Liu, R and Fischer, M (2025) A context taxonomy for construction field crew members. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(3): 04024214, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The construction industry has encountered persistent stagnation in labor productivity spanning several decades. Although lean construction principles underscore the significance of information availability and transparency, advocating for bilateral communication with onsite personnel, it has come to light that the existing information levels fall short of satisfying the information requirements of field crew members. Timely and comprehensive information regarding context and context changes is crucial for construction field crew members when executing their tasks. Insufficiencies in this aspect could lead to increased variability and prolonged task cycle times for field crew members engaged in similar construction tasks. However, at present, there exists a dearth of a systematic understanding of context, rendering it challenging to promptly disseminate context-related information and its variations to field crew members. This research endeavor strives to bridge this knowledge gap by formulating a comprehensive construction context taxonomy encompassing 17 distinct context dimensions. This research contributes to the domain by (1) reviewing and amalgamating existing literature on context to delineate the potential structuring of context information, (2) developing a comprehensive context taxonomy comprising 17 diverse context dimensions, and (3) validating the taxonomy through semistructured interviews with industry experts and real-world field studies. The context taxonomy herein furnishes a structured representation of context specifically tailored to the requirements of construction field crew members. Consequently, it engenders a shared understanding of context and holds promise for catalyzing relevant research initiatives within the construction industry. For practical implementation, the context taxonomy may serve as a valuable tool for recognizing and conveying context and its fluctuations to construction field crew members, thereby enhancing their work processes and productivity.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | onsite, productivity, labour productivity, construction industry, taxonomy, implementation, dimension, variability, transparency, lean construction, personnel, interview, field study, variation |
| Subjects: | building construction, research methods, contractual arrangements, statistical analysis, industry analysis, management, professional development, contractual condition, health monitoring assessment and metrics, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Procurement, Health and Safety, Construction Technology, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Site Management, Contract Administration, Human Resources |
| 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