NICMAR

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH

PRODUCTIVITY AND WORK STUDY TECHNIQUES IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

PREPARED BY NAME OF COURSE REGISTRATION NO. Cou*+! NO. PAPER TITLE

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K.AMARNATH.S PGPCM Modu ! M"# $"$%&'%""%"&($"%$")" NCP #" PRODUCTIVITY AND WORK STUDY TECHNIQUES IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF:

Write an essay on the role of motivation and incentives in productivity improvement. Elaborate in detail the role of human factor in productivity improvement. Give the role of incentive schemes with reference to your companys schemes.

SOLUTION:

CONCEPT AND MEANING OF MOTIVATION & INCENTIVES On any construction site, the contractors financia !ain is "e#en"ent, a$on!st other thin!s, on co$# etion of the %or& in !oo" ti$e an" at the east cost, an" the #ro"ucti'ity of a(our has a "irect (earin! on this (ein! achie'e") The factors affectin! the #erfor$ance of a(our !enera y fa into three cate!ories) (1) The Human capacity for wor (!) The competence of site mana"ement

(#) The motivation of the wor ers The various measures that may be ta en to improve the physical wor capacity or to motivate the wor ers will not be effective if site mana"ement is substandard. $t is essential for the wor ers to have confidence in their supervisors. $f the wor ers observe that site mana"ement is poor% unfair or corrupt% their morale% motivation and conse&uent productivity will be reduced.

There are two factors in the wor situation of individuals that influences their attitudes and performance and whose intensity and duration affected their wor behavior. (i) (ii) Hy"iene factors li e 'ob% (ob security% wor rules% promotions% incentives% leaves% service conditions% employment practices etc. )otivatin" factors li e *ttitudes% feelin" about (ob% desire to e+cel% care and concern about &uality etc.

Hy"iene factors in the (ob% when inade&uate% had ne"ative effect on employees attitudes. However when present% they had no positive effect. This meant that the provisions of "ood pay and employment conditions were absolutely necessary to attract "ood people to the company. However% it would be false to e+pect that havin" provided these thin"s% employees would "ive their very best efforts. Hy"iene factors are somethin" that has to be provided and without which no person worth his while will (oin the or"ani,ation.

Hy"iene factors are necessary to create motivation% but are powerless by themselves. This means that if Hy"iene factors are absent in a (ob% employees will not feel motivated. -ut the best techni&ues of motivation will not wor if pay and employment conditions are not ade&uate. $f we are not providin" hy"iene factors% you dont e+pect motivated wor force. However if you

provide hy"iene factors it can ensure in certain circumstances that the (ob "ets done in the &uantitative sense. -ut if you are loo in" for &uality% desire to e+cel% concern for economy% care of the materials and e&uipments% and then it is re&uired to create a motivatin" environment.

MOTIVATION OF *O+,E+S

.n any construction site% the contractors financial "ain is dependent% amon"st other thin"s% on completion of the wor in "ood time and at the least cost% and the productivity of labour has a direct bearin" on this bein" achieved. The factors affectin" the performance of labour "enerally fall into three cate"ories.

(i) (ii) (iii)

The human capacity for wor The competence of site mana"ement The motivation of the wor ers

Wor ers are motivated in their wor by a variety of methods% all of which may be present in varyin" de"rees. They are (a) /ear (b) 0iscipline (c) 'ob satisfaction (d) /inancial incentives

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1ea capacity for physical wor is $n older persons% especially "enerally reached between the a"e in s illed (obs e+perience of !23#4. and efficiency compensate for lower capacity. 6apacity is related o calorie Establish pro(ect canteens to protein content of food provide balanced meals. *ffect the rate at which heat can 7tart wor at first li"ht and be dissipated from the human avoid wor in" durin" the body by radiation % convention and heat of the day. evaporation of sweat% heat and humidity increase dan"ers of heat stro e and reduce wor capacity 8esistance to disease is affected Enforce strict site hy"iene. by diet% "ood hy"iene and *rran"e tal s on hy"iene and sanitation is essential to avoid sanitation. occurrence of debilitatin" intestinal parasites. 5ew wor ers% or wor ers "iven 9npracticed wor ers would new tas s% need time for their initially have a lower bodies and muscles to adopt the productivity which would wor . improve as they become acclimatati,ed to the wor and are instructed in the best

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methods of wor in".

