Construction Craft Workers’ Perceptions of the Factors Affecting Their Productivity
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 3
Abstract
In efforts to quantify craft workers’ perspective of construction productivity, a nationwide survey involving 1,996 craft workers was employed. The survey quantified the relative impact of 83 productivity factors, which had been identified through a series of focus group sessions involving craft workers conducted on construction jobsites located throughout the United States. The findings show that craft workers do have a good understanding of the factors affecting their daily productivity, and most of the adversarial factors affecting productivity can be addressed by site management teams. Factors involving tools and consumables, materials, engineering drawing management and construction equipment were identified as having the greatest impact on productivity from the craft workers’ perspective. A statistical comparative analysis was employed to distinguish the significant factors encountered by craft workers on projects with relatively low perceived productivity. The research further examined the differences in the perceived relative magnitude of productivity factors’ influence on construction productivity based on respondents’ union status and trade. These findings will be beneficial for engaging craft workers in productivity improvement and improving the efficiency of construction jobsites.
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Acknowledgments
The financial support from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) is gratefully acknowledged. The writers would also like to thank the industry members of CII Research Team 215, Steve Bourguignon, Bryson Edmonds, William Fannin, Jr., George Fenton, David Goins, Doug Hamer, John Hewitt, Howard Irwin, Alan P. Smith, Art Stover, Randall W. Sulsar, Ronnie Volentine, and Jon Young, for providing their expertise and guidance throughout this research. The writers are also grateful to the many engineering and construction firms throughout the United States who directly contributed to the research’s data collection effort. Finally, this research would not have been possible without the effort and input from the thousands of craft workers who participated in the research’s focus group and survey efforts.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 3 • March 2009
Pages: 217 - 226
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 13, 2006
Accepted: Feb 1, 2008
Published online: Mar 1, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2009
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