Study of Significant Factors Affecting Labor ...

Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) DOI: 10.5176/2251-3701_4.1.178 Print ISSN: 2251-3701, E-periodical: 2251-371X ; Volume 4, Issue 1; 2016 pp. 92 - 97 © The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access by the GSTF.

Study of Significant Factors Affecting Labor Productivity at Construction Sites in Jordan: Site Survey Dr. Ghanim A. Bekr Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of engineering, Zarqa University, Jordan E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Productivity is one of the most important factors affecting the overall performance of any construction project. The objective of this study is identifying and ranks the factors that affect the productivity on Jordanian construction projects. To achieve this objective, data collection was carried out through a structured questionnaire survey. The questionnaire form consisting of 37 factors identified through a comprehensive literature review. These factors are grouped into five categories. These are labor, technical, project, financial, and material and equipment. A total of 150 respondents consisting of 50 clients, 50 consultants, and 50 contractors participated to this survey. Data was analyzed using statistical package SPSS. Relative importance index method was used to find out the most significant factors affecting the productivity on construction sites. The results accomplished from the survey revealed that the major factors negatively affecting the labor productivity are: Poor planning and scheduling, material shortage at project site, equipment and tools shortage, lack of skilled labor, poor site management, rework due to construction errors, old and inefficient equipment, lack of supervisor’s experience, payment delay to suppliers and slow response of consulting staff inspecting the work. Based upon these findings, the study recommends the key drivers that will be beneficial for organizations that are planning to enhance the productivity of their workforce. Key words: productivity, importance index, Jordan

I.

construction,

projects,

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN JORDAN

Jordan is considered one of the most stabled countries in the Middle East, attracting considerable amounts of investments from surrounding countries. The construction sector has been one of the most active sectors of the Jordanian economy lately. Construction sector accounted for 4.4 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on average over the period 2008-2010 [1]. The sector has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.7% during the same period. Credit to the construction sector has also

expanded by a CAGR of 20.5 %, with the highest growth rates of 34.3 % and 24.4 % registered for 2009 and 2010 respectively [2]. I.

Definitions Related to Productivity

Labor productivity is typically measured as output per worker or output per labor-hour. Although there are so many definitions for the term productivity, they all refer to productivity as comparison of input versus output. Productivity = Output / Input, Where output could be in units or dollar value of product or service, revenue generated or value added. Input could be in units or dollar value relating to labor, equipment, material or capital. In the same meaning [3] defined productivity as "the relationship between the output generated by a production or service system and the input provided to create this output". Reference [4] defined productivity as a ratio of some measure of output to some index of input use. Reference [5] described productivity as "A comparison between how much you have to put in to the project in terms of manpower, material, machinery or tools and the result you get out of the project". In construction, productivity is usually taken to mean labor productivity, that is, units of work placed or produced per man-hour. The inverse of labor productivity, man-hour per unit (unit rate) is also commonly used [6]. Reference [7] stated "A popular concept in the USA and increasingly in the UK is the concept of earned hours. It relies on the establishment of a set of standard outputs or –normsfor each unit operation. Thus, a number of "earned" hours are associated with each unit of work completed". Productivity may then be defined as the ratio of earned to actual hours. The problem with this concept is in establishing

92 | Journal of Engineering Technology (JET) Vol.4 No.1, August 2016

Dr. Ghanim A. Bekr reliable "norms" for setting standards. It is also depends on the method used to measure productivity, and on the extent to which account is taken of all the factors which affect it. III. Literature Review There have been so many studies conducted previously to determine the factors affecting labor productivity in construction projects in the developed and developing countries. Thefollowing is some of the recent research works in this field: Reference [8] identified 56 variables that affect construction productivity, and categorized them as internal and external groups. Reference [9] studied 30 productivity factors where they classified them under three primary categories. They used relative importance index method. Reference [10] have identified 25 variables and grouped them into 4 groups of factors. Reference [11] identified 113 variables affecting construction labor productivity and these variables were grouped into 15 groups of factors according to their characteristics. Reference [12] concluded that there are five important groups of factors negatively affecting labor productivity in public construction projects. Reference [13] has identified45 factors, which have significant impact on construction labor productivity in Kuwait. IV. Research Methodology

