Construction Productivity

Productivity

Many terms are used to describe productivity in the construction industry: performance factor, production rate, unit person-hour (p-h) rate and others. Traditionally, productivity has been defined as the ratio of input/output, i.e., the ratio of the input of an associated resource to real output (in creating economic value). To restate this definition for use in the construction industry: labour productivity is the physical progress achieved per p-h, e.g., p-hs per linear metre of conduit laid or p-hs per cubic metre of concrete poured.

The two most important measures of labour productivity are:

• The effectiveness with which labour is used in the construction process;

• The relative efficiency of labour doing what it is required to do at a given time and place.

Framework for Productivity Improvement in Construction

Productivity improvement in construction is best understood when the construction process is visualized as a complete system. The system is made up of the construction project to which material, personnel, equipment, management, and money are inputs. They are consumed by the system in the process of producing the construction unit. Control of the system is achieved by collecting and processing information about the rates at which production is attained.

To measure input/output, the parameter defined as productivity, two types of input to the system are used: the person-hour/unit and the cost/unit. The first focuses only on labour and is used for labour - intensive operations. The second, cost/unit, combines all effects. The productivity of an operation is measured and compared to the values in the estimate or budget.

If the actual productivity does not compare favorably with the estimated values, the input categories affecting productivity in the system- namely material timeliness, labour effectiveness, and management practices need to be examined.

 To improve labour effectiveness, various factors can be addressed, including motivation, job safety, environmental factors, and physical limitations. Management practices include scheduling, planning, data collection, job analysis, and control. Material timeliness is ensured by proper procurement scheduling, site layout, and other issues.

Construction productivity improvement techniques

Now a days contractors are hard press to find ways to gain profit and to increase profit margin. Cost of construction labor, material and equipment is essentially the same. One of way to increase a profit margin is to increase productivity.

Increasing productivity Leeds to

1.      Projects are completed more quickly.

2.      Projects cost is lowered.

3.      The contractor can be more profitable.

4.      The project can be more profitable.

Factors that affect productivity in construction site,

1.      Poor planned materials management.

2.      Cleaning up the job site.

3.      Materials waste and theft.

4.      Accidents.

5.      Substance abuse.

6.      Redoing substandard work and completing client punch lists.

There are five ways to improve productivity in Construction Company,

1.     Analyze the entire construction process in detail.

A construction company should analyze each phase of its process to determine what the barriers are to improving productivity. It should begin by measuring key factors and setting benchmarks and goals for improvement.

2.     Do better planning.

There will never be magic solution that eliminates all work changes, but better planning will mitigate the impact of work changes and also eliminate the unnecessary waits that results from imprecise planning.

3.     Train your supervisors and the crew.

An important key to improving productivity is to train the crew especially construction supervisors, whose knowledge and skills can make or break a project in sound management principles and techniques. Construction companies rarely hesitate to train employees in specific skills such as how to operate a new piece of equipment.

4.     Employ new technologies.

New technologies such as scheduling software and more efficient equipment can yield an immediate return on investment in increased productivity. Studies show that the construction industry spends fewer money to research and development.

5.     Communicate that increasing productivity is everyone’s job.

No one knows how to do a job better than the person doing it. A construction company should enlist all of its workers in search of greater productivity. The company should communicate explicitly that suggestions are welcomed and should consider some type of reward system for suggestions that increase productivity.

3 Human Factors and Productivity improvement

The motivation of workers can be enhanced through job enrichment (increasing the things that satisfy workers about a job) and by blessening the demotivators (the things that workers dislike). Reducing demotivators only, the predominant practice of North-American management, is not enough; it should be supplemented with job enrichment.

Workers are motivated by completing productive quality work, creating or building something, and social relations at work. Productive work can be produced by good planning and communications. Satisfactory social relations are simply working with other workers who are friendly and respectful. Individuals and organizations need goals to try to meet or exceed. Workers can often be motivated through goal-setting. Goals must be clearly established to elicit maximum performance and provide a feeling of maximum individual achievement. Individuals need a system or method by which to measure their achievements and compare their standings against a given target.

Motivation

When applying motivational theories to everyday problems, three questions arise:

• What energizes human behavior?

• What directs such behavior?

• How is this behavior sustained?

The answers given by various social scientists have been expressed in different words; nevertheless, they all seem to agree that human beings are energized by their physiological needs, and that their behavior is directed by their expectations and sustained by obtaining just reward.

Planning

Planning includes both overall job organization and work distribution at site level. Higher-level planning must provide for efficient sequencing of the various phases, e.g., design must precede the preparation of construction drawings and on-site construction should not start until adequate drawings are available. Similarly, subsequent trades should not be called to the site until the preceding trade has made enough progress to allow an uninterrupted work flow. Site management must ensure that required material is available in sufficient quantity for continuous progress. Good planning motivates workers because they can build up and maintain momentum toward completing their assigned task without interruption.

Good planning practices include proper use of scheduling techniques, site-layout planning, procurement scheduling, work assignment and organization, and proper approaches to elisis management. Good planning also involves feedback and control mechanisms. (For further information about these planning issues, consult such project management.

Communication

To be able to contribute to the success of a project, a worker must be told exactly what tasks are expected of him. Therefore clear explanations of tasks and expectations are required. Employees must also know where their instructions come from, i.e., there must be a visible communication chain on the job. Instructions from an unknown source will be disregarded. Moreover, to be totally successful, the communications should flow both ways. The 'bottomup' management system practiced in Japan does improve productivity. The system works because it nurtures the idea of communicating ideas both upward and downward. Instructions and drawings are two methods of communication. Each must be complete and timely to allow good planning. Recent developments in scheduling and control software allow stylizing reports for individuals. In other words, a foreman in charge of formwork can get a report which only addresses activities of concern to his or her particular line of work and responsibilities. Foremen can thus focus on the required resources, and the start and progress of each activity for which they are responsible. This can greatly enhance the instructions provided to personnel responsible on site and enhance the communication process.