Delatte, G (2014) The effects of three dimensional modeling on labor productivity through enhancing visualization of craft workers in the industrial construction industry. PhD thesis, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, USA.
Abstract
The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the use of three dimensional (3D) modeling to enhance visualization of structural steel installation would increase labor productivity of industrial construction workers in a selected industrial facility in southeastern Louisiana.The construction industry has seen a decline in labor productivity for many years. The effects of low labor productivity in the construction sector causes unnecessary escalated costs, scheduled completion dates to slip, and conflicts between the owner, engineering firm, and the construction company. The need for reversing this decline and improving construction productivity is critical. The loss of productivity has adverse consequences in the construction industry and modern society as a whole.This study included 41 individuals who were industrial construction workers installing structural steel during the research period at a selected southeastern Louisiana chemical facility. The study utilized a one-group pretest-posttest time series design. The dependent variable was labor productivity measures and the independent variables were providing 3D modeling shots, age, gender, total years of construction experience, worker classification, and frequency of looking at the 3D modeling shots.Using the paired t-test procedure, significant differences were found between labor productivity measures before and after introducing 3D modeling. Using multiple regression analysis, the researcher identified a statistically significant model. The variable frequency of looking at the 3D modeling shots explained 11.5% of the variance in mean labor productivity measures in the third week after introducing 3D modeling. This indicated that workers who reported that they looked at the 3D modeling shots more frequently tended to have higher labor productivity scores.Based on these findings, the researcher concluded that the introduction of 3D modeling shots had a significant impact on labor productivity measures. The researcher recommends further research in other disciplines and construction sectors. In addition, future research should be conducted to determine if other mechanisms to convey the 3D modeling shots have a significant impact on labor productivity. Lastly, the researcher recommends that chief executive officers of construction organizations implement the use of 3D modeling during the construction phase to enable workers to visualize the installation process before it occurs.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Burnett, M |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction sector; gender; 3D modeling; conflicts; construction phase; visualization; construction worker; owner; multiple regression; productivity; regression analysis; time series |
| Index terms: | construction worker, construction productivity, construction industry, industrial construction, chief executive officer, multiple-regression, engineering firm, owner, regression analysis, construction phase, dependent variable, labour productivity, variance, construction sector, society, time series, multiple regression analysis, modelling, independent variable, construction organization, 3D modelling, productivity, visualization, construction company |
| Subjects: | measurement and scaling, design practice, project delivery, practitioner, organization, operations management, analytical methods, firms, industry analysis, data science, sociology, management, statistical analysis, communities and social development, computational design, building construction |
| Topics: | Site Management, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Design Practice, Project Management, Roles and Professions, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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