Computerizing productivity measurement for service installation companies

Due to the uniqueness of the service sector, attempts to directly apply manufacturing sector productivity measurement models to the service sector meet with difficulty. The major difficulty lies in the definition of output. However, with a step by step computer program, the determination of output along with productivity measurement for Service Installation Companies (SIC) can become a quick and simple process. The computer program prompts the user to input data for the base year along with the comparison year and computes the final productivity for each year. Productivity measurement can then be used as a valuable tool in the overall improvement of the utilization of inputs and outputs for Service Installation Companies.

This paper aims at providing a method of productivity measurement for SIC. This approach will guide the user of the program on how to obtain the necessary company data, and implement the program in order to obtain a final productivity measurement for SIC. The information and data used for this research are based on a productivity study conducted in an Air Conditioning & Heating Installation Company. The flexibility of the computer program allows for applications to many types of Service Installation Companies.

It is expected that this research will breach the gap that presently exists in the adaption of manufacturing sector models to service sectors, with computational enhancement provided through a computer software.