Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity for Floor Finishing Works

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1 Factors Affecting Construction Labour Productivity for Floor Finishing Works Rismi M 1, Babu S 2 1 M Tech scholar,department of Civil Engineering,MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, Malappuram, Kerala, India 2 AssistantProfessor,Department of Civil Engineering,MES College of Engineering, Kuttippuram, Malappuram, Kerala, India Abstract: Construction labour productivity is of great interest to researchers and practitioners because of its impact on the performance of construction projects. Despite various studies to identify factors influencing productivity in other countries, very least studies has dealt with productivity issues in India. Thus, labour productivity is at the forefront of concerns facing professionals in the construction industry worldwide and this study is carried out to identify the factors affecting the construction labour productivity for floor finishing works with materials granite, marble and tile.this paper reports the results of a questionnaire survey of project managers, site engineers, supervisors and craftsmen, in the state of Kerala in India, to identify the factors influencing construction labour productivity for floor finishing works. For the detailed study, preliminary survey was conducted which identified 42 variables responsible for project performance. By calculating RII index values for the aforesaid after omitting the non-significant factors were extracted. The factors which have high correlation with labour productivity were identified.the findings provide a better understanding of the factors influencing productivity in the Indian context and will also aid corresponding practitioners in making effective plans for labour productivity improvement. Key words: Construction industry, Labour productivity, Influencing factors I. INTRODUCTION Construction projects worldwide have been experiencing significant cost and time overruns, with low labour productivity identified as a major reason for project delays and cost overruns. A successful construction project has many importantcomponents, a major contributor being labour. In fact,construction labour constitutes the largest unit of humanresource on any given project.improvement of construction labour productivity is therefore critical. Productivity helps construction industries to be competitive, to achieve goals and to meet the stakeholder and value propositions. Productivity has been generally defined as the ratio of outputs to inputs. Construction projects are mostly labour based with basic hand tools and equipment, as labour costs comprise 30 % to 50 % of overall project cost. Productivity in economics refers to measures of output from production processes, per unit of input. For the productivity estimation, there can be so many factors that influence the productivity of construction tasks because the tasks involve long sequential processes, craftsmanship, many materials and tools, and changeable site conditions. Some of the factors are easily recognized; some of them may not. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Construction projects are mostly labour based with basic hand tools and equipment, as labour costs comprise 30 % to 50 % of overall project cost. Productivity in economics refers to measures of output from production processes, per unit of input. Productivity may be conceived of as a measure DOI : /IJRTER CEGVN 282

2 of the technical or engineering efficiency of production. Labour productivity is one of the most important factors that affect the physical progress of any construction project. Construction labourers are responsible to operate a variety of equipment. Several studies related to labour productivity are performed for construction industry in past. Few of them were related to calculating the effect of productivity factors. However, past study shows that it is tough to calculate such an impact, and at present there are no universally accepted standards to measure factors causing labour productivity loss in construction industry. Estimation of the productivity is an important task in the management of construction projects. The quality of construction management depends on accurate estimation of the construction productivity. Multiple studies carefully noted that labour productivity factors were not independent of one another and not all can be controlled. Management must therefore direct the conditions that are manageable and provide a positive environment for labour. Understanding labourers is part of the solution to increase efficiency. Construction workers are not machinery and if appraised under identical work conditions different productivity levels might be noticed, furthermore a constant level of productivity is not guaranteed throughout the life of a construction project [5]. Despite it comprising a large section of construction cost, the workforce is not seen as important input to a successful project. In some of the firms, labour always under-performs and management is oblivious of how to change it. Relevant research into the local market must be executed to gather the origins of these deficiencies, so they can be acted upon. III. OBJECTIVES To identify the factors affecting the construction labour productivity through data collection process. To find the most important factors affecting labour productivity for floor finishing works. IV. SCOPE Productivity has a great significance in construction. Labour productivity constitutes a significant part of production input for construction projects. In the construction industry, many external and internal factors are never constant and are difficult to anticipate. This factor leads to a continuous variation in labour productivity. It is necessary to make sure that a reduction in productivity does not affect the plan and schedule of the work and does not cause delays. The consequences of these delays could result in serious money losses. Further, considerable cost can be saved if productivity is improved because the same work can be done with less manpower, thus reducing overall labour cost. V. METHODOLOGY Research methodology is a systematicapproach to identify and organize the most important factors that are affecting labour productivity for floor finishing works, which is outlined as follows: 5.1. Data Collection Method and Analysis A relevant literature review and meetings with the industry personnel helped to identify the significant factors which affect the labour productivity of construction projects. After the identification of factors, structured questionnaires were distributed among the industry experts. Important factors are identified and ranked using RII All Rights Reserved 283

3 On the basis of literature review on factors influencing labour productivity, 42 factors were identified (Table 1). These factors were identified through several literature surveys and suggestions from experienced persons. A questionnaire is prepared using these factors. The questionnaire is distributed among builders and contractors of construction projects. The response were measured using a Likert scale system ranging from 1 Not applicable to 4 Directly affects (4 - Directly affects, 3 - Somewhat affects, 2 - Does not affect, 1- Not applicable). The primary data was collected through self-administered questionnaire and analysed. A sample set of 60 was taken. The survey was conducted among builders and contractors of construction projects. The factors were rated using a Likert scale system ranging from 1 Not applicable to 4 Directly affects. The results of survey is tabulated (Table 2) and Relative Importance Index (RII) was calculated. VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 6.1. Ranking of Investigated Factors RII was used for ranking the factors. In Table 1, the investigated factors and their RII scores are represented. The results of the study revealed that among the fourty two factors, RII calculation is used to determine relative significance and for ranking the factors affecting labour productivity of floor finishing works. RII is given as; RII = 100 (5.1) a= weighting given to each factor by respondent and it ranges from 1 to 4 A= highest response N= total number of participants. Ranking is done based on this RII value. Sample calculation: Relative Importance Index of each factor is calculated as shown below. RII = 100 RII (1) = RII (2) = 100 =100 % 100 = 45% Similarly RII for other factors are also found out. The factors were then ranked based on their corresponding RII value with the factor with the highest RII value given rank 1 and so on (Table All Rights Reserved 284

