Labor Productivity Drivers and Opportunities in the Construction Industry

The study of labor productivity in the construction industry is gaining increasing attention as the industry faces multiple problems related to its workforce. This paper presents the results of a survey instrument applied to determine the relative level of relevance of construction labor productivity drivers and opportunities. Owners, general contractors, electrical contractors, mechanical contractors, consultants, and others participated in this survey. Management skills and manpower issues were identified as the two areas with the greatest potential to affect productivity according to survey respondents. Surprisingly, external factors, which are often cited as a major cause for reduced productivity in the construction industry, were considered to be one of the least relevant productivity drivers. These results suggest that respondents consider the improvement of labor productivity within their reach and control rather than determined by external conditions.     

Occupational Injuries and Fatalities in the Roofing Contracting Industry

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the roofing industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the prevention of these illnesses, injuries, and fatalities. In order to achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan roofing contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. Of the 48 roofing companies asked to participate, 24 completed the survey. The survey results indicated that hand and finger injuries due to cutting operations and back injuries due to the manual handling of heavy and bulky materials to be the most frequent roofing contracting task/injury combination. Falls from elevations as well as on the same level typically occurred when carrying heavy and bulky materials such as bundles of shingles on slippery and inclined walking/working surfaces. These findings from this study may assist safety professionals in the construction industry in making effective changes for improving safety and productivity.     

Design∕Build Methods for Electrical Contracting Industry

This paper reports on a project sponsored by the Electrical Contracting Foundation that examined the design∕build (D∕B) approach and the various dimensions of the decision process that electrical contractors consider before entering this emerging marketplace. Electrical contractors were surveyed regarding many different aspects of D∕B and how those factors impact their business. The survey revealed several important trends and preferences among electrical contractors. One area identified in the survey worthy of note is that many of the electrical contractors felt ill prepared to embark on D∕B with their current understanding of the issues.     

Impact of Overmanning on Mechanical and Sheet Metal Labor Productivity

This paper details the impacts of overmanning on labor productivity for labor-intensive trades, namely mechanical and sheet metal contractors. Overmanning, as used in the following research, is defined as an increase of the peak number of workers of the same trade over the actual average manpower used throughout the project. The paper begins by reviewing literature on the effects of overmanning on labor productivity. Via a survey to various contractors, data were collected from 54 mechanical and sheet metal projects located across the United States. Various statistical analysis techniques are then performed to determine quantitative relationship between overmanning and labor productivity. These techniques include the stepwise method, T-test, P-value tests, analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis. The results indicate a 0–41% loss of productivity depending on the level of overmanning and the peak project manpower. Cross-validation is performed to validate the final model. Finally, a case study is provided to demonstrate the application of the model.     

Horizontal Directional Drilling: Profile of an Emerging Industry

Perhaps the fastest growing segment in the underground trenchless construction industry is horizontal directional drilling (HDD). Currently, in North America alone, there are 17 manufacturers of HDD rigs and accessories and thousands of horizontal drilling rigs that are owned and operated by several hundred dedicated HDD contractors as well as utility companies and large pipeline outfits. Applications of HDD span across the civil engineering spectrum from mineral and oil exploration to the installation of telecommunication cables. An industry survey was conducted to gain a better understanding of this multibillion dollar industry, which is relatively unfamiliar to many in the construction sector. This paper presents the results obtained from analyzing 49 survey responses from HDD contractors in the United States and Canada. Topics investigated include company profile (e.g., annual volume, areas of activities); type of projects performed (e.g., applications, value, duration, type of product installed), and bidding and estimating practices (e.g., productivity values in various formations, cost of installation), Current and future trends in the industry are identified and discussed.     

Latent Structures of the Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity

At any moment in time, a multitude of factors simultaneously impact construction productivity. Utilizing the knowledge of thousands of construction craft workers, the writers quantitatively analyzed the underlying structure of the factors affecting construction productivity and identified which factors the craft workers consider to be more relatively important as well. This research identified 83 factors affecting construction labor productivity through 18 focus groups with craft workers and their immediate supervisors on nine jobsites throughout the U.S. Next, a nationwide survey was administered to 1,996 craft workers to assess the impact of these factors on construction labor productivity. Principal factor analyses identified 10 latent factors to represent the underlying structure of 83 productivity factors. In addition, the relative importance of the factors’ impact on construction productivity was examined based on the crafts’ union status, trade, and position (craft worker versus foreman). The writers also compared their results to similar previous efforts, and more importantly, identified significant differences that may impact future productivity improvement strategies. This research will help industry and the research community better understand the factors affecting construction labor productivity and more effectively direct future efforts to improve its performance.     

