivity. Besides, results depicted that the absence of health workers on the construction site ranked 1st in the health & safety provision factor group with an RII of 0.97, followed by no safety engineers on the construction project sites with an RII of 0.93. From all the seven groups of factors, the health and safety group-related factors ranked 1st with an RII of 0.81, next, the schedule compression group with an RII of 0.78. Hypothesis testing asserted that working six days per week was one of the significant factors affecting labor productivity on the contractor's side, suggested by more than 50% of the respondents. The workforce group-related factors with an RII of 0.77 demonstrated a slight difference with the schedule compression group-related factors. Thus, the Covid-19 pandemic has a significant effect on the essential factors affecting construction's low labor productivity.

Analysis of influential factors affecting workers’ productivity on highway construction projects during Covid-19 pandemic in Cagayan Valley Region, Philippines

In highway construction projects, labor-oriented work is an integral part of the management process, requiring analysis of factors affecting labor productivity during Covid-19 pandemic. This research identified 53 influential factors affecting construction labor productivity at selected cities and towns in Cagayan Valley Region, Philippines. Due to the pandemic, the construction industries incurred substantial profit losses. More so, the construction workers are too much affected because of the Enhance Community Quarantine (ECQ) imposed by the local government. Results indicated there was laxity on the Covid-19 protocols. No health worker in the project site ranked the highest in the health & safety factor group with an RII of 0.97 and ranked 1st among 53 factors on the different groups. Besides, no safety engineer was assigned to the projects and ranked 2nd with an RII of 0.93. Among the 7 groups of factors, the health and safety group ranked 1st with 0.81, followed by the schedule compression group with an RII of 0.78. Hence, these two groups of factors have a strong relationship, as evidenced by number of workers reduced. It was learned that the contractors’ strategy was to increase the number of working days to cope with their schedules. Hypothesis testing supported that there are various significant factors influencing labor productivity loss during the Covid-19 pandemic, as suggested by more than 50% of the respondents.

Critical factors affecting construction labor productivity: A comparison between perceptions of project managers and contractors

The present study aims to identify critical factors (CFs) affecting construction labor productivity (CLP) from the perception of project managers compared to contractors’ viewpoint. By a comprehensive review of the previous studies, this study managed 45 CFs affecting labor productivity in the construction industry, which was grouped as primary 6 categories, including manpower, management, work condition, project, and external factors. A total of 203 valid samples were collected by 56 project managers and 147 contractors who completed a structured questionnaire survey according to their previous participation in or directly implementation construction projects. These CFs were ranked based on their relative important index and descriptive statistics (i.e., mean and standard deviation). The results’ analysis indicated that the wide difference between project managers’ and contractors’ perspectives on the most influential factors impacting construction labor productivity.

Contractors' perceptions of factors affecting construction labour productivity in South Africa

Contractors' perceptions of factors affecting construction labour productivity in South Africa

Impact of labour productivity in estimating the duration of construction projects

Several constraints influence the duration estimation of construction activities. Labour productivity is one of the critical limitations, which affects the estimate of activity duration. Various factors affecting construction labour productivity are studied in detail in the literature; the same is not considered to determine the duration of activities. Therefore, this research proposes an activity duration estimation framework to estimate the duration of construction work-packages concerning the standard norms and factors affecting labour productivity. The authors considered 16 factors that affect the labour productivity mentioned in the literature sources. Three expert’s suggestion is obtained to determine the loss in labour productivity for all the 16 factors. Based on these inputs and labour constant values from the standard document, activity durations are calculated. A genetic algorithm optimization approach is adopted to determine the optimal duration to execute six construction work-packages. The proposed framework also allows the project managers to include project constraints while deciding the overall duration. The result showcases a realistic duration estimation for the assumed conditions in a real-time construction project. The proposed activity duration estimation framework is flexible to incorporate labour productivity values from any other standard norms.

Study of relationship between rework and labor productivity in Building Construction Projects

The objectives of this study included: (1) identifying the factors affecting construction labor productivity, (2) identifying the causes of rework in building projects, (3) addressing the relationship between labor productivity and rework using regression analysis based on data collected from building projects implemented in Palestine. The following steps were used in this study: (1) Questionnaire survey – stage 1: a questionnaire survey was carried out to identify the main factors affecting labor productivity and the main causes of rework on construction sites, (2) Questionnaire survey – stage 2: after identifying the significant causes of rework using factor analysis, a questionnaire survey was conducted to address the impact of these significant causes on labor productivity, (3) Prediction models: Data collected from 40 building construction projects were used to establish the regression models that describe the relation between rework and labor productivity on construction sites. The study concluded that the top factors affecting labor productivity are: lack of labor experience, payments delay, rework due to labor mistakes, lack of supervisor’s experience and materials shortage. The study also found that the top five rework causes in building projects are: lack of manpower skills, non-compliance with specifications, frequent change orders, inadequate job planning, and inadequate coordination and integration. Using regression analysis for data collected from 40 building construction projects, three predictive models were developed. The models indicated a significant relation between rework cost and labor productivity i.e the higher the rework cost the lower the construction productivity. This study is the first one that investigated the relationship between construction productivity and rework in Palestine, and that is why it is very important. Results would be helpful for researchers and construction professionals.