4 Table1. The common factors affecting construction labour productivity are following. Sl No Factors affecting construction labour productivity 1. Lack of experience 2. Disloyalty 3. Misunderstanding among labourers 4. Lack of competition between the labourers. 5. Age 6. Personal problems 7. Alcoholism 8. Absenteeism 9. Implementation of government laws 10. Rework 11. Supervision delays 12. Inspection delays from the authorities 13. Variations in the drawings. 14. Complex designs in the provided drawings 15. Incomplete drawings 16. Payment delays. 17. Training sessions. 18. Design Changes. 19. Change orders from the designers. 20. Change orders from the owners. 21. Disputes with owner. 22. Disputes with designer. 23. Misunderstanding between the owner, the contractor and the labour 24. Lack of required construction materials. 25. Increase in the price of materials. 26. Lack of required tools and/or equipment s. 27. Poor site conditions 28. Differing site conditions from the plan 29. Poor access within construction job site 30. Violations of safety laws. 31. Insufficient lighting. 32. Inadequate transportation facilities for workers. 33. Material storage location 34. Shortage of water and/or power supply 35. Working overtime. 36. Weather conditions 37. Accidents during construction 38. Project objective is not well defined 39. Unsafe work conditions 40. Number of the labour 41. Height of the floor 42. Size of the All Rights Reserved 285

5 Table 2. Frequencies of importance level of factors Sl No. Scale Factors Lack of experience Disloyalty Misunderstanding among labourers Lack of competition between the Labourers Age Personal problems Alcoholism Absenteeism Implementation of government laws Rework Supervision delays Inspection delays from The authorities Variations in the drawings Complex designs in the provided drawings Incomplete drawings Payment delays Training sessions Design Changes Change orders from the designers Change orders from the owners Disputes with owner Disputes with designer Misunderstanding between the owner, the contractor and the labour Lack of required construction materials Increase in the price of materials Lack of required tools and/or equipment s Poor site conditions Differing site conditions from the plan Poor access within construction job site Violations of safety laws Insufficient lighting Inadequate transportation facilities for workers Material storage location Shortage of water and/or power supply Working overtime Weather conditions Accidents during construction Project objective is not well defined Unsafe work conditions Number of the labour Height of the floor Size of the material All Rights Reserved 286

6 Table 3. RII score of labour productivity factors Sl No. Factors RII Score Rank 1. Lack of experience Age Lack of required construction materials Weather conditions Accidents during construction Unsafe work conditions Height of the floor Size of the material Absenteeism Material storage location Payment delays Number of the labour Rework Lack of required tools and/or equipment s Differing site conditions from the plan Poor access within construction job site Shortage of water and/or power supply Increase in the price of materials Training sessions Poor site conditions Implementation of government laws Alcoholism Violations of safety laws Insufficient lighting Inadequate transportation facilities for workers Disputes with owner Lack of competition between the Labourers Misunderstanding between the owner, the contractor and the labour Working overtime Project objective is not well defined Misunderstanding among labourers Inspection delays from The authorities Supervision delays Disloyalty Change orders from the owners Incomplete drawings Complex designs in the provided drawings Design Changes Disputes with designer Variations in the drawings Change orders from the designers Personal problems All Rights Reserved 287

7 Table 4. Factors selected for the secondary data collection X1 Experience X2 Age X3 Height of the floor X4 Size of the material X5 Number of the labour X6 Availability of Flooring Materials a) Lack of required construction materials. b) Material storage location c) Increase in the price of materials. X7 The security conditions a) Accidents during construction b) Unsafe work conditions c) Implementation of government laws d) Violations of safety laws. X8 Weather conditions a) Weather conditions b) Insufficient lighting. X9 Work Quality of Labour a) Absenteeism b) Rework c) Lack of required tools and/or equipment s. d) Training sessions. X10 Payment for the Labour a) Payment delays X11 Site Conditions a) Differing site conditions from the plan b) Poor access within construction job site c) Shortage of water and/or power supply d) Poor site conditions e) Inadequate transportation facilities for workers. X12 The Health status for the Work Team a) Alcoholism The data description and identification, describes the factors affecting the productivity of floor finishing works for floors. Labour production rates are influenced by various factors present at the project site. Although, these factors are very difficult to consider during the measurement and estimation of production rates due to its variable nature and also uniqueness of every project, by excluding the factors which have less than 70% Relative Important Index value [4], finally out of 42 factors, twenty five factors are identified as the most important factors. According to literature survey, it has been found that these important factors can be further categorized to a twelve independent variables. They are well defined for each projects. VII. CONCLUSIONS Project managers, site engineers, supervisors and craftsmen participated in this survey intended to identify and rank the major factors influencing construction labour productivity in the state of Kerala in India, along with the literature review.there are a very few studies that identify major factors affecting the construction labour productivity for floor finishing works in India. In this study All Rights Reserved 288