Sara Ariza

IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE) Cód.1103765

ISSN: 2278-1684, PP: 11-14 Economía CIVB
www.iosrjournals.org

A Study of Various Factors Affecting Labour

Productivity and Methods to Improve It.

Mr.A .A. Attar1, Prof. A.K. Gupta2,Prof.D.B.Desai3

(Student M.E. (C&M) Part-II, Dr.J.J.Magdum College of Engineering,
Jaysingpur-416101 (Professor & Vice-Principal, Dr.J.J.Magdum College Of
Engineering, Jaysingpur-416101)
( Asso.Prof. & Head, Civil Engg. Dept.,Dr.J.J.Magdum College Of Engineering,
Jaysingpur-416101)

ABSTRACT: (Idea 1) Poor productivity of construction workers is one of the causes of cost and
time overruns in construction projects. As construction is a labour-intensive industry, this paper
focuses on labour productivity in the construction industry. It covers the construction labour
productivity definitions, aspects, factors affecting it. The main outcome from the literature is that
there is no standard definition of productivity. This study provides a guidelines for necessary
steps required to improve construction labour productivity.

(Idea 2) The
productivity of labour is particularly important especially in
developing countries, where most of the building construction work is still on manual basis.
This paper reports on a survey made on project managers and experienced engineers of
building projects in Sangli , Kolhapur & Pune districts, where an increase in productivity is
being sought. Respondents were required to rate using their experience how all factors affect
productivity with respect to time, cost and quality. The survey was carried out by a
questionnaire and responses. The ten most significant factors affecting labour productivity for
small, medium and large companies are identified.

1. INTRODUCTION

Construction is the world's largest and most challenging industry. Human resource today has a
strategic role for productivity increase of any organization, and this makes it superior in the
industrial competition. With the effective and optimum uses of it, all the advantages supplied by
the productivity growth can be obtained.

(Idea 3) Construction is a key sector of the national economy for countries all around the world,
as traditionally it took up a big portion in nation’s total employment and its significant
contribution to a nation‟s revenue as a whole. However, until today, construction industries are
still facing number of problems regarding the low productivity, poor safety and insufficient
quality.
Productivity is the one of the most important factor that affect overall performance of any
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IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE)

small or medium or large construction industry. There are number of factors that directly
affects the productivity of labour, thus it is important for any organization to study and identify
those factors and take an appropriate action for improving the labour productivity. At the micro
level, if we improved productivity , ultimately it reduces or decreases the unit cost of project and
gives overall best performance of project. There are number of activities involved in the
construction industry. Thus the effective use and proper management regarding labour is very
important in construction operations without which those activities may not be possible.

2. WHAT IS LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY?

Productivity can be defined in many ways. In construction, productivity is usually taken to mean
labour productivity, that is, units of work placed or produced per man-hour. The inverse of labour
productivity, man- hours per unit (unit rate), is also commonly used.
Productivity is the ratio of output to all or some of the resources used to produce that output.
Output can be homogenous or heterogeneous. Resources comprise: labour, capital, energy, raw
materials, etc.

Productivity = Output
Labour cost

Horner and Talhouni 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
„norms‟ for 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 reliable „norms‟, for setting standards. It 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.‟‟
At the project site, contractors are often interested in labor productivity. It can be defined in one
of the following ways –

Labour Productivity = Output

Labour cost
Or

Labour Productivity = Output

Work hour

There is no standard definition of productivity and some contractors use the inverse of above ,

Labour Productivity = Labour cost / work

hour Output
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In general, productivity signifies the measurement of how well an individual entity uses its
resources to produce outputs from inputs. Moving beyond this general notion, a glance at the
productivity literature and its various applications quickly reveals that there is neither
aconsensus as to the meaning nor a universally accepted measure of productivity. Attempts at
productivity measurement have focused on the individual, the firm, selected industrial
sectors, and even entire economies. The intensity of debate over appropriate measurement
methods appears to increase with the complexity of the economic organization under analysis.
There are however, a number of different productivity measures that are commonly used.
Choosing between them usually depends on the purpose of the productivity measurement and
the availability of data.

