TECHNICAL PAPERS
Mar 1, 1991

Span of Control of Construction Foreman: Situational Analysis

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 117, Issue 1

Abstract

The function of the crew foreman has not received the degree of attention in research the crucial role in construction deserves. In this study, we investigate aspects of the foreman's role that have strong implications on the productivity of the crew. By enquiring into how the foreman divides workaday time between various functions and activities, how these are affected by the size of the crew, what factors determine the span of control, and what effect the size of the crew has on its performance, the study has come to the conclusion that: (1) The size of the crew and the managerial assistance, if given, affect the mode of daily activities; (2) the size of the crew can vary considerably, depending on circumstances; (3) the size of the crew can affect its performance; and, finally, (4) the size of the crew has to be adapted to prevailing conditions.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

1.
Borcherding, J. D. (1972). “An exploratory study of attitudes that affect human resources in building and industrial construction.” Tech. Report, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Stanford Univ., Stanford, Calif.
2.
Borcherding, J. D. (1977). “What is the construction foreman really like?” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 103(1), 71–87.
3.
“Contractor supervision in unionized construction.” (1982). Report C‐3, The Business Roundtable, New York, N.Y.
4.
“Constraints imposed by collective bargaining agreements.” (1982). Report C‐4, The Business Roundtable, New York, N.Y.
5.
Drucker, P. F. (1986). The practice of management. Harper & Row, New York, N.Y.
6.
Flowerdew, A. D. J., and Malin, P. W. (1963). “Systematic activity sampling.” J. Indust. Engrg., 14, 201–107.
7.
Galbraith, J. R. (1977). Organization design. Addison‐Wesley Publishing Co., Reading, Mass.
8.
Gates, M., and Scarpa, A. (1978). “Optimum number of crews.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 104(2), 123–131.
9.
Handa, V. K., and Abdalla, O. (1989). “Forecasting productivity by work sampling.” J. Constr. Mgmt. Econ., 7(4), 19–28.
10.
Hinze, J., and Kuchenmeister, K. (1981). “Productive foreman characteristics.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 107(4), 627–639.
11.
Kay, E., and Meyer, H. H. (1962). “The development of a job activity questionnaire for production foreman.” Personnel Psych., 15, 411–418.
12.
Koontz, H., O'Donnell, C., and Wehrich, H. (1982). Essentials of management, McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, N.Y.
13.
Laufer, A., and Ledbetter, W. B. (1986). “Assessment of safety performance measures of construction sites.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 107(4), 745–756.
14.
Laufer, A., and Shohet, I. M. (1988). “Factors affecting the size of the carpenters crew.” Tech. Report, Building Res. Station, Technion, Haifa, Israel.
15.
Levitt, R. E. (1979). “Union versus non‐union construction in the U.S.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 105(4), 289–303.
16.
Levitt, R. E., Samelson, N. M., Bretxa, J., Mummy, G., and Waugh, L. (1984). “Evaluation of the line foreman safety training course.” Tech. Report, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Stanford Univ., Stanford, Calif.
17.
Marriott, R. (1949). “Size of working group and output.” Occupational Psych., 23, 47–57.
18.
Mills, D. Q. (1972). Industrial relations and manpower in construction, M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, Mass.
19.
Mintzberg, H. (1979). The structuring of organization. Prentice‐Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
20.
Northrup, H. R. (1984). Open shop construction revisited. Indust. Res. Unit, The Wharton School, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
21.
Oglesby, H. C., Parker, H. W., and Howel, G. A. (1989). Productivity improvement in construction, McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, N.Y.
22.
Ouchi, W. G., and Dowling, J. B. (1974). “Defining the span of control.” Admin. Sci. Q., 22, 357–365.
23.
Parker, H. W., and Oglesby, C. H. (1972). Methods improvement for construction managers, McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, N.Y.
24.
Peer, S. (1986). “An improved systematic activity sampling technique for work study.” J. Constr. Mgmt. Econ., 4(2), 151–159.
25.
Pfiffner, J. M., and Sherwood, F. (1960). Administrative organization. Prentice‐Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
26.
Pollina, V. (1970). “Safety sampling—Technique in accident control.” Envir. Cont. Safety Mgmt., Sept., 26–34.
27.
Porter, L. W., Lawler, E. E., and Hackman, J. R. (1975). Behavior in organizations. McGraw Hill Book Co., New York, N.Y.
28.
Rockwell, T. H., and Bhise, V. D. (1970). “Two approaches to a non‐accident measure for continuous assessment of safety performance.” J. Safety Res., 2(3), 225–240.
29.
Samelson, N. M. (1977). “The effect of foreman on safety in construction.” Tech. Report, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Stanford Univ., Stanford, Calif.
30.
Snyder, N., and Glueck, W. F. (1980). “How managers plan—The analysis of managers activities.” Long Range Planning, 13, 70–76.
31.
Steiner, I. D. (1972). Group process and productivity. Academic Press, Inc., New York, N.Y.
32.
Steiglitz, H. (1962). “Optimizing span of control.” Mgmt. Rec, 24(9), 25–29.
33.
Stinchombe, A. L. (1959). “Bureaucratic and craft administration of production: A comparative study.” Admin. Sci. Q., 4, 168–187.
34.
Tarrants, W. E. (1980). The measurement of safety performance. Garland STPM Press, New York, N.Y.
35.
Thomas, H. R., and Daily, J. (1983). “Crew performance measurement via activity sampling.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 109(3), 309–320.
36.
Thomas, H. R., Guevara, J. M., and Gustenhoven, C. T. (1984). “Improving productivity estimates by work sampling.” J. Constr. Engrg. Mgmt., ASCE, 110(2), 178–188.
37.
Woodward, J. (1965). Industrial organization: Theory and practice. Oxford Univ. Press, London, U.K.
38.
Worthy, J. C. (1959). Big business and free men. Harper & Row, New York, N.Y.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 117Issue 1March 1991
Pages: 90 - 105

History

Published online: Mar 1, 1991
Published in print: Mar 1991

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Alexander Laufer, Member, ASCE
Sr. Res., Nat. Bldg. Res. Inst., Technion, Haifa, Israel, 32000
Igal M. Shohet
Res. Engr., Nat. Bldg. Res. Inst., Technion, Haifa, Israel, 32000

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.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share