A comparative evaluation of planning engineers' formwork productivity rates in European construction

A bespoke methodology is utilised to analyse and compare the productivity rates of contractors' planning engineers, for in situ concrete formwork operations amongst three European construction industries, namely those of Germany, France and the U.K. Analysis of variance is used to investigate differences between the productivity rates. Based on such rates it would appear that French contractors achieve the most efficient levels of labour productivity for this particular operation, whilst the “average” British contractor is by far the least productive compared to the “average” French and German company. Although leading British contractors can compete with the best on the continent, the most unproductive companies in the U.K. are significantly inferior to those in France and Germany. Actual labour costs for this concrete operation are likely to be lowest in France even though French wage rates are marginally higher than in the U.K.; this is due to the superior labour output of French contractors.     

Evaluation of trends in the UK construction industry using growth and productivity accounts

For an assessment of the productivity performance of construction at the industry level, the quality of any analysis can be improved by the availability and use of detailed data on the basic components of the industry’s production function. The EU KLEMS Growth and Productivity Accounts comprise a dataset that provides a rich source of information on the sources of growth by industry, one of which is the construction industry (ISIC 45), since the 1970s for European Union countries and other major economies. The database allows a breakdown of factor inputs by the categorization of capital inputs into asset types and labour inputs into components such as skill levels to provide more precise measurement of sources of growth at industry level. The UK construction sector forms the focal point of the analysis and the results of this analysis provide evidence of a steady increase in the growth of ICT and improved labour skills usage and a relatively high rate of total factor productivity for the UK construction industry.     

Forecasting construction manpower demand: A vector error correction model

Manpower demand forecast is an essential component to facilitate manpower planning. The purpose of this paper is to establish a long-run relationship between the aggregate demand for construction manpower and a group of inter-related economic variables including construction output, wage, material price, bank rate and productivity, based on dynamic econometric modelling techniques. The Johansen co-integration procedure and the likelihood ratio tests indicate the existence of a long-run and stable relationship among the variables. A vector error correction (VEC) model is then developed for forecasting purposes and is verified against various diagnostic statistical criteria. The construction output and labour productivity are found to be the most significant and sensitive factors determining the demand of construction manpower. The model and the factors identified may assist in predicting manpower demand trend and formulating policies, training and retraining programmes tailored to deal effectively with the industry's labour resource requirements in this critical sector of economy.     

The impact of training on labour productivity in the European utilities sector: An empirical analysis

This paper investigates the effects of firm training on productivity growth among sustainable utility companies in Europe during the Great Recession (2008–2010). The empirical analysis uses an ad-hoc dataset based on the merge between financial and sustainability reporting. Evidence indicates the existence of positive effects of both training flow and training stock on average labour productivity, showing the crucial role of firm-sponsored human capital development in the utilities sector. Results and implications offer useful insights for a faster recovery of the utilities sector after severe recessions and in presence of major techno-organizational changes through countercyclical training investments.     

Total factor productivity growth accounting in the construction industry of Singapore

Total factor productivity (TFP) determines long‐term economic growth and is a comprehensive industry‐level productivity measure. This paper proposes Jorgenson's method as an appropriate TFP measurement for the construction industry. The method is less restrictive than the conventional Chau's approach, as it does not impose the Hick Neutral Technical Change assumption. Jorgenson's method is then applied to estimate TFP growth in the construction industry of Singapore over 1984–1998. TFP growth is found down by 1.53% per annum over this period, indicating that the performance of TFP in the construction industry lags behind the rest of economy. TFP growth is also found to be fluctuating over time and tends to move in tandem with the construction business cycle.

As a monitor of progress towards TFP achievement, factors influencing TFP growth in the construction industry of Singapore over 1984–1997 are identified. Seven factors are found to be significantly related to TFP growth. Among them, economies of scale, R&D by the industry, investment allowance granted and labour unions are leading contributors to TFP growth; while foreign worker, construction accidents and pre‐cast are major hampers.

The general methodology presented in this study can be applied to other countries. Future studies are required to find appropriate indicators for factors unquantified.     