productivity measures relate a particular measure of output to a single measure of input, such
as labour or capital. Multi-factor or total productivity measures (MFP) relate a particular measure
of output to a group of inputs, or total inputs used. Productivity measures can also be
distinguished by whether they rely on a particular measure of gross output or on a value-added
concept that attempts to capture the movement of output. Of the most frequently used MFP
measures, capital-labor MFP relies on a value-added concept of output while capitallabor-
energy- materials MFP relies on a particular measure of gross output.

The five most widely used productivity concepts are

1. Labour productivity, based on gross output. This productivity measurement traces the
labour requirement per unit of output. It reflects the change in the input coefficient of labour by
industry and is useful for the analysis of specific industry labour requirements. Its main
advantage as a productivity measure is its ease of measurement and readability; particularly,the
gross output measure requires only price indices on gross output. However, since labour
productivity is a partial productivity measure, output typically reflects the joint influence of
many different factors.

2. Labour productivity, based on value-added. Value-added based labor productivity is useful

for the analysis of micro-macro links, such as an individual industry‟ s contribution to
economy-wide labour productivity and economic growth. From a policy perspective, it is
important as a reference statistic in wage bargaining. Its main advantage as a productivity
measure is its ease of measurement and readability, though it does require price indices on
intermediate inputs, as well as to gross output data. In addition to its limitations as a partial
productivity measure, value-added labour productivity have several theoretical and practical
drawbacks including the potential for double counting production of benefits and double
deflation.

3. Capital-labour MFP, based on value-added. This productivity measurement is useful

for the analysis of micro-macro links, such as the industry contribution to economy-wide MFP
growth and living standards, as well as, for analysis of structural change. Its main advantage as a
productivity measure is the ease of aggregation across industries. The data for this measurement
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is also directly available from national accounts. The main drawback to the value-added based
capital-labour MFP is that it is not a good measure of technology shifts at the industry or firm
level. It also suffers the disadvantage of other value-added measures that have been double
deflated with a fixed weight Laspeyres quantity index.

4. Capital productivity, based on value-added. Changes in capital productivity denote the

degree to which output growth can be achieved with lower welfare costs in the form of foregone
consumption. Its main advantage as a productivity measure is its ease of readability but capital
productivity suffers the same limitations as other partial productivity measurements.

5. KLEMS Multi-factor productivity. KLEMS-MFP is used in the analysis of industry-level

and sectoral technical change. It is the most appropriate tool to measure technical change by
industry because it fully

acknowledges the role of intermediate inputs in production. Domar‟ s aggregation of KLEMS-

MFP across industries renders an accurate assessment of the contributions of industries to
aggregate MFP change. The major drawback to KLEMS MFP is its significant data
requirements, in particular timely availability of input-output tables that are consistent with
national accounts. It is also more difficult to communicate inter industry links and aggregation
across industries using KLEMS-MFP than in the case of value-added based MFP measures.

3. VARIOUS FACTORS A F F E C T I N G LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY

Identification and evaluation of factors affecting labour construction productivity have become
a critical issue facing project managers for a long time in order to increase productivity in
construction. (Idea 4) Understanding critical factors affecting productivity of both positive and
negative can be used to prepare a strategy to reduce inefficiencies and to improve the
effectiveness of project performance.
Knowledge and understanding of the various factors affecting construction labour
productivity is needed to determine the focus of the necessary steps in an effort to reduce project
cost overrun and project completion delay, thereby increasing productivity and overall project
performance.

