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LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN CONSTRUCTION

Working Paper · July 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34671.02724

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IMPORTANCE OF MEASUREMENT OF LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN
CONSTRUCTION
Prachi R. Ghate1, Prof. Pravin R. Minde2
1
P.G.Scholar, Department of Civil Engineering, P.V.P.I.T., Maharashtra, India
2
Asst.Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, P.V.P.I.T., Maharashtra, India

Abstract
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 labour oriented industry. It heavily relies on the skills of its workforce. The labour is industry’s most valuable
asset. It is important to improve efficiency of production by improving productivity of labour. Decreasing productivity of project
has always been major concern for construction Industry.Aim of this project is to study the importance of measurement of labour
productivity in construction industry around Mumbai sector after finding the factors affecting labour productivity.Factors
affecting labour productivity were analysed using RII method. Measurement of labour productivity is done using work study
method. RII method revealed top ten ranked factors which affect labour productivity. The data collection is done by work study
method shows skilled labour as highly important factor affecting labour productivity. From the analysis of data collected it is
observed that measurement of labour productivity is helpful in saving the time of the project as well as cost of project without
hampering the quality of work.

KeyWords:Work study, skilled labour, Time saving, Cost saving, Labour productivity
--------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. INTRODUCTION efficiency in range of 25% - 50%. (H. Randolf Thomas&

Carmen I. Napolitan). Labour productivity is also one of the
Construction performance and productivity improvement are performance indicators to assess the success of the
key focus areas in construction industry for any nation. construction project. Because construction is a labour
Indian construction industry forms an integral part of intensive industry, it can be argued that the work force is the
economy. Construction constitutes 40% to 50% of India's dominant productive resource. Thus construction
capital expenditure on projects in various sectors such as productivity is primarily dependent on human effort and
highways, roads, railways, energy, airports, irrigation, etc. performance. Labour productivity is important index
and is the second largest industry in India after agriculture. because of concentration of labour needed to complete
It accounts for about 11% of India's GDP. specific work. (Wen yi& Albert P.C.Chan, 2014).
Improving productivity is major concern for any profit Productivity is generally ratio of output to input.In form of
oriented organization. In general terms productivity is equation it can be shown as follows:
termed as ratio between input and output. Proper Productivity = Output ÷ Input
management of available asset can help in improving = Total output ÷ Total work hour
productivity. Labour is the most important asset to a Different measures of productivity serve different purposes.
construction company. In spite of many technological Thomas et al.defined different aspects of measures as
advances, construction continues to be a labour intensive follows:
industry. 30% to 50% of total cost of project is spent on a) Economic Model: Total Factor Productivity (TFP)
Total Output
labours. Quality of the construction largely depends upon (TFP) =
Labour+Material+Equipment+Energy+Capital
the quality of work done by labour. Labour productivity
b) Project Specific Model:
directly affects construction productivity; it is important to Output
know the factors affecting labour productivity. Productivity =
Labour+Material+Equipment
c) Activity Oriented Model:
2. LITERATURE REVIEW Output
Labour Productivity =
Labour cost
Or
In construction projects, there are three basic planning Output
elements: time, cost, and quality. These concepts are in a Labour Productivity =
Work hour
close relationship with each other. Labour productivity is
also a key concept of construction planning efforts and has a 3. METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION
direct interrelationship with the triple constraint mentioned
Data required to carry out the research was collected by
above. (SerdarUlubeyli, AynurKazaz, BayramEr., 2014).
Questionnaire Survey. On basis of previous studies on
Lower labour performance is strongly related to the
labour productivity & suggestions from Local Industry
presence of change of work, disruptions and rework. On
Professionals, total 24 factors were identified which are
average 30% loss of efficiency occurs when changes are
having influence on construction labour productivity in
done. The most significant types of disruptions are lack of
Mumbai Region. The target population included Civil
materials and information and having to perform the work
Engineers from construction firms categorized as
out of sequence. These disruptions result in daily loss of
_______________________________________________________________________________________
contractors. In this study measurement skill of 1 to 4 was Erecting bars
used to determine the effect level. The Questionnaire 2 and completing 2 30
prepared was distributed amongst respondents. Respondents lapping
were required to rate using their experience how all factors Time can
affects labour productivity. Relative Importance Index (RII) Selecting be
was used for analysis of data. RII method helps to determine 3 stirrups and 2 30 reduced
the relative importance of the various factors affecting on placing if placed
labour productivity. RII was used by following equations. properly
𝛴𝑊
RII = Time can
𝐴∗𝑁
be
Where, Binding stirrups
reduced
4 with binding 2 100
W is the weight given to each factor by the respondents and if skilled
wire at position
ranges from 1 to 4. labours
used
W ranges 1 = Not applicable
Total 185
2 = Does not affect
3 = some-what affects
Similarly data have been collected after changing site layout
4 = highly affect and after changing semiskilled labour with skilled labour.
A is the highest weight = 4. Overall twenty observations were taken for research.

