Chan, P (2002) Factors affecting labour productivity in the construction industry. In: Greenwood, D (ed.) Proceedings of 18th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2002, Northumbria, UK.
Abstract
Much research in the area of construction productivity focussed on the factors affecting labour. However, these studies tend to look at the factors in isolation and thus were inadequate in the recommendations for productivity improvements. This is because labour productivity is a complex and multifaceted issue. Given the recent industrial initiatives of Rethinking Construction and Respect for People, it is becoming an ever more important agenda to understand the workforce. This study, part of a Ph.D. research into construction labour productivity, attempts to determine how the site management personnel perceives the concept of construction labour productivity and to elicit key factors that would lead to improvements. These perceptions are explored by engaging with the personal constructs of the participants through focus group interviews. The findings suggest a greater emphasis on four key aspects of planning, teamwork, welfare and job security.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | focus group interviews; labour productivity; personal constructs |
| Index terms: | labour productivity, site management, construction labour, respect for people, construction productivity, construction industry, focus group, becoming, teamwork, interview, personnel, productivity |
| Subjects: | management, philosophical process, industry analysis, data collection methods, ethical practice, construction operations, operations management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Project Management, Business Strategy, Human Resources, Organizational Design, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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