International Journal of Civil, Structural,

Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering

Research and Development (IJCSEIERD)

ISSN 2249-6866

Vol. 3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 59-66

© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

STUDY ON BEHAVIOUR OF WORKERS IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE

PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

P. GANESH PRABHU1 & D. AMBIKA

2

1PG Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode, Tamilnadu, India

2Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode, Tamilnadu, India

ABSTRACT

The most challenging issue in Construction industry in the last decade is how to improve the production

efficiency. Many researchers have been done in the last decade however a deeper understanding is still needed to improve

the productivity by studying the workers behavior in construction industry. The performance of labor is affected by many

factors and is usually linked to the performance of time, cost, work pressure, safety measures and quality. The aim of this

study is to get the latest information and to identify the key factors that affect production efficiency in Tamilnadu by study

of workers behavior in construction industry. Data’s are collected through questionnaires and distributed to respondents

who work at various projects in wide area in Tamilnadu. Respondents were required to rate and analyse using their

experience and the factors were identified from past researches, which affects the project performance and then the level is

measured based on their affect. The data collected are analyzed using Microsoft Excel or SPSS software which is analytical

software.

KEYWORDS: Behavior, Contractual Labours, Production, Efficiency, Performance

INTRODUCTION

Human resource is an important factor in the development of the construction industry and therefore

understanding the labour behavior is very much important to improve the efficiency of production. Variations in the

construction labour productivity can naturally make a great impact on national economy and productivity. Lack of safety,

lack of skills, lack of quality of materials, lack of wages, communication barriers like that are mainly create psychological

stress to the labours. It totally affects the labour production efficiency. Construction labor productivity has become such a

word and one of the most frequently researched topics. In most countries, labor cost comprises 30 to 50% of the overall

project’s cost, and thus is regarded as a true reflection of the economic success of the operation. Horner et al. indicated that

a 10% increase in construction labor productivity would yield annual savings of about £1 Billion to the British economy; a

similar conclusion was echoed by Stoekel and Quirke (1992). Since construction is a labor intensive industry, the

significance of this effect not only justifies the concern over its labor productivity, but it can also be argued that labor-

power is the only productive resource, hence construction productivity is mainly depend upon human effort and

performance. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify and rank the relative importance of factors perceived by

Contractors to affect construction labor productivity in Tamilnadu, so that the outcomes can be used by not only local, but

international industry practitioners, who may be further interested in venturing into potential mega scale projects, but

possess no prior practical knowledge of the construction industry in the State, to develop a wider and deeper perspective of

the factors influencing the productivity, and provide guidance to projects and construction managers for efficient utilization

of the labor force, thus assisting in achieving a reasonable level of competitiveness and cost effective operation.

60 P. Ganesh Prabhu & D. Ambika

LITERATURE STUDY

Productivity remains an intriguing subject and a dominant issue in the construction sector, promising cost savings

and efficient usage of resources. Productivity is one of the most important issues in both developed and developing

countries. The developed countries are aware of the importance of economic growth and social welfare. The developing

countries which face unemployment problems, inflation and resource scarcity seek to utilise resources and in such a way to

achieve economic growth and improve citizens’ lives. Productivity is an issue of particular importance to projects located

within the Gaza Strip, as it is considered a newly-developed area, and a huge number of projects have been planned for the

near future. The aim of this research is to identify factors affecting labour productivity within building projects, and to rank

these factors according to their relative importance from a contractor’s viewpoint. The analysis of 45 factors considered in

a survey indicates that the main factors negatively affecting labour productivity are: material shortage, lack of labour

experience, lack of labour surveillance, misunderstandings between labour and superintendent, and drawings and

specification alteration during execution.[1]

DESIGN OF QUESTIONNAIRES

Factors Influencing Questionnaire

Wages and salary, Working time, Compensation for labours, Job satisfaction, Communication, Safety measures,

Camping conditions, Industrial relationship.