(a) Fear:% /ear includes fear of supervisor and fear of loosin" a (ob and bein" out of wor and destitute% especially in a country where no form of social security e+ists. This is a ne"ative and unsatisfactory form of incentives.

(b) Discipline: - This is e+emplified by punctuality% lac of absenteeism% "ood standards of wor manship and the observance of site cleanliness and hy"iene. When discipline is lac in"% site morale is "enerally low and productivity is unsatisfactory. :arious ways of achievin" site discipline include 7ite rules drawn up and e+plained to all wor ers by either supervisors 7upervisors% by personal e+ample% settin" a hi"h standard in self discipline Wor ers en"a"ed to feel that they are wor in" with% rather than under% the supervisor% but at the same time the supervisor should leave no doubt in their minds that he is the leader. 8etribution should be a matter of inevitability rather than severity. 5o breach of discipline should "o unchec ed. 0evelopin" self3discipline throu"h pride in achievement. Good wor should always be praised. Ta in" a personal interest in the wor er% discussin" problems fairly% never showin" favouritism.

 0isciplinary action should be ta en as soon after an infrin"ement as possible.

(c) Job satisfaction:- apart from wor providin" the means of satisfyin" the wor ers basic needs as to food% clothin" and shelter% (ob satisfaction is obtained when the hi"her psycholo"ical needs of the wor er are met. 'ob satisfaction is obtained throu"h a sense of achievement as to &uality% output or other contributions% particularly if that achievement as to &uality% output or other contributions% particularly if that achievement is reco"nised and ac nowled"ed. 1ride in craft and s ill and a sense of responsibility are to be encoura"ed% and rewarded with opportunities for advancement and promotion. 5e"ative aspects% which detract from% (ob satisfaction and morale% and which conse&uently affect productivity% are to be avoided.

9d: F21,1-2, 21-!1.26!+:% $ncentive schemes of this nature are widely used in industrialised countries% but are often a source of contention and dispute between mana"ement and wor force. The schemes enable wor ers to earn bonuses over and above the normal rate of pay for achievin" a rate of output at or above a predetermined standard.

+O-E OF ./MAN FACTO+ To carry out any "iven construction pro(ect% an individual mi+ of resources includin" land% buildin"s% materials% mechanical plant% tools% e&uipment and manpower have to be mobili,ed. $t is the tas of mana"ement to combine these resources to carry out the pro(ect economically and e+peditiously. $n lar"e enterprises a mana"ement team will share the various specialist activities% such as site mana"ement various levels% materials control% plant

mana"ement% financial control and so on% but in a small firm all the mana"ement activities mi"ht be carried out by one person. The tas of mana"ement is to or"anise and control all the resources in order to achieve ma+imum productivity that is to reduce the wor content to as near to basic as possible and to eliminate ineffective time. .ne direct means of raisin" productivity is to replace manpower by the purchase of modern hi"h capacity plant or e&uipment. However% most developin" countries are short of money and have problems of hi"h unemployment% so that to buy such e&uipment may be neither possible nor desirable. The cheapest and most effective way of raisin" productivity is by better mana"ement. Wor ers "enerally may resent bein" timed and studied at their wor % both because of the implied criticism and on account of suspicion that some may lose their (obs and remainder will have to wor harder as a result. The reasons for% and the methods used in the time study should be e+plained to supervisor and wor ers ali e. .n no account should the wor study specialist resort to secret timin" as the practice is invariably found out% and leads to serious and understandable labour unrest.

$n view of the above factors the involvement of human bein" is the prime part in increasin" the productivity for construction pro(ects either in the form of labour or in the form of mana"ement. *lso improvements in the or"anisation of wor and production methods li e specialisation% rationalisation% labour s ills% mana"ement techni&ues% and control systems are si"nificant to total productivity of a firm.

VA+IO/S T0PES OF INCENTIVE SC.EMES

:arious types of incentive schemes are 1. -onus tar"ets

!. Guaranteed daily wa"e plus -onus #. Tas wor

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Tar"ets are set before the wor starts% usually in the form of 1iecewor tar"ets i.e. payment based on the amount of wor done. Time tar"ets% i.e. a tar"et time is set for completin" a specific tas . $f the tas is completed in less time% the bonus paid is based on the time saved.

