Improving Frontline Supervision in Industrial Construction
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These competencies comprise a variety of skills, but their foundations are the same across Foremen and General Foremen.
| Ten Common Activities Foremen Perform Each Day | Eight Common Activities General Foremen Perform Each Day | |||
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Based on its review of the typical responsibilities, RT-330 established daily target time ranges for each of these activities that Foremen and General Foremen perform.
Self-reporting by hundreds of Foremen and General Foremen shows that many are spending time above or below the target for each of their tasks. The spread of time is very wide and indicates a large opportunity for the industry to improve. More time on productive tasks (and less time on required but non-productive tasks) will likely increase field productivity metrics.
Training and education are seen to be lacking among Foremen and General Foremen. While the majority of frontline supervisors report receiving education and training on basic tasks, they self-report having received little training on basic construction management skills (e.g., scheduling and estimating), and even less training on more advanced skills (e.g., 3D models, Lean Construction, and Advanced Work Packaging). These data support RT-330's proposition that the industry is under-investing in education for frontline supervisors.
Both Foremen and General Foremen with AWP training are shown to spend time closer to target times in several areas, suggesting that training does have positive effects beneficial to productivity.
Irrespective of training, on several tasks both Foremen and General Foremen allocated their time closer to target on AWP projects than on Traditional projects. This result supported findings from CII research teams 272 and 319, that AWP increases construction productivity.
