TECHNICAL PAPERS
Mar 1, 1994

Action‐Response Model and Loss of Productivity in Construction

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 120, Issue 1

Abstract

Unanticipated conditions on a construction project sometimes result in a significant loss of productivity. The conditions that may affect productivity—adverse weather, scheduled overtime, and material shortages, to name a few examples—have received considerable attention in the literature. However, both experience and a detailed examination of this literature reveal that these conditions do not necessarily lead to a loss of productivity. Furthermore, when such losses are observed, their extent varies from project to project, from activity to activity, and from crew to crew. Other factors and processes must therefore be involved. The action‐response model of productivity loss in construction identifies these factors and processes. The model graphically depicts how a variety of factors may interact to cause a loss of productivity; how a crew is influenced by these factors; and how the management of crews can mitigate, eliminate, initiate, or exacerbate any particular loss of productivity. By applying the model to three case studies, a new approach to evaluating loss of productivity is illustrated.

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Information & Authors

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Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 120Issue 1March 1994
Pages: 47 - 64

History

Received: Nov 12, 1992
Published online: Mar 1, 1994
Published in print: Mar 1994

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Authors

Affiliations

David W. Halligan, Member, ASCE
Proj. Controls Mgr., O'Brien‐Kreitzberg & Assoc, Inc., Bayside Plaza, 188 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
Laura A. Demsetz, Associate Member, ASCE
Asst. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
James D. Brown, Member, ASCE
Vice Pres., O'Brien‐Kreitzberg & Assoc., Inc., Bayside Plaza, 188 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
Clark B. Pace
Grad. Student, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720

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