The basis for settin" tar"ets is Wor measurement;3 This is the best method as tar"ets are more li ely to be accurate. 0ependin" on policy% it is usual to offer a bonus over and above the basic a"e for a standard performance of 122. The estimate;3 Where a bill of &uantities has been prepared% and the estimated labour cost component of each operation is nown% this can be used as basis for tar"et settin". /eed bac ;3 The records of output fi"ures fed bac from previous pro(ects are used as a basis for both estimatin" and settin" bonus tar"ets.

9$: Gu,*,1.!!d d,2 8 ;,4! 0 u+ Bo1u+:% Generally in almost all the countries% a minimum daily wa"e is in force. *lso on construction pro(ects where motivation is low and particularly where

wor ers are new to the (ob% the performance of labour can be lower than 42 percent of the standard. * scheme payin" a bonus only after a <4 performance is reached may offer no incentive to the wor force% who may remain content to receive the minimum wa"e for their very low performance. Therefore it may be of benefit to start bonus payments at lower level of performance that all wor ers can reach% at the same time "uaranteein" the basic daily wa"e.

9#: T,+< ;o*<:% This is another form of incentive% thou"h not as effective as financial incentives. The incentive is to finish a tas early and "o home% but be paid for the full days wor .

INCENTIVE SC.EMES AND MOTIVATION

With the provision of financial incentive scheme% all (unior level staff and wor ers will be motivated and in the followin" ways it will be benefited. The wor er is "iven an opportunity to earn more than the basic wa"e as a reward for hi"her output. The wor ers output will be hi"her% so that the (ob should be completed in less time% with a more predictable performance and at a lower cost. The systems encoura"e self3discipline% and supervision can concentrate on &uality rather than output. The wor er himself will try to improve the efficiency of the method. Where a "an" is bonused% it will or"anise itself for ma+imum

efficiency% and the better wor ers will encoura"e the ine+perienced or les hard wor in" members. The operation of the scheme should eep site mana"ement on its toes% since the wor ers will protest a"ainst any delays or mismana"ement that reduces their opportunity to earn bonuses.

/urther more followin" are the rules to be observed in operatin" incentive schemes. When it is proposed to introduce a bonus system on a pro(ect site% the pro(ect mana"ers should first discus and a"ree the principles and operation of the scheme with wor ers representative. The method of payment and the tar"ets for the wor set should be understood by the wor ers before startin" any particular item of wor . .nce a particular item of wor has started% the bonus rate should not be chan"ed unless it is found to be too low to offer any incentive% and then only after investi"ation and a"reement with the wor ers. $f the rates are found to be too hi"h% they should not be reduced durin" the duration of the particular tas for which they were set. The rates should not be hi"h enou"h for an avera"e wor er who does a "ood days wor without overe+ertion to be able to earn a reasonable bonus above the ordinary daily rate. The wor ers should not be penalised for matters outside their control% and where wor ers are re&uired to wor a full normal day they should never receive less than the daily rate for a normal days wor . The bonus rate should be offered to individuals or small "roup of wor ers rather than to lar"e "roups% so that individual

earnin"s do not become dependent on the efforts of other wor ers. 0an"erous wor should not be offered on a bonus wor basis. 7ince bonus schemes can lead to substandard wor % penalties for such wor must be enforced. :ery hi"h &uality wor should not be offered on a bonus wor basis if the supervision is ade&uate to ensure no loss of &uality. *ny dispute about earnin"s should always be investi"ated fairly and at once. 6are should be e+ercised when settin" bonus wor rates for raw% unpractised wor ers.

CONC-/SION

The ultimate ob(ect of an enterprise is to ma e profits and to satisfy the consumption needs of the community. $f the employees in an or"anisation are satisfied% they can deliver more results and ultimately it will be beneficial to the or"anisation. Hence for a better productivity% motivatin" the wor ers throu"h incentive system etc will help in deliverin" ma+imum output and can assure timely completion of pro(ect and the chances of any additional cost to the company due to delay in pro(ect can be avoided. Wor 3study is a series of techni&ues% which can be used for the systematic e+amination% and investi"ation of every aspect of human wor and the factors that affect efficiency and economy% in order to brin" about improvements. The

application of wor 3study has a tendency to reveal the shortcomin"s of mana"ers% supervisors and wor ers ali e. The role of human factor also plays a vital role in increasin" productivity. 7mall improvements in wor in" conditions can produce mar ed increase in productivity.

1I1-IOG+AP.02+EFE+ENCES The boo s referred are 6ourse material of productivity and wor construction pro(ects study techni&ues in