N is the total number of responses collected for the ordinal
scale.
For purpose of finding labour productivity erection and
binding of reinforcement of column has been selected for
present study. Skilled labour and change in site layout are
the two factors considered for calculating changes. Work
study method was used for data collection. Work study is
the systematic examination of the methods of carrying on
activities so as to improve the effective use of resources and
set up standards of performance for activities being carried
out. Work study aims at examining the way in activity is
being carried out, simplifying or modifying the method of
operation to reduce unnecessary or excess work, or wasteful
use of resources, and setting up a time standard for
performing that activity Data required from site to carry out
the research was collected by time study method. . Time
study is a work measurement technique for recording the
times of performing a certain specific job or its elements
carried out under specific conditions.
Table1:Time Study for Column before Any Change Applied
Time
Sr. No. of
Description taken Remark
No. Labours
(min)
Getting steel Time can
1 bars and stirrups 2 25 be
at place reduced
4. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Result of Relative Importance Index (Table 2) shows that
the total factors are ranked in between 1 to 13 out of which
top ten ranked factors affecting labour productivity are
Labour Supervision, Skilled Labour, Scheduling of work,
Training of labour, Payment, Communication between site
management and labour, Climatic condition, Expectations
out of labour performance, Unscheduled extra work,
Construction method, Availability of material, Availability
of tools, Numbers of labours on site, Temperature on site,
Safety conditions on site, Meetings with labour contractor,
Motivation to labour, Project manager’s leadership,
Miscommunication between site management.
4.1 Site Details
For research purpose we considered reinforcement binding
of column of building withnos. of floors: G + 19 and from
varying sizes of column we tooksize of Column as 600mm x
600mm x 3000mm
4.2 Effect of Changes in Site Layout
It was seen that steel bars and stirrups are stacked away
from the construction and also not properly placed. The steel
bars and stirrups should be placed separately according t

Table 2:Result for factors affecting labour productivity

Sr. No. Factors affecting RII Ranking

1 Labour Supervision 0.926 4

2 Skilled Labour 0.970 1

3 Scheduling of work 0.882 5

_______________________________________________________________________________________
 4 Training of labour 0.882 5

5 Payment 0.838 7

Communication between site management and

6 0.926 4
labour

7 Climatic condition 0.794 10

8 Expectations out of labour performance 0.808 9

9 Unscheduled extra work 0.808 9

10 Construction method 0.941 3

11 Availability of material 0.970 1

12 Availability of tools 0.955 2

13 Incentives schemes (Payment for extra work) 0.720 12

14 Numbers of labours on site 0.853 6

15 Site layout 0.764 11

16 Facilities provided to labour 0.764 11

17 Temperature on site 0.808 9

18 Material storage location 0.705 13

19 Structural Design complexity 0.764 11

20 Safety conditions on site 0.926 4

21 Meetings with labour contractor 0.823 8

22 Motivation to labour 0.838 7

23 Project manager’s leadership 0.941 3

24 Miscommunication between site management 0.941 3

4.3 Effect of Changes in Site Layout Along with

Changing Semi Skilled Labour with Skilled Labour

their diameter and size so that time required to finding the
bar required can be minimized.
Result:
Average time taken for erection and binding of
reinforcement of column without changes = 200 min/column
Average time taken for erection and binding of
reinforcement of column with changes in site layout = 190
min/column
Time saving = 10 min/column
It was seen that labour used for preparation of column were
semiskilled. This was resulting in compromising with
quality of work and time consuming. With use of two skilled
labours instead of two semiskilled labours the time could be
reduced and there was no need to compromise with quality
of work.
Result:
Average time taken for erection and binding of
reinforcement of column without changes = 200 min/column
Average time taken for erection and binding of
reinforcement of column with changing of labours = 155
min/column