Construction statistics review for Kenya

Construction is a strategic industry in developing economies like Kenya. In order for construction to ably perform this role, there is a need to provide information on its various economic aspects including raw materials, products, processes, finance and labour. Construction statistics of Kenya have been evaluated in order to ascertain their adequacy in terms of scope, portrait, reliability and responsiveness in their coverage of the construction industry. Official statistics published in the annual Statistical Abstract were reviewed according to these adequacy criteria. The findings are that: the scope of construction statistics is narrowly defined making the statistical portrait of the sector incomplete; the statistics are also unreliable in terms of quality and unresponsive to economical challenges of inflation, structural adjustment policies and the decline of the public sector's role in the construction industry. A participatory statistical governance framework is recommended in order to improve the scope of statistics and alleviate the attendant problems, such as the incomplete portrait, that come with the narrow scope.     

Creating a baseline for labour productivity of reinforced concrete building construction in Kuwait

Despite many technological advances, construction remains a labour intensive industry, and labour productivity remains the industry’s predominant determinant of performance. However, there is a lack of evidence-based labour productivity ‘baselines’ with which researchers or industry practitioners can compare the efficiency of the labour force, and subsequently establish sensible benchmarks. A rigorous approach to determining baselines for labour productivity of in situ reinforced concrete trades for major building elements under normal operating conditions in the State of Kuwait has therefore been developed. The data were collected from 208 in situ reinforced concrete building projects between 2006 and 2013. The intermittent observation data collection technique which requires the researcher to carry out weekly site visits to audit site staff daily records was used. Projects observed included residential, office and commercial buildings ranging from 1000 to 15 000 m² in gross floor area, and US$300 000 to US$21 000 000 in construction cost, located across most major cities and suburbs within the State. For each dataset, the minimum, lower quartile, median, upper quartile and maximum labour productivity values are presented. Whilst the median and inter-quartile range represent the baseline or normal labour productivity range of the related activity, the lower and upper quartiles may be used as benchmarks to identify poor and exceptional performance. Although the metrics are specific to Kuwait, the principles of data collection, analysis and use are generic and could be applied to advantage in other countries.     

An analysis of construction productivity differences between Canada and the United States

Comparisons of industry sectors in advanced economies since the 1960s show that the construction sector has lagged in productivity growth rates, especially in the United States. Although the US and Canadian economies are highly integrated, Canada’s experience differs in key ways. Analysis of these differences offers insight into fundamental construction productivity drivers. Three levels of analyses of construction productivity in the US are provided in this study. The first analysis compared international levels of labour productivity growth. The second compared construction productivity between the US and Canada, and the third analysed cost estimating data from RS Means estimating manuals to measure the changes in labour and partial factor productivity in the US from 1995 to 2009. Statistical significance testing indicates that labour productivity remained nearly constant in the building sub-sector and that partial factor productivity has improved at an annual compound rate of 0.66%. This supports previous findings that US construction has stagnated but is still improving in Canada, with wage differentials and training systems as potential drivers of this difference. While growth rates of productivity seem to decline with higher absolute levels of productivity, there is no evidence that high absolute productivity levels preclude significant growth.     

Craft versus industry: the division of labour in European housing construction

Two distinct divisions and concepts of labour are apparent from an analysis of social housebuilding sites in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands: the craft form, based on controlling the output of labour; and the industry form, based on the quality of labour input. These are associated with different work processes, skills and training, and also different levels of mechanization and component prefabrication. In the UK, which is craft-based, low levels of mechanization and prefabrication were found compared with Germany and the Netherlands, and the range of activities for the separate trades in assembling superstructure elements was simpler. Labourers are distinct from craftsmen and remain a significant group. Skills are narrow and training provision low. A high proportion of the labour force remains self-employed, under labour-only subcontractors, working to price or output. In comparison, in Germany and the Netherlands labour is employed directly and work processes are more complex, with more specialisms at the interfaces. The division of labour is industry-wide, training provision is extensive, and skills are broad and integrated into the grading structure. Greater speed, higher productivity and lower levels of supervision are associated with industry-wide systems compared with traditional craft forms.     

European air transport liberalization: Possible ways out of the single European sky gridlock

This article presents the gradual liberalization of European air transport, especially its most recent problems in the case of the Single European Sky (SES). Indeed, after successfully liberalizing airlines and, to a certain extent, airports, the European Commission has embarked on the process of creating an SES. The article describes the process and the main actors. It focuses in particular on the identification of the various actors' interests, and explains the current gridlock of the SES as a result of conflicting objectives among the main players, which include, among others, the member states and the European Commission. A way out of this gridlock may reside in a novel approach to unbundling different types of services, and introducing competition in some of these services.     

