Thomas, H R; Sanvido, V E and Sanders, S R (1989) Impact of material management on productivity: a case study. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 115(3), pp. 370-384. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Recent CII research has indicated that formal material management programs have the potential to yield significant construction cost savings, yet small-and medium-sized commercial contractors may not feel that an integrated material management program is cost effective. The objective of this paper is to quantify the adverse impacts of ineffective material management practices. Data collected as part of an ongoing construction productivity study is used to analyze and compare the effects of material management practices on two steel erection projects. Rules of credit were applied to calculate the daily output. Adverse conditions caused by the lack of an effective material management program are identified, and the days on which the conditions occurred are noted. For these days, the actual daily productivity is compared with the expected productivity to determine the number of work-hours lost. The cost impact is compared to the cost of effective material management. The results show a benefits/cost ratio of 5.7, favoring greater attention to material management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | construction productivity, case study, savings, productivity, construction cost, management practice, program |
| Subjects: | software systems, management, data collection methods, financial and cost management, economic analysis, operations management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here