Identifying factors affecting construction labour productivity in India and measures to improve productivity

The construction industry is one of the largest industries in India. But the majority of the construction projects have suffered from delays. Lower than expected labour productivity has been a frequent cause of delay in construction projects. Although measuring labour productivity is easy and straightforward, controlling it is often not so. This study makes an attempt at identifying top factors that influence labour productivity. The uniqueness of this research is that it is one of the very few attempts in capturing the perception of construction workmen directly, instead of managers or supervisors. The results should be useful for construction project managers in improving labour productivity at their sites. A survey of construction workmen has been conducted to gauge their perception of what influences their efficiency at work. The factors identified this way were ranked using the Relative Importance Index (RII) method from the level of importance assigned by the respondents on a 0–3 scale. Furthermore, a survey of managing engineers, who are involved directly with construction labour in producing construction works, has been used to identify the measures to improve labour productivity at the site. These factors were also ranked based on their effectiveness rated by the participants of the survey using RII. These measures identified in the second phase of the study were mapped with the factors they mitigate. These results should assist project management teams to extract the optimum amount of work from construction labour. They can use the measures recommended in this study proactively to keep productivity at optimum levels and also identify the early signs of deteriorating productivity.

A hybrid framework to model factors affecting construction labour productivity

PurposeThis paper aims to model different causal relations among factors interacting with labour productivity in order to recognize the most important factors influencing and influenced by it.Design/methodology/approachTop 60 factors affecting labour productivity were determined and grouped into 5 major groups by reviewing previous research and interviewing relevant experts. The interactions of factors were modelled using system dynamics (SD) approach. The resulting causal loop diagrams obtained from SD were then applied for identifying the most crucial factors influencing and influenced by labour productivity through the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The impact of factors on each other was finally determined based on the opinions of 63 experts selected from the Iranian construction industry.FindingsThe results indicated that factors such as fatigue, lack of labour motivation and lack of skill are the most influencing, and factors such as schedule delay and inflation in the cost of execution are the most influenced by labour productivity. In the end, a set of recommendations to improve construction labour productivity was also presented.Originality/valueThe main contribution of the study is proposing a novel method which is capable of providing insights into how causes and effects of construction labour productivity are interrelated. Furthermore, the proposed method makes this study distinct from previous research in the light of prioritizing factors and offering recommendations according to the interrelationships among factors.

Correction to: Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity: Iran Case Study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. The acknowledgement was missing. It is given below.

Structural Equation Model of the Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity

Construction sector productivity is of great importance for the government and policymakers because it determines a nation’s future living standards and creates a competitive business environment. Addressing the factors influencing labor productivity is crucial for improving the productivity performance of the sector. A theoretical structural model is developed to understand the influence of six key factors on construction labor productivity and their links to labor productivity performance on a project. A structural equation modeling technique is used to analyze data collected via a questionnaire survey of 185 respondents consisting of government authorities and construction actors. The final model adapts 29 attributes across six labor productivity factors, namely, management and control, workforce, financial, external, project, and material and equipment. The outcomes of the final structural equation model confirm the significance of management team competency level and workforce quality in enhancing labor productivity. Moreover, client support and efforts by government authorities are found to be significant for labor productivity improvements. Despite the limitations of the study, it is hoped that the research outcomes will significantly contribute to improve the labor productivity performance in the Malaysian construction industry for faster delivery of construction projects with lower cost and higher quality.

Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity In Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan

Labor productivity is at forefront of concerns facing professionals in construction industry worldwide. Construction industries play a leading role in economic growth for countries all around the world. This study highlights the factors affecting labor productivity in the construction industry of Peshawar (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) Pakistan. Improvement in productivity results in saving of cost and time. This study explores various factors for improving labor productivity in construction industry of Peshawar. Questionnaire survey and practical productivity assessment was adopted to take out the effect each individual productivity factors. The relative importance index (RII) of all twenty three (23) factors affecting productivity was identified. This study also developed a comparison sheet with previous case study data conducted by authors Anu V.Thomas and J.Sudhakumar (India) which could be used by the project managers to easily sort out various factors related to productivity improvement in different regions. The major factors which sort out and outcomes of this study will help project managers to anticipate weak zones of productivity in their present projects and provide accurate strategies for improving labor productivity.

Factors affecting construction labour productivity in Yemen

ABSTRACTConstruction is a labour-intensive industry. As poor productivity of construction labour is one of the causes of cost and time overruns in construction projects, it is of critical importance to the performance and profitability of construction projects and the overall economy of any country. This paper aimed to identify and rank factors affecting construction labour productivity in Yemen. A survey questionnaire was structured and distributed to architectural and structural engineers who were working on construction projects. The questionnaire included 52 predefined factors, which were categorized into four primary groups: human/labour, management, technical and technological, and external. The relative importance index (RII) was determined and the factors were ranked. The results showed that the group of technical and technological factors ranked first among the four groups. The top five factors identified were the most significant in their effect on construction labour productivity in Yemen: (1) labour's experience and skills, (2) availability of materials in site, (3) leadership and efficiency in site management, (4) availability of materials in the market, and (5) political and security situation. The findings of this study will provide awareness and a better understanding of factors affecting labour productivity in construction projects in Yemen.

Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity for Floor Finishing Works

Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity for Floor Finishing Works