Vrijhoef, R (2019) Studying time presence on site as an indicator of productive time use by construction workers. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Productivity in construction is relatively low compared to other industries. This is particularly true for labour productivity. Problems that contribute to low labour productivity are often related to unorganised workspace and site logistics, and inefficient organisation of labour, materials and equipment. In terms of time use site workers spend time on various activities including installing, waiting, walking, transporting, measuring etc. Various studies have indicated different distributions of the time use per activity of site workers. In lean production terms time use could be categorised in three categories: value-added, necessary but non-value-added, and wasteful. The research reported in this paper has endeavoured to measure the improvement of the time use in those three categories when work organisation and site logistics were reorganised. The case study reported included specific logistics measures taken aimed at expected productivity improvement. This included just in time deliveries to work spaces of workers outside work hours aimed at reduced time used for walking and transporting. The study of this research investigated time use effects of few subcontractors based on interviews and on automated tracking of workforce. The interviews gave insights in the time build-up of work days of subcontractors that indicated improvements of value-added time use per day thanks to just in time deliveries. The automated tracking indicated less walking by site workers than the specific subcontractor would expect in case materials were delivered traditionally per day from ground level. In the new situation the materials were distributed to the floors in weekly batches by dedicated logistics workforce. The time measurements of the study demonstrated improved time use of site workers. However the discussion of the results underlined that the particular characteristics of individual projects may well have an impact on the productivity study result and more comparative studies between projects should be helpful.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | automated data capture; construction site; labour productivity; presence; time use |
| Index terms: | interview, case study, productivity, workspace, construction site, lean production, comparative study, presence, labour productivity, just-in-time, construction worker, site logistics, subcontractor |
| Subjects: | manufacturing engineering, management, lean logistics, practitioner, research design and methodology, data collection methods, environmental science, operations management, work location |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Supply Chain Management, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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