Construction Productivity Measures for Innovation Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138, Issue 5
Abstract
A 30-year retrospective analysis of resource use in a range of new construction and repair projects reveals insignificant productivity increase when applying traditional narrow measures, as shown in a case study of beam bridges. It appears as necessary to estimate hidden quality changes in both outputs and inputs. Changes in government regulations, in specifications, and the development of nonprice criteria for contract award emerge as important. Schemes for benchmarking the performance of construction projects as well as life-cycle analyses suggest that customer risk aversion and effects on customer productivity should be taken into account. The outcome is a set of measurements that can be applied to the selection of any type of proposed new construction or repair technology innovation according to their potential impact on industry productivity.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank all participants in the six analysis groups for their generous efforts. The work reported here has been supported by VINNOVA, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems.
References
Aktan, A. E., Ellingwood, B. R., and Kehoe, B. (2007). “Performance-based engineering of constructed systems.” J. Struct. Eng., 133(3), 311–323JSENDH.
Allen, S. G. (1985). ”Why construction productivity is declining.” Rev. Econ. Stat., 67(4), 661–669.RECSA9
Bakens, W., Vries, O., and Courtney, R. (2005). International review of benchmarking in construction, PSIBouw, Gouda. 〈http://www.psibouw.nl/details/kennis?m=files&doc_id=202〉 (Dec. 29, 2010).
Bessant, J., von Stamm, B., Moeslein, K. M., and Neyer, A.-K. (2010). “Backing outsiders: Selection strategies for discontinuous innovation.” R&D Manage., 40(4), 345–356.
Bröchner, J. (2010). “Innovation in construction.” The handbook of innovation and services: A multi-disciplinary perspective, Gallouj, F. and Djellal, F., eds., Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 743–767.
Chapman, R. E., Butry, D., Huang, A. L., and Thomas, D. (2009). Benefits and costs of research: A case study of improved service life prediction, NIST TN–1650, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.
Coelli, T. J., Rao, D. S. P., O’Donnell, C. J., and Battese, G. E. (2005). An introduction to efficiency and productivity analysis, 2nd Ed., Springer, New York.
Cooper, R. G., Edgett, S. J., and Kleinschmidt, E. J. (1999). “New product portfolio management: Practices and performance.” J. Prod. Innov. Manage., 16(4), 333–351.JPIMDD
Corrado, C., Hulten, C., and Sichel, D. (2009). “Intangible capital and U.S. economic growth.” Rev. Income Wealth, 55(3), 661–685.
Costa, D. B., Formoso, C. T., Kagioglou, M., Alarcón, L. F. and Caldas, C. H. (2006). ”Benchmarking initiatives in the construction industry: Lessons learned and improvement opportunities.” J. Manage. Eng., 22(4), 158–167.JMENEA
Crawford, P., and Vogl, B. (2006). ”Measuring productivity in the construction industry.” Build. Res. Inf.BREIEA, 34(3), 208–219.
Ding, G. K. C. (2008). ”Sustainable construction—The role of environmental assessment tools.” J. Environ. Manage., 86(3), 451–464.JEVMAW
Djellal, F., and Gallouj, F. (2008). Measuring and improving productivity in services: Issues, strategies and challenges. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
Dyer, B. D., Goodrum, P. M., and Viele, K. (2012). “A case study of the effects of omitted variable bias on construction real output and its implications on productivity trends in the US.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., in press.JCEMD4
Egan, J. (1998). “Rethinking construction.” Dept. of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, HMSO, London.
Eichholtz, P., Kok, N., and Quigley, J. M. (2010). “Doing well by doing good? Green office buildings.” Am. Econ. Rev., 100(5), 2492–2509.
Fagerlund, G. (2010). ”Betongkonstruktioners beständighet: En genomgång av officiella svenska regler 1926–2010.” Rep. TVBM-3153, Division of Building Materials, Lund Univ., Lund, Sweden (in Swedish).
Färe, R., Grosskopf, S., and Roos, P. (2002). “Incorporating consumer satisfaction into productivity indexes.” Efficiency in the public sector, Fox, K. ed., Kluwer Academic, Boston, 201–217.
Frödell, M., Josephson, P.-E., and Lindahl, G. (2008). ”Swedish construction clients’ views on project success and measuring performance.” J. Eng. Design Tech., 6(1), 21–32.
Gilchrist, A., and Allouche, E. N. (2005). “Quantification of social costs associated with construction projects: State-of-the-art review.” Tunnelling Undergr. Space Tech., 20(1), 89–104.
Goodrum, P. M., Haas, C. T., and Glover, R. W. (2002). “The divergence in aggregate and activity estimates of US construction productivity.” Constr. Manage. Econ.CMECF3, 20(5), 415–423.
Goodrum, P. M., Haas, C. T., Caldas, C., Zhai, D., Yeiser, J., and Homm, D. (2011). ”A model to predict the impact of a technology on construction productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 137(9), 678–688. JCEMD4
Goodrum, P. M., Zhai, D., and Yasin, M. F. (2009). ”Relationship between changes in material technology and construction productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 135(4), 278–287.JCEMD4
Haskel, J., Goodridge, P., Pesole, A., Awano, G., Franklin, M., and Kastrinaki, Z. (2011). Driving economic growth: Innovation, knowledge spending and productivity growth in the UK, NESTA, London.
Hawk, H. (2003). “Bridge life-cycle cost analysis.” NCHP Rep. 483, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.
Heidenberger, K., and Stummer, C. (1999). “Research and development project selection and resource allocation: A review of quantitative modelling approaches.” Int. J. Manage. Rev., 1(2), 197–224.
Huang, A. L., Chapman, R. E., and Butry, D. T. (2009). “Metrics and tools for measuring construction productivity: Technical and empirical considerations.” NIST Spec. Publ. 1101, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.
