Analysis of Observed Skill Affinity Patterns and Motivation for Multiskilling among Craft Workers in the U.S. Industrial Construction Sector
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 10
Abstract
Previous research has shown that multiskilling strategies can increase productivity, quality, and continuity of work and can also help mitigate craft shortages through better utilization of the existing workforce. Using extensive craft certification and skills data, the writers apply correlation and cluster analyses to identify actual patterns of multiskilling among craft workers using two separate data sources. The results of the cluster analysis indicate that current craft skills aggregate into four groups: civil, mechanical, electrical, and general support. It is also observed that acquiring mutually supporting skill set pairs significantly drives multiskilling strategies in practice, thus diminishing the relative impact that duration on project has on driving multiskilling practice, despite its importance in previous literature. Still, comparing the observed multiskilling patterns obtained from the skill affinity analyses with multiskilling strategies proposed by previous studies generally reinforces the potential efficacy of those strategies.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 10 • October 2009
Pages: 999 - 1008
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 25, 2008
Accepted: Apr 3, 2009
Published online: Apr 14, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
Authors
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