TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES

938 Aurora Blvd. Cubao, Quezon City

College of Engineering and Architecture

CE 505/ Construction Methods and Project Management

MIDTERM- HOMEWORK 1

Submitted by:
Coderes, Melissa R.
CE51FB2

Submitted to:
Engr. Mico Cruzado
Labor Productivity defined
Productivity in construction is often broadly defined as output per labor hour. Since labor constitutes
a large part of the construction cost and the quantity of labor hours in performing a task in construction is
more susceptible to the influence of management than are materials or capital, this productivity measure is
often referred to as labor productivity. However, it is important to note that labor productivity is a measure of
the overall effectiveness of an operating system in utilizing labor, equipment and capital to convert labor
efforts into useful output and is not a measure of the capabilities of labor alone. For example, by investing in
a piece of new equipment to perform certain tasks in construction, output may be increased for the same
number of labor hours, thus resulting in higher labor productivity.

Factors affecting job site productivity

Job-site productivity is influenced by many factors which can be characterized either as labor
characteristics, project work conditions or as non-productive activities. The labor characteristics include:
 Age, skill, and experience of work force
 Leadership and motivation of work force
The project work conditions include among other factors:
 Job size and complexity
 Job site accessibility
 Labor availability
 Equipment utilization
 Contractual agreements
 Local climate
 Local cultural characteristics, particularly in foreign operations
The non-productive activities associated with a project may or may not be paid by the owner, but they
nevertheless take up potential labor resources which can otherwise be directed to the project. The non-
productive activities include among other factors:
 Indirect labor required to maintain the progress of the project
 Rework for correcting unsatisfactory work
 Temporary work stoppage due to inclement weather or material shortage
 Time off for union activities
 Absentee time, including late start and early quits
 Non-working holidays
 Strikes
Each category of factors affects the productive labor available to a project as well as the on-site labor
efficiency.
Productivity of a project
Labor productivity is also one of the performance indicators to assess the success of the construction
project. Because construction is a labor intensive industry, it can be argued that the work force is the dominant
productive resource. Thus construction productivity is primarily dependent on human effort and performance.
Labor productivity is important index because of concentration of labor needed to complete specific work.
(Wen Yi & Albert P. C. Chan, 2014).
According to the principles of management, a project may be considered to consist of a combination of
five M’s:
1. Men
2. Money
3. Materials
4. Machine
5. Methods
The principles of management indicate that the availability of specific resources often determines the
optimal manner in which they will be used (Building 1986; Koehn 1989). Since the cost of labor, especially in
developed countries, may constitute a large percentage of the total project cost, increasing labor productivity
is important in controlling both project cost and duration (Sharp 1997). In fact, according to some authorities,
productivity may be defined as:

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡

𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = =
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟

In this investigation, output is taken as the specific units of different construction activities and input
as the work-hours (labor hours) required to accomplish that work.
Productivity is an important aspect of construction industry that may be used as an index for
efficiency of production. Efficient management of construction resources can lead to higher productivity
which can help to achieve cost and time saving. Construction is labor oriented industry. It heavily relies on
the skills of its workforce. The labor is industry’s most valuable asset. It is important to improve efficiency of
production by improving productivity of labor.