Questions

1. Average working hours/ day?

2. Overall, how satisfied are you working for the company in this site?

3. Will you recommend this site as a good place to work?

4. Has the Engineer clearly conveyed the works to employees?

5. Is there a good communication from Employees to supervisor

6. Is there a good communication from Supervisor to employees

7. Are you having the right tools and Resources to do your job

8. Are you having the right Safety measures to do your job safely?

9. Got proper training to do my job?

10. Received the right amount of recognition for my work?

11. The amount of work expected is reasonable?

12. Supervisor actively listens to employees suggestion?

13. Supervisor enables the worker to perform at the best?

14. Supervisor treating everyone as a human?

15. How satisfied are you with your allowances?

16. How satisfied are you with your Camping conditions?

17. How satisfied are you with other benefits offered by the Company?

Study on Behaviour of Workers in Construction Industry to Improve Production Efficiency 61

18. Chances of accident in your job

19. How satisfied are you with your overtime work wages?

DATA ANALYSIS

Data Analysis for Local

62 P. Ganesh Prabhu & D. Ambika

Study on Behaviour of Workers in Construction Industry to Improve Production Efficiency 63

64 P. Ganesh Prabhu & D. Ambika

CONCLUSIONS

The Inference made from the Questionnaire Survey are

1. Most of the local labours are working 8 to 10 Hrs/ day but the contractual labours needs to work for 10 to 12 hrs /

day to earn least money equal to local labours.

2. 12% of local labours are getting work pressure from the site executives while remaining percentage feels comfort.

3. But 46% of contractual labours are getting high work pressure, 37% of peoples are getting medium pressure and

others feel comfort.

4. The contractual labours are working in very poor working environment than local labours without proper shelter

and poor food.

5. Only 34 % of contractual labours are satisfied with their camping conditions others are not so.

6. The local labours are feeling better than contractual labours provided the working environment is good.

7. 40% of contractual labours thinking that the supervisors are not respecting the human lives.

Study on Behaviour of Workers in Construction Industry to Improve Production Efficiency 65

8. By providing good camping conditions and proper wages over the contractual labourers will feel more comfort

and the productivity can be improved for better.

REFERENCES

1. Adnan Enshassi, Sherif Mohamed, Ziad Abu Mustafa and Peter Eduard Mayer “Factors Affecting Labour

Productivity In Building Projects In The Gaza Strip” journal of civil engineering and management 2007, vol xiii,

no 4, 245–254.

2. Abdulaziz M. Jarkas, Camille G. Bitar “Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity In Kuwait” journal of

construction engineering and management. doi:10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0000501

3. Anton Soekiman, Krishna S. Pribadi, Biemo W. Soemardi, Reini D. Wirahadikusumah “Study On Factors

Affecting Project Level Productivity In Indonesia” international journal of engineering, tome ix (year 2011).

fascicule 3. (issn 1584 - 2673)

4. Aynur Kazaz, Ekrem Manisali, Serdar Ulubeyli “Effect Of Basic Motivational Factors On Construction

Workforce Productivity In Turkey” journal of civil engineering and management 2008, 14(2): 95–106

5. Carl t. Haas, John.d, Paul.m “u.s construction labour productivity” center for construction industry studies, report

no.7, march 1999

6. Dozzi, s.p.; Abourizk, s.m. “productivity in construction” national research council canada 1993, isbn 0-662-

21134-0, ottawa, december 1993

7. Henry Mwanaki Alinaitwe, Jackson A. Mwakali, Bengt Hansson “Factors Affecting The Productivity Of Building

Craftsmen – Studies Of Uganda” journal of civil engineering and management, 2007, vol xiii, no 3, 169–176.

8. Malcolm Patterson, Peter Warr and Michael West “organizational climate and company productivity: the role of

employee affect and employee level” centre for economic performance, isbn 0 7530 1751 2

9. Nabil Ailabouni, Kassim Gidado “Factors Affecting Employee Productivity In The UAE Construction Industry”

10. Rachel W. Y. Yee, Andy C. l. Yeung, T. C. Edwin Cheng “ The Impact Of Employee Satisfaction On Quality

And Profitability In High-Contact Service Industries ”

11. Soekiman, K. S. Pribadi, B.W. Soemardi, and R.D. Wirahadikusumah “Factors Relating To Labor Productivity

Affecting The Project Schedule Performance In Indonesia”