Construction Craft Workers’ Perceptions of the Factors Affecting Their Productivity

Abstract

In efforts to quantify craft workers’ perspective of construction productivity, a nationwide survey involving 1,996 craft workers was employed. The survey quantified the relative impact of 83 productivity factors, which had been identified through a series of focus group sessions involving craft workers conducted on construction jobsites located throughout the United States. The findings show that craft workers do have a good understanding of the factors affecting their daily productivity, and most of the adversarial factors affecting productivity can be addressed by site management teams. Factors involving tools and consumables, materials, engineering drawing management and construction equipment were identified as having the greatest impact on productivity from the craft workers’ perspective. A statistical comparative analysis was employed to distinguish the significant factors encountered by craft workers on projects with relatively low perceived productivity. The research further examined the differences in the perceived relative magnitude of productivity factors’ influence on construction productivity based on respondents’ union status and trade. These findings will be beneficial for engaging craft workers in productivity improvement and improving the efficiency of construction jobsites.