Improving Productivity in Industrial Construction

Electric utility executivies ranked productivity, manual labor, union restrictions, and overtime at the top of the list of 10 problem areas where major improvements were needed. Previous research by manufacturing organizations that were faced with similar productivity problems indicate that 30% to 60% improvement is achievable by proper management of human resources. In this paper, attitudes of workmen, supervisors and managers on −100,000,000 to −1,000,000,000 3-yr to 10-yr projects are compared to those of individuals on much smaller commercial building projects. Deep hierarchical organizational structures which are familiar in government and manufacturing, but now appear on the larger construction projects are examined. Recommendations for improving motivation of workmen and supervisors on large projects plus alternative organization structures will be given to improve overall productivity.