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Time saving = 45 min/column
Since effect of change is considerable after applying
changes in site layout along with changing semi-skilled
labour with skilled labour; considering result of those
changes data is analyzed for saving in cost and time per
floor and from that for whole building.
4.4 Productivity Calculation
To find out the productivity we are using activity oriented
model as
Output
Labour Productivity =
Work hour
Before application of any changes on site number of
columns completed per day are 2 which shows that 494.53
kg of steel reinforcement binding used to complete in 8
working hours. From this the productivity can be calculated
as
494.53
Productivity = = 61.81 kg/ work hour
8
After application of changes it was seen that columns
completed per day are 3 which shows that 741.8 kg of steel
reinforcement binding used to complete in 8 working hours.
From this the productivity can be calculated as
741.8
Productivity = = 92.72 kg/ work hour
8
This shows 50% increase in reinforcement binding labour
productivity.
Increase in labour productivity also results in saving cost
and time. It can be seen in following calculations
4.5 Saving in Time and Cost due to Changes Applied Per
Floor
Data collection using time study method showed
considerable reduction in time after applying changes with
site layout and labours which means considerable saving in
time for the activity and which in turn means saving in cost
as well. Calculations regarding saving in time and cost are
shown below.
4.6 Saving in Time:
Prior to Changes:
Number of columns of size 600 x 600 x 3000 per floor = 32
Number of columns completed prior to changes = 2 per day
Number of days to complete reinforcement of column = 16
days
Time for 32 columns without applying changes = 32 X 200
= 6400 mins
After Application of Changes:
Time for 32 columns after changes in site layout and
changing labour with skilled labour = 32 X 155 = 4960 min
Time saving per floor = (6400-4960) = 1440 mins
This time is equivalent to (1440/155=9.29≈ 9) 9 extra
columns.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
With time of 155 min per column and 8 hours of working
day per labour number of columns completed per day = 3
column
Time required to complete 32 columns =10.6≈11 days
Saving in time after changes applied = 5 days
4.7 Saving in Cost
Prior to Changes:
Wages paid to semi-skilled labour = Rs. 350/-
Number of labours = 2
Number of days required to complete 32 columns before
applying any changes = 16 days
Cost of semiskilled labours per floor when changes were not
applied on site= 16 X350X2 = Rs. 11200/-
After Application of Changes:
Wages paid to skilled labour = Rs. 400/-
Number of labours = 2
Number of days required to complete 32 columns before
applying any changes = 11 days
Cost of skilled labours per floor when changes were not
applied on site= 11 X400X2 = Rs. 8800/-
Savings per Floor = 11200-8800 = Rs. 2400/-
4.8 Saving in Cost for Building
Number of floors = G + 19 =20
Savings per floor = Rs. 2400/-
Net savings for entire building (1 tower) = 2400 x 20 =
48000/-
5. CONCLUSION
Labour productivity is one of the least studied areas within
the construction industry in India. Despite of time
consuming techniques Work study and work measurement
are the techniques useful for data collection of labour and
improvement in labour productivity.
Analysis of these factors showed that top ten ranked factors
affecting labour productivity are Labour Supervision,
Skilled Labour, Scheduling of work, Training of labour,
Payment, Communication between site management and
labour, Climatic condition, Expectations out of labour
performance, Unscheduled extra work, Construction
method, Availability of material, Availability of tools,
Numbers of labours on site, Temperature on site, Safety
conditions on site, Meetings with labour contractor,
Motivation to labour, Project manager’s leadership,
Miscommunication between site management.
Skilled labour is a factor which highly affects the labour
productivity; since with skilled labour work can be done in
less time without compromising quality of work. Changes in
site layout affects labour productivity since proper
arrangement of material on site can reduce time
consumption for completion of work.
Changing the semi-skilled labour with skilled labour along
with change in site layout helped increasing labour
productivity for reinforcement binding by 50% and it also
helped in reducing time by 5 days per floor and labour cost
by Rs. 2400/- per floor which results in saving of Rs.48000/-
for entire building. Work study and work measurement are
the techniques useful for data collection of labour and
improvement in labour productivity. Using this technique it
helped to reduce cost by 20% of labour cost per floor.
BIOGRAPHIES
Prachi R. Ghate , P.G.Scholar at
Department of Civil Engineering.
P.V.P.I.T., Pune,Maharashtra,
India. Her aspiration is to contribute
greatly towards Productivity issues
in construction sector.

REFERENCES Mr. Pravin R. Minde, Assistant

Professor, Department of Civil
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