Where n1 is number of respondents with lowest influence and n5 has the highest. A total of 150 questionnaires were collected by each category of parties (50 for each category) involved in the construction process (clients, consultants and contractors). VI. Questionnaire Results and Discussions Part 1: General information of the respondents Types of projects undertaken by the participants are public construction, housing, industrial, industrial, and commercial projects of wide range of sizes. The majority of the respondents have working experience between 6 and 15 years. Part2: factors affecting the productivity In this study, 37 factors negatively affecting labor productivity in construction projects in Jordan have been finally adopted. These factors are classified into five groups. These are: (1) labor group, (2) technical group, (3) project group, (4) financial group and (5) material and equipment group. The significant factors considered for each group are those with Importance Index above the average of I.I. of the group. Group 1: Labor Group:

This research is based on a survey designed to gather all necessary information in an effective way. The survey presents 37 productivity factors. These factors were categorized into 5 groups. These are: Labor group, technical group, project group, financial group and material and equipment group. The final form of the questionnaire is divided into two parts. Part (1) is related to the general information of the respondents. Part (2) included the list of factors influenced the productivity. In this part, the respondents were asked to fix the degree of influence, using Likert scale of 1 to 5 where 1 represents very low influence, 2 low influence, 3 average influence, 4 high influence and 5 very high influence. For analysis of data by ordinal scale, and Important Index was applied. This index was used for identifying of factors affecting construction productivity in Gaza Strip [14], Thailand [15] , Iran [16], and Malaysia [17].

The average I.I. for this group is 63.51. Figure (1) shows the significant factors affecting the labor productivity on Jordanian construction sites related to this group. These factors are the following: • • • • •

Lack of skilled labor Lack of labor in the market Work overtime Tool shortage Labor absenteeism

The importance index was calculated by the following equation: 5n5 + 4n4 + 3n3 + 2n2 + n1 X 100%

Importance Index = 5 (n1 + n2 + n3 + n4 + n5)

Figure 1. Significant factors -labor factors Group 2: Technical Factors


Dr. Ghanim A. Bekr The average I.I. for this group is 68.86 Figure (2) shows the significant factors affecting the labor productivity on Jordanian construction sites related to this group. These factors are the following: • • • • •

Poor planning and scheduling Poor site management Rework due to construction error Lack of supervisor's experience Slow response of consultant's

Figure 2.

Significant factors -technical factors

Group 3: Project factors The average I.I. for this group is 57.05. Figure (3) shows the significant factors affecting the labor productivity on Jordanian construction sites related to this group. These factors are the following: • • • •

Disruption of power/ water supplies Project location – far from suppliers Poor weather conditions Poor site drilling ability

The average I.I. for this group is 68.22. Figure (4) shows the significant factors affecting the labor productivity on Jordanian construction sites related to this group. These factors are the following: • • •

Payment delay to the suppliers Lack of financial motivation Financial conditions of contractors

Figure 4. Significant factors - financial factors Group 4: Material and Equipment Factors The average I.I. for this group is 71.17. Figure (5) shows the significant factors affecting the labor productivity on Jordanian construction sites related to this group. These factors are the following: • • •

Material shortage on project site Equipment shortage Old and inefficient equipment

Figure 5.

Significant factors – material and equipment factors

Figure 3. Significant factors - project factors Group 4: Financial Factors


Dr. Ghanim A. Bekr VI.