Analysis of Occupational Injuries and Fatalities in Electrical Contracting Industry

The purpose of this paper was twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the electrical contracting sector of the construction industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the prevention of these injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. To achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan electrical contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. This paper presents and discusses the results of this study.     

Stimulating Construction Innovation in Singapore through the National System of Innovation

This paper examines the national approach to the stimulation of innovation in construction. Based on a qualitative systems thinking approach, a model of the National System of Innovation (NSI) is structured with five main NSI actors: local contractors; suppliers; national research institutions; government; and foreign contractors. This model, established by the assumption that local contractors’ key motivation for innovation is based on profit maximization, highlights two main driving forces of construction innovation within the NSI: profit incentives and the social desirability of higher construction productivity and quality. The research findings indicate that high profit levels provide a higher number of growth momentums compared to the social desirability of innovation. Additionally, although social desirability of construction innovation is associated with a number of obstacles, high profit levels do not impose any significant hindrances. Based on the research findings, it is concluded that innovation policies should be focused on sustaining higher profit levels of contractors. The social desirability of innovation can be more efficiently utilized by regular reviews of national policies as the industry develops.     

Role of Workforce Management in Bridge Superstructure Labor Productivity

There have been many studies on different aspects of the construction process in regard to how they each impact construction productivity. In reviewing the documentation of this research, very few articles were located that dealt with heavy/highway construction in general, and even fewer were found that dealt with bridges in particular. In addition, very little was found in the literature dealing with the effect that the quality of workforce management has on construction productivity. This paper describes the results of four case studies of highway bridge construction performed by established contractors with little bridge building experience, in which workforce management had a significant negative effect on labor productivity. The contractors’ lack of experience in bridge construction seemed to be the cause of several problems that plagued each of the four projects. The baseline productivity of each project was calculated, and the loss of labor efficiency was estimated to be 80, 75, 32, and 70%, respectively. The schedule slippage on the four case study projects was estimated to be between 127 and 329%.     

Union and Open Shop Labor Cost Differences

One area within the construction industry that has dramatically changed is the growth of open shop construction. This growth suggests that open shop general contractors may have a competitive advantage over union general contractors. This paper investigates productivity and wage rate variances between Colorado open shop and union general contractors on projects completed since January 1981. Though there is little productivity variance, a significant variance of wage rates indicate the Colorado open shop general contractor presently has a clear overall labor advantage. The productivity and wage rate variance of 29 individual project job tasks were investigated. Data was collected from 35 union and 20 open shop contractors' project labor costs reports. Additional information was collected during interviews with representatives of eleven general contractors. The productivity and wage rate variances are described by individual job tasks; by the union craft jurisdictions of laborers, carpenters, ironworkers, and cement finishers; and by an overall comparison between open shop and union general contractors.     

Issues in Subcontracting Practice

Subcontractors are very important to the successful completion of most construction projects, yet the many issues involved in subcontracting practice are seldom acknowledged. A literature review indicates that these issues include the timeliness of payments by general contractors, the process of selecting subcontractors, subcontractor bonding, construction insurance, safety issues on the construction site, partnering arrangements with various parties, and productivity issues. A questionnaire survey was administered to subcontractors, general contractors, and construction owners to investigate these issues and to determine the differences in perceptions between the parties. The results confirm the existence of the issues identified in the literature and in addition indicate that (1) the practice of retainage withheld by general contractors seems to be acceptable to many subcontractors unless its magnitude is large relative to the size of the firm; (2) postaward bid shopping by general contractors is sometimes justified, particularly in cases where the scope of subcontract work is modified; and (3) current bonding and insurance practices are adequate unless the additional transferred risks are excessive. Recommendations are made on the basis of the findings to minimize the negative effects of said issues.     

