Construction Productivity Improvement:

1. . Human, External and Management Issues Construction Productivity Improvement: Project Management Specialization Research Team: Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura, Dr. George Jergeas, Eldon Choy, Kasun Hewage,Sushil Peres da Silva, Tanveer Ahmed (Phase II), Markus Liberda (Phase I). Human Management External Phase IIa: Factors Analysis Data collection from 53 participants from Graham, Ellis-Don, PCL, and Ledcor. The participants recognize important factors that affect construction productivity. Overview • This research investigates industry practices and develop tools to improve construction productivity of future Alberta construction projects. This will be done by investigating the most critical factors that affect construction productivity and also determining their individual and cumulative impact on project performance. Three specific contributing areas will be considered are human issues, management issues and external issues. • The expected deliverables of this research are a root analysis to identify the triggering situations that affect construction productivity, a situation based model to predict construction productivity, a set of practical guidelines, and a pro-active simulation model to plan team dynamics of future projects. Phase IIb: Clusters Analysis Identified factors are further combined into clusters based on the discussion between the research participants and the research team. These clusters are more logical for the industry to understand reasons for productivity performances. Rankings (Relative Importance) Cluster Name Member Factors 1 • Changes in Contract • Constructability • Changes in Specifications and Drawings Design and Changes 2 • Worker Motivation • Worker attitude and morale • Team-spirit of the crew • Disrespectful treatment of worker Worker Motivation Relative Importance of Factors (only Frequency > 14 are illustrated) 3 Phase I: Pilot Study • Inadequate Communication Inadequate Communication Cluster Composition 4 • Results based on 22 highly experienced industry experts in • Alberta Construction Industry • Average 27 years of construction experience • 51 factors are identified in three categories • Human • Management • External • Worker experience and skills • Incompetent personnel • Lack of worker training and education Worker Skills 7 • Congested work area • Site layout • Overcrowded work area • Cleanliness of construction site 5 • Non-availability of materials • Non-availability of tools • Non-availability of information • Non-availability of equipment Congested Work Area Non-availability of Information 8 Statistics of each Factor • Discontinuity in crews makeup • Changes in foremen • Inadequate supervision • Lack of procedures for construction methods • Non-availability of materials • Non-availability of tools • Non-availability of information • Non-availability of equipment • Lack of Detailed Planning 6 Inadequate Supervision 9 • Adverse weather conditions Lack of Planning Adverse Weather CONTACT Dr. JANAKA Y. RUWANPURA, PQS.Assistant Professor Project Management Specialization Department of Civil EngineeringUniversity of Calgary ENF 232, 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.403-220-6892 (Tel), 403-282-7026 (Fax) E-mail: Janaka@ucalgary.ca Comments on each Factor