Housing and the European Union

There is increasing interest in the Europeanisation of housing policy in the member states of the European Union. While the EU has no competence in housing policy, its different activities impinge on the housing sector in various ways. This paper argues that recent changes in EU policy have made the EU more important for the housing sector and that it is essential to continue to review the interaction between European policies and housing activity.     

What kinds of R&D consortia enhance SMEs productivity? A hierarchical Bayesian approach for the analysis of a regional innovation policy

Regional innovation policies often encourage the formation of R&D consortia between co-localised small- and medium- sized firms (SMEs) and large companies, universities or other agents. We investigate the benefits in terms of labour productivity arising for SMEs from alternative configurations of such consortia. We focus on an Italian regional policy. Using a hierarchical Bayesian approach for inference, we find that consortia work better when they are vertical rather than horizontal, and when they match SMEs to large firms. On the contrary, neither the presence of a university nor that of an innovation intermediary is always associated with higher firms' productivity.     

The impact of non‐financial incentives on bricklayers' productivity in Nigeria

High productivity is regarded as a goal that ensures long‐term survival of firms. In Nigeria's labour‐intensive construction industry, firms are currently applying various non‐financial incentive schemes aimed at improving operatives' productivity. A questionnaire survey involving the management and operatives of construction firms was conducted to determine the impact of these scheme on the productivity of bricklayers. The survey was complemented with on‐site observation and measurement of bricklayers' output on 40 construction projects in order to determine the impact of non‐financial incentive schemes on productivity. Comparative analysis of sites with and without incentives showed that non‐financial incentive schemes significantly improved bricklayers' productive time and these schemes accounted for 6% to 26% of the variations in output between the two sets of sites on block laying and concreting activities measured.     

Benchmarking on-site productivity in France and the UK: a CALIBRE approach

Construction is an increasingly global industry, and benchmarking initiatives that are restricted to a single country run the risk of complacency, as national best practice falls out of line with international best practice. The aim of this article is to report the results of a detailed comparative analysis of the on-site performance of the UK and French divisions of a major UK construction corporation. It focuses on structural concrete because this is potentially a major element in the budget and programme of any construction project, and an area of known French strength. It deploys an innovative computerized productivity measurement tool based on activity sampling, ‘CALIBRE’, in order to provide detailed comparative data. The results show that the UK productivity performance is poorer than in France, and that the poor UK performance compared with the French is explained by elaborate divisions of labour, lack of investment in plant, and less effective work organization. However, as will be argued in the conclusions, these differences cannot be understood without reference to the overall contracting system and the constraints upon action that it imposes.     

An analysis of construction productivity in Malaysia

The construction industry is an industry of major strategic importance. Its level of productivity has a significant effect on national economic growth. Productivity indicators are examined. The indicators consist of labour productivity, capital productivity, labour competitiveness, capital intensity and added value content of data, which are obtained from the published census/biannual surveys of the construction industry between the years 1999 and 2011 from the Department of Statistics of Malaysia. The results indicated that there is an improvement in the labour productivity, but the value-added content is declining. The civil engineering and special trades subsectors are more productive than the residential and non-residential subsectors in terms of labour productivity because machine-for-labour substitution is a more important process in those subsectors. The capital-intensive characteristics of civil engineering and special trade works enable these subsectors to achieve higher added value per labour cost but not the capital productivity. The added value per labour cost is lower in larger organizations despite higher capital productivity. However, the capital intensity is lower and unit labour cost is higher in the larger organizations.     

Input–output analysis of Irish construction sector greenhouse gas emissions

Ireland is committed to limiting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 113% of 1990 levels over the period 2008–12 and to 84% of 2005 levels by 2020 under the Kyoto Agreement and the EU's 2020 target by 2020 respectively. National policies have targeted many industry sectors but have failed to directly tackle GHG emissions associated with construction activity. This paper estimates energy and GHG emissions intensities of the Irish construction sector and subsectors and estimates its contribution to Irish national emissions. This information is used to identify and assess the impacts of policy measures which would result in a reduction in emissions from the sector in a cost-effective manner. Energy and emissions intensities are estimated using input–output analysis techniques applied to Irish construction sector.     