Relationship between Organizational Sizes and Contractors’ Risk Pricing Behaviors for Weather Risk under Different Project Values and Durations

A problem that always annoys building employers and their consultants when drafting building contracts is whether it is more cost efficient to retain certain risks with themselves or to transfer the same to contractors, and it has long been a difficulty to accurately estimate the cost for transferring risks to the other contract party. It is a very common market practice to remove contractors’ entitlement to extension of time due to inclement weather, and in view of the significant impacts that inclement weather posed on construction progress, it would be helpful to assess the associated costs for such risk allocation exercises in order to ensure that it is a cost-effective transaction. The costs for these potential weather-caused delays are priced by contractors in their returned tenders. This risk-pricing behavior is affected by the contractor’s risk perception and risk attitude. However, merely working out contractors’ risk perception and risk attitude patterns is inadequate, as they may vary in accordance with different organizational sizes and project backgrounds. Therefore, further studies should be carried out on the implications of project information, such as project value and contract period, on different-sized contractors’ risk behaviors. In this research, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the weather-risk-pricing behavioral patterns of various-sized contractors under different given project scenarios. The survey revealed that the impacts of project value and contract period (and, thus, the intensity of work and scale of exposure to weather risk) were significant on contractors’ risk behaviors, and these impacts varied in accordance with different organizational sizes. The medium-sized contractors’ pricing behaviors were rather constant under different project values and contract periods, while both small and large contractors behaved differently when the intensity of work and scale of risk exposure varied. Despite the fact that contractors of various sizes behaved differently in some given scenarios, the number of days of delaying cost allowed by them in returned tenders were generally less than the actual number of days of inclement weather affecting work.     

Mechanical Contracting Safety Issues

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to determine jobs/tasks associated with current injury, illness, and fatality trends in the mechanical contracting branches of the construction industry; and (2) to identify current safety practices associated with the reduction of risk of these injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. To achieve the project objectives, a survey was designed and sent to Michigan mechanical contractors. To design an adequate survey, the research team first collected background information using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics online database, published research, and contractor interviews. Fourteen of the 50 mechanical contracting surveys distributed were completed. The pilot study found eye injuries due to grinding and welding and upper extremity cuts due to sheet metal to be the most frequent mechanical contracting task/injury combination.     

Contractor Prebid Planning Principles

Planning is an essential function of project management. Yet, many small- and medium-sized contractors do a relatively poor job of operational planning. Better prebid plans will reduce costs, shorten schedules, and improve labor productivity. Unfortunately, the published literature offers little guidance for smaller contractors on what constitutes effective planning. Most papers describe planning as a macrolevel process for owners. Most emphasize scope definition for industrial projects. This paper describes a microlevel planning process for contractors. It consists of eight steps which are: (1) assess contract risks; (2) develop a preliminary execution plan; (3) develop site layout plans; (4) identify the sequences that are essential-to-success; (5) develop detailed operational plans; (6) develop proactive strategies to assure construction input into design; (7) revise the preliminary plan; and (8) communicate and enforce the plan. The entire process is illustrated with a case study project and is fully illustrated with figures which show how to integrate the work of multiple contractors, keep key resources (crews or equipment) fully engaged with no downtime, provide time buffers so the work of follow on crews can be efficiently done, expedite the schedule using multiple work stations and concurrent work, ways to communicate the work plan to the superintendent and foremen, and how to assess the feasibility of various work methods. The steps are easy to understand and implement. They will yield immediate positive results.     

Craft Jurisdiction Impact on Construction

Construction craft jurisdiction, normally exercised by unions, includes both territorial and technological claims to certain categories of work. Jurisdiction is important to unions in maintaining membership, negotiating wages and benefits, defining apprenticeship programs, and establishing work rules. This paper reports on a research project that had three main objectives: (1) Collect and analyze statistics on the incidence of jurisdictional disputes; (2) evaluate existing jurisdictional dispute settlement mechanisms; and (3) survey contractors and owners to determine the impact of craft jurisdictional practices (not only disputes) on costs and schedules. The paper concludes that there is inadequate statistical information at present to support informed decision‐making on jurisdictional problems. Most dispute settlement mechanisms are antiquated and ineffective, but there are good plans in some local areas. The survey revealed that there are serious cost and schedule impacts on construction projects from observing craft jurisdictional practices.     

