Managing Productivity In Construction

First published in 1997, this volume joined the debate assessing the potential of the Just-In-Time management philosophy from the manufacturing industry for Singapore’s construction industry by examining the "off-site" prefabrication of precast concrete components in Singapore, in comparison with traditional management systems. In the wake of the 1991 Strategic Economic Plan of Singapore, which forecasted alarmingly low productivity in the local construction sector, the authors noted that construction in Japan was 35% more productive, whilst Finland was 75% better. Highlighting immense potential for the JIT approach, they explore the JIT philosophy, traditional systems, construction wastes and comparisons between construction and manufacturing.

Based on years of research and practical knowledge, Construction Labor Productivity Management and Methods Improvement provides the tools and information for any contractor to effectively manage labor and improve worker productivity. In a labor-intensive industry such as construction, even small improvements in productivity can significantly improve company profits. This book provides a guide to creating a system of productivity, allowing productivity to be measured, quantified and improved.

Thomas and Ellis provide detailed, straightforward management practices to improve construction site activity and reduce losses in labor productivity from the most common site challenges.

Presents construction productivity concepts. This book includes topics such as measuring labor productivity, establishing a field benchmarking program, negotiating loss of labor efficiency, and recommended practices for productivity enhancement. It is suitable for electrical engineers and students.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Construction is the country's single largest manufacturing industry. However, it is a sector that lacks benchmarks against which to gauge performance. This modern thinking intends to provide insight to construction productivity improvement. Taking cues from manufacturing sectors such as computer, automobile and chemical companies, this book will apply the lessons learned to building construction. Supported with a range of pedagogical devices, the book will be of equal value to construction managers and civil engineers, and students with different learning methods.

Construction productivity-how well, how quickly, and at what cost buildings and infrastructure can be constructed-directly affects prices for homes and consumer goods and the robustness of the national economy. Industry analysts differ on whether construction industry productivity is improving or declining. Still, advances in available and emerging technologies offer significant opportunities to improve construction efficiency substantially in the 21st century and to help meet other national challenges, such as environmental sustainability. Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry identifies five interrelated activities that could significantly improve the quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of construction projects. These activities include widespread deployment and use of interoperable technology applications; improved job-site efficiency through more effective interfacing of people, processes, materials, equipment, and information; greater use of prefabrication, preassembly, modularization, and off-site fabrication techniques and processes; innovative, widespread use of demonstration installations; and effective performance measurement to drive efficiency and support innovation. The book recommends that the National Institute of Standards and Technology work with industry leaders to develop a collaborative strategy to fully implement and deploy the five activities

The proceedings of the CIB W65 Symposium on the Organization and Management of Construction conference are presented here and in the companion volumes as state-of-the-art papers documenting research and innovative practice in the field of construction. The volumes cover four broad themes: business management, project management, risk management, IT development and applications. Each volume is organized to provide easy reference so that the practitioner can speedily extract up to date information and knowledge about the global construction industry. Managing the Construction Enterprise (Volume One): Covers the firm and its business environment, markets and marketing, human resource management strategic planning, and quality management. Managing the Construction Project (Volume Two): focuses upon productivity, procurement, international projects and human issues in relation to management performance of construction organisations. Managing Risk (Volume Two): incorporates discussion of risk away from regulation by government and those safety risks inherent in the construction process. Managing Construction Information (Volume Three, published in conjunction with Construct IT Centre of Excellence): incorporates material on information systems and methods, application of IT to the design and construction processes and how IT theory and applications are best transmitted to students and practitioners. The work represents a collation of wide ranging ideas and theory about construction and how research has contributed to the development of the industry on a global application of research to the problems of the construction industry.