The changing role of builders merchants in the construction supply chain

Builders merchants are an integral part of the construction industry, yet rarely are they consulted when discussions take place on the future of the construction industry. Throughout history, builders merchants have played a dominant role in the construction industry, initially as an intermediary between the artisan and the buyer, and more recently as a source of working capital for contracting firms. The merchanting industry currently is undergoing considerable change. The depressed construction market and the failure of the housing repair and maintenance sector to recover in the first half of the 1990's as activity in the private non-housing repair and maintenance sector has increased, has raised competition between merchants. The major building merchants are becoming larger by acquisition and merger, the smaller merchants are seeking niche areas, and the medium-size firms are under serious threat from acquisition by the larger merchanting firms. The trend towards consolidation in the sector, driven by the need to reduce costs, has meant that the large merchanting firms now control around 60% of the building materials market sales. Factoring is a growing trend, particularly with smaller companies sourcing goods from the cheapest source. The larger merchants have to respond by sourcing goods from the lowest cost base, irrespective of whether they buy from overseas markets. This paper analyses the UK builders merchants sector and evaluates the important role played in the supply chain.     

Future opportunities for offsite in the UK

Practitioners' views and opinions on the benefits and drawbacks of offsite technologies in the UK construction industry can vary widely, often depending upon their role or position. This research provides an indication of the opinions of the different sectors within the industry, including clients, designers, contractors and offsite suppliers, together with some predictions for the future growth of the offsite sector in the UK. A questionnaire survey of UK construction was conducted in order to target the three main construction industry sectors—suppliers/manufacturers, contractors and designers/clients. More than 80 questionnaires were completed and returned. The vast majority of practitioners within the industry are aware of the possibilities and potential of offsite, and most also understand the advantages and disadvantages of its use. The value of the UK offsite market was valued at £2.2bn in 2004 and the demand for offsite is clearly increasing, but it is not always clear in a project who is the main driver for its use. For the offsite market to develop further however, two main problems need to be addressed; the lack of transparent information for the decision makers in the construction process, particularly that relating to comparative costs, and the lack of available multi‐skilled labour to work in the offsite factories.     

Did the late-2000s financial crisis influence construction labour productivity?

The late-2000s global financial crisis has wrought dramatic impacts on the construction industry. However, the issue of whether the crisis influenced the behaviours of the construction industry has not been addressed yet. This research presents an econometric approach to investigating the effects of the recent global financial crisis on construction labour productivity. By employing the error correction model and panel regression methods, the direct and indirect effects of the financial crisis on the changes in Australian construction labour productivity are explored at national and state levels. Neither the direct nor the indirect effects appear statistically significant. The results indicate that the direct effect of the financial crisis drives up construction labour productivity at the national level, while the indirect effect diminishes productivity. The effects of the financial crisis on the state construction labour productivity vary from state to state. The financial crisis influenced construction labour productivity directly and significantly in the northern and eastern regions, while the direct effects appear not significant in the other states and territories. The indirect effects of the financial crisis on productivity are statistically significant in three regions: the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. By comparison, the model with the financial effects fails to provide more accurate simulating results. As such, this research concludes that the influence of the late-2000s financial crisis on Australian national and state construction labour productivity is limited.     

Analysing factors affecting delays in Indian construction projects

Construction projects in India are experiencing widespread delays. Due to a dramatic shift in the capacity and volume of the Indian construction sector over the last decade, the need of a systematic analysis of the reasons of delays and developing a clear understanding among the industry professionals are highly crucial. Using a selected set of 45 attributes, this research first identified the key factors impacting delay in Indian construction industry and then established the relationship between the critical attributes for developing prediction models for assessing the impacts of these factors on delay. A questionnaire and personal interviews have formed the basis of this research. Factor analysis and regression modelling were used to examine the significance of the delay factors. From the factor analysis, most critical factors of construction delay were identified as (1) lack of commitment; (2) inefficient site management; (3) poor site coordination; (4) improper planning; (5) lack of clarity in project scope; (6) lack of communication; and (7) substandard contract. Regression model indicates slow decision from owner, poor labour productivity, architects' reluctance for change and rework due to mistakes in construction are the reasons that affect the overall delay of the project significantly. These findings are expected to be significant contributions to Indian construction industry in controlling the time overruns in construction contracts.