Forms of Collaboration and Project Delivery in Chinese Construction Markets: Probable Emergence of Strategic Alliances and Design/Build

Changes in regulations to allow foreign contractors to qualify as wholly foreign-owned “construction enterprises” came into effect in September 2002 as one of the steps taken by the Chinese government to honor its World Trade Organization commitments. Emerging markets have a significant impact on the strategic planning of contractors; based on an electronic survey covering foreign contractors, clients (foreign investors), and design institutes, the design/build procurement route in conjunction with strategic alliances has been found to enable foreign contractors to enter the Chinese marketplace. The writers present a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis to inform readers where opportunities for development might be found and to warn of threats to entry. The research also found that mutual trust, synergistic strengths and complementarities, market demand for services, flexibility for both parties, and minimum change of top managers were ranked as the top five critical success factors for strategic alliances between foreign contractors and design institutes. Finally, medium-sized, state-owned, and large-sized design institutes were ranked as the first, second, and third preferences, respectively, for strategic partnering by foreign contractors.     

Marketing Practices of U.S. Contractors

The construction industry possesses characteristics of the production and service industries. This uniqueness requires marketing practices tailored specifically to match the construction market. A questionnaire survey of 65 U.S. contractors was conducted to determine the extent to which they are implementing a modified marketing mix theory that is compatible with the construction industry. The modified marketing mix theory recommends that contractors confront marketing from five perspectives, known as the five P’s of marketing: product, price, promotion, place, and people. This study showed that the five P’s of marketing are used by U.S. contractors in this decreasing order: product, price, place, promotion, and people. According to the survey results, U.S. contractors allocate about 1.5% of their annual revenue to marketing, but they may be spending more than they report. There seem to be only few differences between contractors that negotiate their contracts versus contractors who competitively bid their contracts, larger versus smaller companies, and contractors with a higher success rate in getting new contract awards versus contractors with a lower success rate.     

Contractor Selection Criteria: Investigation of Opinions of Singapore Construction Practitioners

The construction industry has witnessed the failure of many contractors due to varying reasons such as financial problems, poor performance, or accidents arising from the lack of adequate safety consideration at worksites. All these incidents have led to the impression that the current system of awarding the contracts is inefficient in selecting the contractor capable of meeting the demands and challenges of present times and hence needs to be reviewed accordingly. Therefore, in an attempt to investigate the current situation of the Singapore construction industry a questionnaire survey was conducted for accruing the data required to identify the important contractor selection criteria (CSC) and to draw upon construction practitioners’ opinions regarding the importance of those CSC in assessing the capabilities of the candidate contractors during the selection process. The research reported upon forms part of a larger study that aims to develop a computer-interactive multicriteria decision system for contractor selection involving identification of CSC for inclusion in the system, investigation of CSC preferences of construction practitioners, and establishment of weights for those CSC from their perceived importance determined through the questionnaire survey of Singapore construction practitioners. The study highlights that there are statistically significant differences in opinions regarding the degree of importance assigned to some CSC among public clients, private clients, and contractors. Findings from the study may act as an aid in improving the Singapore construction industry by helping construction clients identify multiple CSC apart from cost which should always be considered when assessing the capability of candidate contractors during the selection process, by assisting contractors in improving their attributes in line with clients’ preferences and by facilitating Singapore construction clients and researchers to develop a contractor selection system capable of assessing multiple attributes of the candidate contractors so that the risk of the project failure due to the selection of an inappropriate contractor is minimized.     

Subcontractor Evaluation and Management Framework for Strategic Partnering

Recently, main contractors have shifted their attitudes about subcontract procurement to more strategic and long-term partnering philosophies. The objective of this study was to present a framework for subcontractor evaluation and management to help main contractors develop more strategic and productive relationships with their subcontract partners. As the strategic performance feedback model, the balanced scorecard concept was adopted with modification. A case study was also conducted to evaluate the framework with subcontracting strategy, performance indexes, weighting, evaluation of subcontractor performance data, and feedback methods. The research results obtained can be useful as a guideline of subcontractor management for long-term partnering and also to enhance overall productivity within the construction supply chain.