Work Force View of Construction Productivity

The research measured the relative impact that 83 factors had on productivity based on responses to the craft worker survey. The impact of each factor was normalized on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the greatest impact. The average normalized scores for the highest rankin categories are shown. (RS215-1, p. 17)

From the categories shown in Key Finding #1, the top 10 most significant factors were:

1. I have to wait for people and/or equipment to move the material I need.
2. There are errors in the drawings that I use.
3. When there is a question or problem with a drawing, the engineers are slow to address the issue.
4. If I need a lift to do my job, there aren’t any available.
5. When I need a crane or forklift to help me, there aren’t any available.
6. I can’t get the consumables I need to do my job.
7. I have to search in a lot of places to find the tools I need to do my job.
8. When I go to install prefabricated items, work has to be done on them to fix quality problems.
9. I can’t get the power tools from the contractor that I need to do my job.
10. My supervisor does not provide me with enough information to do my job.

(RS215-1, p. 18)

The research team concluded that:

• Craft workers not only have a good understanding of the factors that impact their productivity, but also can provide insights into the root causes.
• Most of the major concerns can be addressed on the jobsite.
• Productivity needs to be examined from a behavioral aspect because productivity factors involve perceptions, motivations, attitudes, and behaviors.
• Cost and progress reporting, observation, and measurement of craft perception can make a difference in a productivity assessment and management response processes.
• More effort is needed to engage the crafts to establish two-way communication with them about productivity improvement. (RS215-1, p. v)

The Voice of the Craft Worker can be an effective tool for a site management team to identify the top factors impacting construction productivity. If site management chooses to engage the crafts through the VOW tool, a commitment by management is needed to respond to the crafts’ input and implement valid suggestions. (RS215-1, p. 42)

The following implementation steps were developed for the VOW tool:

• As with any new field process, site management and craft workers need to be provided with an orientation that explains the purpose of the VOW tool and how it is used. The orientation should also address management’s commitment to respond to craft worker input into the tool.
• A full-scale VOW site assessment is needed to identify the significant productivity factors specific to the jobsite, typically 10 to 15 factors, that craft workers perceive as having the greatest impact on their productivity.
• Take action on craft input in order to resolve the significant productivity factors.
• Have ongoing VOW assessments by monitoring the craft worker perception of the jobsite’s productivity factors. If some productivity factors are completely resolved, the site management team may decide to drop those factors from the ongoing assessment. (RS215-1, p. 14)