Based on the study & survey, Factors affecting construction labour productivity have been
identified and are grouped into 15 categories according to their characteristics, namely

1)Design factors 2) Execution plan factors 3) Material factors 4) Equipment factors

5) Labour factors 6) Health and safety factors 7) Supervision factors 8) Working time
factors 9) Project factors 10) Quality factors 11) Financial factors 12) Leadership and
coordination factors
13) Organization factors 14) Owner/consultant factors 15) External factors

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 A Study Of Various Factors Affecting Labour Productivity And Methods To Improve It

3.1 The top ten factors that affect the small and medium company
1) Lack of material 2) Labour strikes 3 ) Delay in arrival of materials 4 ) Financial difficulties of
the owner 5) Unclear instruction to labourer and high absentissm of labours 6) Bad weather (e.g.
rain, heat,etc.) 7) Non discipline labour and use of alcohol and drugs 8) No supervision method,
design changes, repairs and repetition of work, and bad resources management 9) Bad
supervisors absentissm and far away from location of material storage, and 10) Bad leadership

3.2 The top ten factors that affect large companies

1) Unclear instruction to labourer 2) Delay in arrival of materials 3) Lack of material and
financial difficulties of the owner 4) There is no definite schedule 5) Low supervisor‟ s
capability/incompetence supervisors 6) No supervision method, lack of equipment, and high
absenteeism of labours 7) Supervisors absenteeism, frequent damage of equipments, and labour
strikes 8) Design changes 9) Incomplete drawing and inspection delay 10) Poor communication
in site and inaccurate design.

3.3 Factors that affect in general all

Lack of material , Delay in arrival of materials , Unclear instruction to labourer, Labour strikes,
Financial difficulties of the owner, High absenteeism of labours, No supervision method,
Supervisors absenteeism, Lack of equipment and design changes, There is no definite schedule,
Poor management, Unproductive time ( internal delay, extra break, waiting & relaxation ), Lack
of skill, Supervision delay, Lack of tools & equipment, Poor instructions, Poor quality of labour,
Supervision factor, Material factor, Execution plan factor, Health & safety factors, Labour
shortages, Working time factor, Accidents, Organization factors, Improper training, Bad weather
, Use of alcohol & drug.

4. BARRIERS TO IMPROVING LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY

The countries economy has become increasingly more dynamic and complex. As a result, economic
measurement and analysis, particularly relating to productivity, have become more difficult and
complicated. The main problem involves properly defining units of measurement, evaluating
qualitative changes and obtaining reliable data for both inputs and outputs. This process is further
complicated by the need to price - deflate this data in order to evaluate

changes in productivity in real terms.

Measurement of inputs is problematic. Variations in the rate of input utilization are at best
partially picked up in data series. In particular, the rate of capital equipment utilization, i.e. the
measurement of machine hours, is rarely accomplished.
Labour input, if measured by hours actually worked, is better suited to reflect the changing
rate of manpower utilization, but remains an imperfect measure. The increasing prominence of
the service sector within the national economy has generated increased mismeasurement of
labour hours. Information technology may aggravate this measurement error by allowing
increased work flexibility and longer effective workdays that are not properly captured by the
official statistics.
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 A Study Of Various Factors Affecting Labour Productivity And Methods To Improve It

There has been much work identifying the factor that affect productivity. Ineffective
management has been cited as a primary cause of low productivity rather than other factors.
Apart from that there are also some barriers to improve the productivity and these barriers are as
follows :
1 .Lack of alignment of goal
2. Contractual conflict

3. Difficulties in measuring productivity

4. Weak commitment to continous improvement

5. Lack of labour force focus

5. GUIDELINES FOR I M P R O V I N G THE LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY

1 Properly training to the labourers
2 Motivation to workers towards project completion
3 Properly and in advance material procurement and
management 4 On time payment to the workers
5 Systematic flow of work
6 Properly , clearly & in time supervision
7 Advance site layout
8 Maintain work discipline
9 Facilities to the labourers
10 Clearance of legal documents before starting of work
11 Systematic planning of funds in advance
12 Premansoon plan to avoid work stop
13 Maximum use of machinery and automation system
14 Advance equipment planning.