Research Findings and Discussions

Considering that the average I.I of all productivity factors found is 66.80, those factors with I.I above it are those with stronger impact on labor productivity on construction sites. These factors are shown in table (1) below. TABLE I. RANKING OF SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIVITY FACTORS Factor affecting productivity

Import. Index

Overall Rank

Group

Poor planning and scheduling Material shortage of project site Equipment shortage

86.26

1

Technical

82.46

2

79.88

3

Lack of skilled labor Poor site management Rework due to construction error Old and inefficient equipment Lack of supervisors experience Payment delay to the suppliers Slow response of consultant's staff attending inspection of work Lack of financial motivation system. Financial conditions of the contractor Work overtime Design changes

78.42

4

Mat. & Equip. Mat. & Equip. Labor

76.52

5

Technical

74.39

6

Technical

74.36

7

71.30

8

Mat. & Equip. Technical

71.23

9

Financial

70.24

10

Technical

69.74

11

Financial

68.25

12

Financial

67.73 67.26

13 14

Labor Technical

Below is a general discussion of the most important results revealed out of thisstudy: Poor planning and scheduling: This factor ranked first with I.I. = 86.26. The planning and scheduling process in the construction industry, in recent years, have been well developed due to the availability of many computer software programs that have reduced the time and cost of preparing such schedule. The job site productivity can be increased if the supervisor would plan the works to be accomplished ahead of time.

considerably contributes for negative productivity of construction activities. Usually, the labor waste their time in unproductive work due to unavailability or shortage of material. Equipment and tools shortage: This factor has a great negative effect on labor productivity; it was ranked third with Importance Index of 79.88. The shortage of these item cause major idle time since employed labor are unable to progress their work as they need a minimum number of equipment to work effectively. Lack of skilled labor: This factor was ranked fourth with I.I. of 78.42. In Jordan, young workers start work as unskilled workers but over time becomes skilled or semiskilled craftsmen following only a little on-the-job training. The above shown result is consistent with some earlier findings [19], [20]. Poor site management: This factor was ranked fifth with I.I. of 76.52. The activities included within this factor are coordination, supervision, performance monitoring and control. The results in this study are supported by [21] who found that supervision and proper coordination of subcontractors have the most significant impact on on-site labor productivity. Rework due to construction errors: Rework was the 6th among 37 factors affecting labor productivity. This result agrees with findings of other authors like reference [22] who concluded that the delays and costs associated with rework in construction have profound impact on productivity. Old and inefficient equipment: This factor was the seventh most severe problem with I.I. of 74.36. The old equipment usually cause frequent breakdown due to poor maintenance and lack of regular service. Lack of supervisors experience: This factor ranked 8th in the overall ranking with I.I. = 71.30. Incompetent supervisors make works go slowly and may be responsible for defective work and inappropriate application of tools and equipment. Payment delay to suppliers: This factor comes 9th in the overall ranking with I.I. = 71.23. The payment delay might cause stoppage of material delivered by the suppliers and low labor productivity. At the same time, the payment delay makes the suppliers lose their confidence in the credibility of the contractor [17]. Slow response of consultant's staff inspecting the works: This factor is ranked 10th in the overall ranking with I.I. = 70.24. This factor, also, has a high impact in many previous studies in developed and developing countries.

Material shortage at project site: This factor was second in the overall ranking with I.I. = 82.46. This is justified by many researchers [17], [14], [18]. In general, material shortage


Dr. Ghanim A. Bekr VII. Conclusions and recommendations The main focus of this study was on identifying the factors that are affecting labor productivity in construction projects in Jordan. From this study, it was found identified that fourteen factors negatively affecting labor productivity. The most are: 1. Poor planning and scheduling 2. Material shortage of project site 3. Equipment shortage 4. Lack of skilled labor 5. Poor site management 6. Rework due to construction error 7. Old and inefficient equipment 8. Lack of supervisors experience 9. Payment delay to the suppliers causing the stoppage of material delivery to site 10. Slow response of consultant's staff attending Inspection work Based on the results of this study, the following actions are recommended: •

•

•

•

• • •

Provide adequate scheduling and programming taking into consideration time required to the supply of materials. Increase the level of technical and managerial skills of site managers and engineers by providing long term and short term training. Provide adequate assessment of risks and constraints such as alterations of design and payment delay before undertaking of construction projects. Selecting a suitable storage location for purchased materials in each project, which should be easily, accessible and adjacent to works locations. Paying more attention to the quality of construction materials and tools used in the project. Project management should employ the suitable people to do the work Contracting companies to adopt motivational or personnel management measures to encourage the workforce. References

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