Jaffe, A. B. (1996). Economic analysis of research spillovers: Implications for the advanced technology program, Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.
Johansson, D. (2009). “The life cycle costs of indoor climate systems in dwellings and offices taking into account system choice, airflow rate, health and productivity.” Build. Environ., 44(2), 368–376.BUSCBC
Jorgenson, D. W., Ho, M. S., and Stiroh, K. J. (2003). “Growth of US industries and investments in information technology and higher education.” Econ. Syst. Res., 15(3), 279–325.
Kadefors, A., Björlingson, E. and Karlsson, A. (2007). ”Procuring service innovations: Contractor selection for partnering projects.” Int. J. Proj. Manage.IPMAEL, 25(4), 375–385.
Lee, K.-M., Cho, H.-N., and Choi, Y.-M. (2004). ”Life-cycle cost-effective optimum design of steel bridges.” J. Constr. Steel Res., 60(11), 1585–1613. JCSRDL
Leishman, C. (2001). ”House building and product differentiation: An hedonic price approach.” J. Hous. Built Environ., 16(2), 131–152.
Link, H. (2006). “An econometric analysis of motorway renewal costs in Germany.” Transp. Res. Part ATRPPEC, 40(1), 19–34.
Listokin, D., and Hattis, D. B. (2005). “Building codes and housing.” Cityscape, 8(1), 21–67.
Maloney, W. F. (2002). “Construction product/service and customer satisfaction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 128(6), 522–529. JCEMD4
Martin, C. R., Horne, D. A., and Chan, W. S. (2001). “A perspective on client productivity in business-to-business consulting services.” Int. J. Serv. Ind. Manage., 12(2), 137–157.
Meyer, M. H., Tertzakian, P., and Utterback, J. M. (1997). “Metrics for managing research and development in the context of the product family.” Manage. Sci., 43(1), 88–111. MSCIAM
Nachum, L. (1999). “Measurement of productivity of professional services: An illustration on Swedish management consulting firms.” Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manage., 19(9), 922–949.IOPMDU
Nässén, J., Holmberg, J., Wadeskog, A., and Nyman, M. (2007). ”Direct and indirect energy use and carbon emissions in the production phase of buildings: An input-output analysis.” Energy, 32(9), 1593–1602.ENGYD4
Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). (2001). Measuring productivity—OECD manual: Measurement of aggregate and industry-level productivity growth, Paris.
Ortiz, O., Castells, F., and Sonnemann, G. (2009). “Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA.” Constr. Build. Mater., 23(1), 28–39.
Oulton, N. (2001). “Must the growth rate decline? Baumol’s unbalanced growth revisited.” Oxford. Econ. Pap., 53(4), 605–627.
Park, H.-S., Thomas, S. R., and Tucker, R. L. (2005). “Benchmarking of construction productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 131(7), 772–778.JCEMD4
Pietroforte, R., and El-Korchi, T. (2000). “Systems approach to evaluating innovations for integration into highway practice.” NCHRP Rep. 442. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.
Poh, K. L., Ang, B. W., and Bai, F. (2001). “A comparative analysis of R&D project evaluation methods.” R&D Manage., 31(1), 63–75.
Rankin, J., Fayek, A. R., Meade, G., Haas, C., and Manseau, A. (2008). ”Initial metrics and pilot program results for measuring the performance of the Canadian construction industry.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 35(9), 894–907.CJCEB8
REHABCON. (2004). REHABCON Manual: Strategy for maintenance and rehabilitation in concrete structures, IPS-2000–00063. European Commission, Directorate General Enterprise, Brussels. 〈http://www.cbi.se/objfiles/1/MANUALmaindocum_1522366004.pdf〉 (Dec. 29, 2010).
Rojas, E. M., and Aramvareekul, P. (2003). “Is construction productivity really declining?” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 129(1), 41–46.JCEMD4
Rouse, P., and Chiu, T. (2009). “Towards optimal life cycle management in a road maintenance setting using DEA.” Eur. J. Oper. Res., 196(2), 672–681.EJORDT
Ruddock, L., and Ruddock, S. (2009). “Reassessing productivity in the construction sector to reflect hidden innovation and the knowledge economy.” Constr. Manage. Econ, 27(9), 871–879.
Ruegg, R., and Feller, I. (2003). “A toolkit for evaluating public R&D investment: Models, methods and findings from ATP’s first decade.” NIST GCR 03-857, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.
Simpson, T. W. (2004). “Product platform design and customization: Status and promise.” Artif. Intel. Eng. Des. Anal. Manuf.: AI EDAMAIEMEG, 18(1), 3–20.
Talvitie, A. P., and Sikow, C. (1992). “Analysis of productivity in highway construction using alternative average cost definitions.” Transp. Res. B., 26B(6), 461–478.
Timmer, M. P., Inklaar, R., O’Mahony, M., and van Ark, B. (2010). Economic growth in Europe: A comparative industry perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Val, D. V., and Stewart, M. G. (2003). ”Life-cycle cost analysis of reinforced concrete structures in marine environments.” Struct. Saf., 25(4), 343–362.
Waara, F., and Bröchner, J. (2006). “Price and non-price criteria for contractor selection.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 132(8), 797–804.JCEMD4
Wikells Byggberäkningar. (2010). “Sektionsfakta.” 〈http://www.wikells.se/〉 (Dec. 29, 2010).
Zabel, J. E. (1999). ”Controlling for quality in house price indices.” J. R. Estate Finance Econ., 19(3), 223–241.JREEEI
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138 • Issue 5 • May 2012
Pages: 670 - 677
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 7, 2011
Accepted: Sep 1, 2011
Published online: Sep 3, 2011
Published in print: May 1, 2012
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.