6. CONCLUSION
The groups of factors which are highly effective are: supervision, material, execution plan, and
design. Moreover, for large companies, equipment factors have also highly effective. While in
small and medium companies, owner/consultant factors also need special attention because it
has high effect too. Research findings also show that health and safety factors has not been a
concern of small, medium companies and has some effect, while in large companies are better,
although not as major concern and has average effect.
(Idea 5) Practically it is difficult task to all to improve labour productivity upto 100%. But if
you have properly control on above factors , productivity can be improved upto large extent.

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 A Study Of Various Factors Affecting Labour Productivity And Methods To Improve It

REFERENCES
1) Adnan Enshassi, Peter Eduard Mayer, Sherif Mohamed, Ziad Abu Mustafa (2007) “ Factors
affecting labour productivity in building projects in the gaza strip.”Journal of Civil
Engineering and Management. 2007, 13(4); 245-254
2) ASCE M , William Ibbs( 2005) “ Impact of change‟ s timing on
labour Productivity.”Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, 2005,131( 11), 1219-1223
3) AynurKazaz, EkremManisali, SerdarUlubeyli(2008) “ Effect of basic motivational factors
on construction workforce productivity in turkey.” Journal of Civil Engineering and
Management.2008, 14(2); 95-106.
4) BengtHansson, Henry MwanakiAlinaitwe, Jackson A. Mwakali (2007)“ Factors affecting
the productivity of building craftsmen- Studies of Uganda.” Journal of Civil Engineering and
Management . 2007, 13; 169-176.
5) Khaled M. EI-Gohary, Mostafa E. Shehata, (2011) “ Towards
improving construction labour productivity and projects performance.”
Alexandria Engineering Journal . 2011, 50; 321-330.

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IDEAS:
1. En los proyectos civiles los costos económicos aumentan cuando la
productividad en cuanto a la mano de obra es baja. Involucrando así
un gasto adicional a los costos de este.
Para optimizar el tiempo y el funcionamiento en un proyecto es
indispensable hacer controles antes, durante y después de la
ejecución del mismo. Esto con el fin de observar, analizar y mejorar
las variables.

2. La mano de obra es de suma importancia para el desarrollo de un

país, debido a que todas las construcciones la requieren. Por esto es
necesario llevar a cabo procesos en donde la productividad tanto en
la obra como a nivel administrativo se incremente.
Si se lleva a cabo un buen proceso logístico se beneficiarán los
gastos administrativos, la administración en tiempos muertos, cruce
de actividades para agilizar o automatizar el tiempo, eficiencia en
bienes e infraestructuras, entre otros factores.

3. Como se mencionó anteriormente el desarrollo de un país depende en

gran parte de la ingeniería civil, no solo por los beneficios que traen
sus estructuras a la sociedad sino por el empleo que genera en el
proceso de cada proyecto.

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Si se invierten adecuadamente los recursos económicos de un estado

hacia la construcción de vías, puentes, edificios, entre otras,
mejoraría su economía al aumentar el comercio, las oportunidades
laborales se incrementarían, y las condiciones de vida de sus
residentes se vería favorecidas.

4. Es necesario conocer las causas de ineficiencia de un proyecto para

así crear estrategias que favorezcan la efectividad del mismo.
Algunos factores que afectan la productividad de una obra son:
Climas adversos, políticas no motivadoras, ubicación de la obra,
diseño deficiente, mano de obra incapaz, factores materiales,
factores económicos, entre otros. Por el contrario, si se maneja una
supervisión y organización adecuada, controlada y segura que
promueva condiciones favorables y estables para el empleado,
además de una buena planificación en el proyecto.

5. Si una empresa implementa los aspectos anteriormente mencionados,

sus índices de productividad ascenderán notablemente favoreciendo
sus intereses económicos, aumentando la productividad y
optimizando el tiempo.

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