Gupta, M; Hasan, A; Jain, A K and Jha, K N (2018) Site amenities and workers' welfare factors affecting workforce productivity in Indian construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(11): 04018101, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The issue of low productivity has remained a very serious and chronic problem in construction projects. While previous studies have identified several factors that cause low construction productivity, factors related to site amenities and labor welfare measures have not received enough attention. This paper encompasses factors related to site amenities and labor welfare that directly or indirectly affect productivity of the construction workforce. Factor analysis conducted on 151 responses associated with 38 identified site amenities and labor welfare attributes identified eight factors: (1) health and medical provisions, (2) site services, (3) labor camp facilities, (4) hygiene and sanitation, (5) leave and benefits, (6) social welfare and employment policies, (7) remuneration, and (8) accommodation facilities. One-way ANOVA was performed to compare the views of the engineers and supervisors. Furthermore, data were collected from five different construction sites to assess the quality of the prevailing conditions of site amenities and labor welfare and its implications for labor productivity. It was found that the major reasons leading to poor quality of site amenities and labor welfare are related to improper letters of intent (LOIs) and delays in land acquisition for setting up proper labor camps. The outcome of this study is likely to direct more research and organizational efforts in this direction, especially in the context of developing countries such as India, where work and living conditions of construction workers have yet to receive the required attention of both policymakers and project stakeholders.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction projects; labor productivity; labor welfare; site amenities |
| Index terms: | productivity, employment, engineer, factor analysis, labour productivity, supervisor, India, construction worker, construction productivity, developing country, construction site, construction project, land acquisition, letters of intent, project stakeholder, living condition, sanitation |
| Subjects: | contract formation, real estate economics, operations management, work location, practitioner, profession, statistical analysis, environmental health, sociology, Geography, production management, development economics, management |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Site Management, Contract Administration, Urban Studies, Human Resources, International Construction |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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